Gish Jen Reading
Gish Jen reads from her novel entitled The Love Wife. Jen gives a brief synopsis of the novel, explaining that it focuses on the relationships between members in a contemporary Chinese-American interracial family. During a question and answer session, Jen explains the complex layout of the book. She points out that the novel features five first-person narrators, as well as numerous font styles. Jen further explains that there are two sets of italic fonts employed to distinguish between speakers who speak in both English and Chinese (with an assumed translation).
Jen, who is a Chinese-American, points out that she conducted a large amount of research while developing her Chinese character. She points out that her first novel was very well received in China, an accomplishment that has been very important to her. Jen explains her belief that when writers are writing about another culture, they have a responsibility to portray it correctly. Jen goes on to discuss her time at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, as well as the time spent immediately after her graduation.
In: "Live from Prairie Lights" Audio Archive | Fiction
Authors: Gish Jen
Date Recorded: October 26, 2004
Works Read: The Love Wife by Gish Jen
Program: Live From Prairie Lights
Format: reading
Contributors: Introduction by host Julie Englander.
Topics: Chinese-American culture, writing process, writing conventions