What Is Autobiography? A Conversation with Debut Memoirist Victoria Chang, by Amy Wright

Interviews Victoria Chang’s new collection, Dear Memory, expands the field of the memoir for readers to explore a full-color archive of family photos and historical documents collaged between lines of poetry and letters. It prompts us to ask, with her, What composes a life and what makes of life art? What makes of memory history, and whose history, and how do we survive loss? We might expect the author of five books of poetry and two children’s books to incorporate the lyric in her first book of nonfiction, but Chang goes further. If her memories arrive at times as poetry, she denies them the protection of a poem. For instance, at the end of a letter that begins, “Do you remember those Fridays in gym class . . . ,” she realizes that memory may be “the exit wound of joy.” Such insights pierce us before we can register surprise. Elsewhere, she covers her mother’s mouth with three Mandarin characters in the photo on her certificate of naturalization, inserting her reservation into the official record along with her daughter’s grief. I reached out to Chang, moved by this book’s innovative form. “It was always my goal as a writer to be able to make whatever I want,” she told me via Zoom video hosted by the low-residency MFA program at Antioch University, which she directs. The winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the PEN Voelcker Award, a Sustainable Arts Foundation... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2022-01-05 19:50:39 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "What Is Autobiography? A Conversation with Debut Memoirist Victoria Chang, by Amy Wright"


Akwaeke Emezi’s memoir is a healing ritual for the displaced

“Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir” finds the Nigerian-Tamil author considering their identity. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-06-21 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Will Smith memoir will hit bookshelves in November

Will Smith will publish "Will," a memoir co-written by Mark Manson, in November through Penguin Press. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-06-21 00:57:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Abi Morgan's 'devastating' memoir goes to John Murray in six-figure deal

Award-winning screenwriter Abi Morgan’s memoir, which follows family life after her partner's sudden illness, has gone to John Murray for “a strong six-figures". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-20 19:48:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Penguin Michael Joseph pre-empts Lim's 'poetic' memoir of family secrets

Teresa Lim’s multi-generational memoir about a long-buried family tragedy set against the Second World War in Singapore has gone to Penguin Michael Joseph.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-19 12:40:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Cinelle Barnes Doesn’t Care If You Think She’s Soft

In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This month we’re featuring Cinelle Barnes, author of Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir and Malaya: Essays on Freedom. Barnes is a regular... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-17 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


DoJ Drops Case Against John Bolton

The Department of Justice has dropped its legal claims against former President Trump's one-time national security adviser over his bestselling memoir 'The Room Where It Happened.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘On Juneteenth’: A Black historian reflects on Texas and emancipation

Annette Gordon-Reed’s “On Juneteenth” combines history, analysis, and memoir to explore the significance of the holiday and its Texas roots. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-06-16 22:19:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Monster' Kody Scott, former L.A. gang member who became a bestselling author, found dead at 57

Former Eight Tray Gangster Crip member's memoir brought attention to the sobering truth of gang life in South L.A. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-06-15 23:57:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Q&A: An ‘everyday’ life in dance proves something quite extraordinary

Gavin Larsen’s ballet memoir “Being a Ballerina” opens up the dance world to show the determination, camaraderie, and physical strength at its core. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-06-15 15:51:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this


HarperCollins signs memoir by The Jonas Brothers

HarperCollins has signed a "funny, irreverent, and eye-opening" memoir by pop band The Jonas Brothers, which will publish on 11th November 2021. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-06-09 11:06:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A prickly mother-daughter bond sustained by Korean food

In an interview, Michelle Zauner describes how writing the memoir “Crying in H Mart” helped her cope with losing her mother. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-06-08 19:50:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Michelle Zauner will score the film adaptation of her own memoir, Crying in H Mart.

It’s been a big year for Michelle Zauner. This spring, her much-lauded memoir Crying in H Mart was published, and last week her band Japanese Breakfast released Jubilee, another critically acclaimed album. And the excitement continues: yesterday, the Hollywood Reporter announced that Crying in H... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-06-08 14:46:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Review: ‘Dear Senthuran,’ by Akwaeke Emezi

“Dear Senthuran” is an epistolary memoir of gender identity, diaspora and the solitude of success. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-06-08 11:08:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Grindr Advice Column That Became a Memoir of Modern Queer Life

In “Hola Papi,” the writer John Paul Brammer mines his own experiences and traumas to deliver wisdom for queer readers. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-06-08 09:00:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pride Was Hard-Won: PW Talks with Julie Rodgers

For nine years, Rodgers was a celibate gay Christian speaking about the benefits of conversion therapy, and in her forthcoming memoir 'Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story,' she chronicles her journey into peace, a loving marriage, and advocacy for LGBTQ Christians. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


‘If publishers become afraid, we’re in trouble’: publishing’s cancel culture debate boils over

Publishing staff, in rows over authors from Mike Pence to Woody Allen, are voicing their reluctance to work on books they deem hateful. But is this really ‘younger refuseniks’, or a much older debate?In the 1960s, Simon & Schuster’s co-founder Max Schuster was facing a dilemma. Albert Speer,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-06-03 12:12:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Poetry and Nursing in the Filipino Diaspora: A Conversation with Romalyn Ante, by Marianne Chan

Interviews Photo by Oluwaseyi Johnson / Unsplash I was lucky to meet Romalyn Ante when I was invited to read at a virtual event organized by R. A. Villanueva and hosted by Books Are Magic in August 2020. Ante was the guest of honor at the event,... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-06-02 11:57:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this


I Thought This Memoir Wasn’t “Taiwanese Enough”—Because That Was My Fear About Myself

In March of 2004, my family and I were at home in Taiwan for the national election, and I got into my first-ever screaming match with a perfect stranger. The election choice, as always, was between the Kuo Ming Tang, which favors reunification with China; and the Democratic People’s Party, which... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-01 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Katherine Johnson of ‘Hidden Figures’ tells her story in her own words

“I always pushed myself to go higher,” Johnson wrote in her posthumous memoir “My Remarkable Journey” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-29 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


How to watch Charles Yu explore his award-winning novel at the L.A. Times Book Club

National Book Award winner Charles Yu discusses 'Interior Chinatown' with Times film critic Justin Chang at the L.A. Times Book Club Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-05-27 20:58:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this