“Respect chemistry,”
says Heisenberg: provider,
father, creator.
Kartika and Sulu
1) The latest issue of Kartika Review features a special section called “Meditations of Home,” and you can read my own personal view on this subject. Fine writers such as Alexander Chee, Don Lee, Min Jin Lee, Yiyun Li, and Ed Lin also participated in the project, so it’s really an issue worth reading. You can get the journal in PDF, or better yet, you can have Lulu crank out a paper copy.
2) Speaking of Ed, I had an absolute blast at the The Sulu Series last night! We were there to celebrate his latest novel Snakes Can’t Run, and there was poetry and fiction and songs, too, and even a short film at the end. I’m not used to being out in the city so late on a school night, but wow, was it ever worth it.
Matt Blesse
Cynthia Lin
Catzie Vilayphonh
Ed Lin
Ed Lin
Many more pictures here. I read from a short story titled “Faith,” something I had completed a week ago. I’m not entirely happy with the story as it stands, so most likely it’ll change, but for those who want to know how it ends (at least for now), you can read it here (now published here); search for “END OF SULU READING” to find the exact spot where I stopped reading.
By the way, I should mention that I was inspired to write this story after reading Rhian Ellis‘ novel After Life; in fact, the premise is identical. I can only dream of writing with Ellis’ prosaic precision, so there is no comparison — everyone should read her fabulous novel.
“The Sulu Series” This Sunday
As a lifelong trekkie, how can I not partake in an event called “The Sulu Series“? I’m not exactly sure what I’ll be reading, but I’m also there to support my good friend and excellent writer Ed Lin, who’s got a new book out, Snakes Can’t Run!
Sulu Series
Sunday April 18, 8:00 pm
reading with Matt Blesse, Cynthia Lin, Catzie Vilayphonh, and Ed Lin
Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery (at First Street)
New York City
(212) 614-0505
Complaints About the Complaint Box
After a Complaint Box essay, the good folks at the Times follow up with various reader reactions. As of now, there are 151 comments from the readers on the web, and I think these two might be my favorite:
1. Better loud and occupied than silent and empty or worse yet, visited only by cranky Sung J Woo.
2. I’m dismayed see you lead off with yet another hackneyed stereotype of librarians: “…and the occasional shush — delivered with an index finger crossing the lips of a bespectacled, cardigan-wearing librarian.” Get with it, Mr. Woo. I’m a librarian, and I shop at Express.
Way to put me and my best Andy Rooney impression in my place! I love it. As a writer, it’s a rare gift to see so many direct opinions from readers. Thank you to all who have contributed — keep them coming!
The Lost ‘Library Voice’
The library of my youth, in Ocean Township, N.J., was a tomb of peace, where the only sounds were shuffles, whispers and the occasional shush — delivered with an index finger crossing the lips of a bespectacled, cardigan-wearing librarian.
These days, at my local branch in Washington Township, N.J., I have to play an MP3 file in a loop — a sound bite of a hair dryer blasting between my ears — because without the white noise, I would not be able to think straight.
A “Complaint Box” essay I wrote for the Times.
What’s Your Exit? A Literary Detour Through New Jersey
In a little more than a month, What’s Your Exit? A Literary Detour Through New Jersey will be out and about, and I’ll be reading my essay at the following venues:
Saturday, May 15, 7pm: What’s Your Exit? Book Launch [Jersey City, NJ]
Thursday, May 27, 5pm: What’s Your Exit? NYU Alumni Reading [Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House @ NYC]
Saturday, June 26, 8pm: What’s Your Exit? Reading at The Raconteur [Metuchen, NJ]
You can pick up a pre-order of the book through various bookstores, online and local:
Haiku: Breaking Bad, Season 3, Episode 3
Walt is cooking meth
Skyler is cooking the books
Two cooks, one kitchen.
3/12: NYU Alumni Reading
Check out these nice pictures from the NYU Alumni Reading. I read with three poets, and it’s always a humbling experience. They do so much with so few words! I read an excerpt from the chapter “Jhee Hong.”
 Ishion Hutchinson |
 John Murillo |
 January Gill O’Neil |
 Me |
All the Writers
Paperback Cover
Release date: July 20, 2010
The illustrations of David and Sue might seem familiar — they were the ones done by the wonderfully talented Noah Dempewolf, for the first-chapter broadsheets I had printed last year.
The paperback is already available at various online outlets, including Indiebound, B&N, and Amazon, and it’ll include a reading group guide written by none other than Stewart O’Nan, who’s stood by this little book of mine from start to finish.
A Roundup of Love
All you need is love, sang a certain famous quartet. They’re right, of course.
1) The lovely folks at Fiction Writers Review chose my book in their “A Valentine: Books We Loved in 2009” feature. The love is mutual!
2) At I Am Korean American, where Korean Americans from all over the country give themselves a little bit of personal love. From the site’s About page:
Our goal is to compile a collection of profiles that showcase the diversity and many interesting personalities of the Korean American population. We hope that our collective efforts will provide a snapshot of the Korean American community at this point in our history.
Yesterday was my day, so check it out.
3) Significant Objects, which I partook in last year, is like the Energizer Bunny — it keeps going and going. The first one was an experiment, but the subsequent ones have been for charity. They raised $2244.11 for 826 National with SOv2. Love it! They wished they had a giant check, so I made one for them.
4) A typo — the APALA award I won wasn’t for 2009, it was 2010! I still get confused about doing my 2009 taxes in 2010, so this is not surprising. In any case, the APALA had the following to say about my book.
Youth Literature Winner
Woo, Sung. Everything Asian. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2009.Set in early-1980s suburban New Jersey, David Kim is a 12 year old who just moved from Korea to America with his older sister Susan and mother to reunite with his father who moved years earlier. The journey only begins once the family reunites and face many obstacles to bond and adjust living together in a new country. Without any memory of his father or knowing any English, David spends most of his free time helping out at East Meets West, his father’s gift shop in a strip mall where the family really gets to know each other and their mall neighbors. Everything Asian presents a well-rounded portrayal of the joys and troubles of the immigrant experience told mostly from the perspective of David, as well as the Kims and other mall merchants to get a full, inside-out understanding of the family and the community that surrounds them. Through David and Susan, this novel articulately details the experience of 1.5 generation Asian Americans, a perspective not commonly found in youth literature. From lighthearted comedy to very serious issues, Everything Asian covers a wide range of experiences and emotions that many Asian immigrants can relate to, but not always communicate. From choosing American names, taking English night classes and cooking turkey for Thanksgiving for the very first time, Everything Asian also portrays everything Asian Pacific American. (Jeffrey Sichaleune)
They were entirely too kind, but of course, I’ll take the love. Read about the rest of the winners.