October 2- 8, 2003
artpicks
Maxine Hong Kingston
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books
The last time Maxine Hong Kingston came to Philly, in 1999, she visited Penn and held a small seminar. Walking into a writing workshop with Maxine Hong Kingston is like entering the kingdom of a good Buddhist witch. (She writes about being mistaken for one during a Halloween in the autobiographical portion of her latest novel from Knopf, The Fifth Book of Peace.) She is, after all, the Asian-American godmother of contemporary literature. With her flowing white hair and diminutive size, her presence instantly commanded rapt attention. Our intense scribbling began with the high-pitched chime of the Bell of Mindfulness, a tiny bell she brought; it's the same method she used in the longstanding Berkeley workshop she held with Vietnam veterans, whose writing appears in Peace. Afterwards, she regaled us with a humorous story about Disney's call to ensure her nonlitigious intentions when Mulan (loosely inspired by The Woman Warrior) came out and the challenge of rewriting a book that had all but disappeared in a devastating fire.
Fortunately for us, she managed to pen her book again, virtually from memory, along with adding more literary pieces, and offers a smart, engaging masterpiece. She talks about her latest novel, published 14 years after Tripmaster Monkey, in her upcoming visits to the area.
Maxine Hong Kingston reads Tue., Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m., Thomas Great Hall, Bryn Mawr College, 101 N. Merion Ave., Bryn Mawr, 610-526-5000, and Wed., Oct. 8, 7 p.m., Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322. Both events are free.
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