So I’d set up this reading at a Border’s in northern VA a few months ago, thinking that it would be nice to do a bookstore reading while in the DC area (for the Asian American Literature Symposium). I grew up in Maryland, so I thought of it as a sort of “hometown event.” As the date (4/26) grew near, though, I started to worry a little. I haven’t actually lived in the DC area since 1986; many of my friends have left the area, and many others I’d lost track of (and vice versa).
Every book event is a little fraught, I’ve learned. Will anyone come? Often, the folks you were sure would come out don’t; and then people you’d never imagined would come show up. It’s pretty unnerving, and yet at the same time really fun; surprises are always like that, I guess.
The Border’s reading was no exception. When Long for This World first hit the stores, the question arose: who will be the readership? I had no idea. I especially wondered if there would much of either a Korean or Korean-American audience. I did not at all take that for granted; it’s much more unpredictable, and complex, than that. Friends who knew the Korean publishing world, for instance, intimated that Koreans only read “famous” writers, i.e. reading is more about celebrity than literary engagement in contemporary Korean culture. I don’t know how true that is, but more on that in a moment…
The Border’s reading turned out a mostly-Korean audience (but let me not forget to thank to Devra and Pete, our intrepid non-Koreans!), the first in my experience thus far. (Even my reading with Nami Mun, also Korean American, at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, did not seem particularly populated by Korean Americans.) And, interestingly, the audience was almost split down the middle, between first-generation Koreans and second-generation Korean Americans. Thanks to a friend from the Korean church I attended as a child/youth, who brought out a handful of her friends, and to my “little” (now married) cousin Susan; along with an old family friend of my parents, who spread the word with a local first-generation writers’ group; it turned out to be a really interesting event and Q&A.
It was such a treat, and humbling, to have an attentive and interested audience among the older generation, who asked a slew of good questions (in English, thankfully!). The younger folks, too, engaged in the Q&A, and bought books for me to sign. A number of the older attendees bought books for their children and grandchildren.
Finally, friends Val and Pete came with daughter Claire (9). It was Claire’s birthday, and I was especially honored by her offer to be my “assistant” as I signed books. Claire is apparently now working on her own book, publication date TBD.
In a million years I would never consider myself a “representative” of my race or ethnicity. But that night, at Border’s, it was as if I was making a lot of people proud, more than just the people in the room; it was a great privilege.
Will a Korean publisher decide to translate Long for This World for Korean readers? We sincerely hope so. Stealing from my friend Ed Lin, whose Facebook-status-series, “C’mon, Chinese People!” cracks me up: ”C’mon, Korean people!”
Catching up and gathering up photos that others have sent my way — thanks to all! Unfortunately, I a) don’t have a real camera (just the Crackberry) and b) don’t have the picture-taking instinct, so often miss the moments. So truly, I am indebted.
These first ones (courtesy of novelist Sung J. Woo) from the Asian American Writers’ Workshop reading with Nami Mun (who is a genius, by the way, and so much fun):
This event was wow. Incredibly fun and engaging for us the authors, and (attendees have expressed) very memorable and inspiring for the audience — the Q&A must have gone on for over an hour! The whole thing was videotaped, so I look forward to revisiting and possibly posting somewhere for all to enjoy. My favorite comment from an attendee, who wrote me a note the next day: It was nice to listen to your words leaping out of your book as you read. Thank you for sharing your work.
Speaking of leaping, this next one makes me stupid happy:
Long for This World has gotten some wonderful review coverage in a couple of women’s magazines; and one reading attendee even pointed out to me in the Q&A that the readership for the book seems potentially very female. Which is all good! But here, at City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, the book is face out, sharing shelf space with Roth, Vonnegut, Hwang Sunwon, and Dave Eggers. It’s saying, “Read me, men!” The cover obviously highlights a female character, but there are a number of male characters in the book who are dear to my heart and, in my absurdly non-objective opinion, as complex and engaging as the female ones.
Ok, last — from friends Sarah and Jane:
Border’s at Time Warner Center; and B&N Court Street, Park Slope, and Lincoln Center.
Why is it so delightful to see one’s book on the shelves at a bookstore? I guess it’s the real-worldness of it. You labor in the dark for so long, every glimpse of incarnation is a kind of mini-celebration.
