Writers on the Record: Ha Jin

Start: Thu, 01/14/2010 - 6:00pm

Novelist and poet Ha Jin, who won the National Book Award in 1999 for Waiting, will discuss his new collection of short stories, A Good Fall.

Set in the city of Flushing, New York – which hosts a large immigrant Chinese community - these twelve stories explore the myriad challenges experienced by recent transplants to the United States. Jin deftly probes the loneliness, dislocation, and anxiety his characters suffer, along with their excitement in new surroundings, the chafing of one generation against another, and the inevitable fear that transpires when the familiar past gives way to the often incomprehensible present: Americanized-children clash with their traditionalist elders in scenarios that play out in countless immigrant families; a botched suicide results in a new life that could never have been imagined; a tender relationship is described between a lonely composer and his girlfriend’s parakeet. Through humor, detail, and an ever- poetic point of view, Ha Jin creates a bouquet of resilient, courageous individuals. A Good Fall has been highly praised as “marvelous – one of the most powerful books of the year,” “not to be missed – a beautifully written, elegant, subtle and yet always precise collection” and “Ha Jin’s best book yet.”

The free, hour-long interview is a partnership between the Chicago Public Library and 98.7WFMT radio, with a taping at 6:00 p.m. in the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium at the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State Street. The interview will be broadcast at noon on Sunday, January 17th. The Seminary Co-Op Bookstores sells books at the event, which is underwritten by Graver Capital Management LLC. The events are free, no reservations required, with seating on a first-come basis.

Location:

Harold Washington Library
400 S. State Street
Chicago, Illinois 60605