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Asian American Heritage Month
"Yellow: Stories"
With Author Don Lee
Friday, May 18, 2001; 11 a.m. EDT
Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage month and talk with Don Lee, author of "Yellow: Stories" and editor of "Ploughshares," the literary journal at Emerson College.
"Yellow" is a contemporary collection of stories of what it means to be Asian in America. The book examines a post-immigrant experience of personal and cultural identity, race, and love. The book is set in a fictional California town where Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Americans flirt across racial lines and face fears of being ethnically "yellow." Each character faces challenges of basic human emotions such as love, attachment, success and self-acceptance with melodrama. These stories are smart and sexy, wry and evocative and carry a wide range of moods from loneliness, sly humor to romance.
Characters include Annie Yung, who has a passion for country
music; Duncan Roh, a big-wave surfer trying to transcend his reputation as a womanizer; Patrick and Brian Fenny, two Amerasians aspiring to be professional golfers but are deserted by their dad; and the Danny Kim, a teen boxing failure who became a successful businessman.
Lee lives in Boston, where for over 12 years has been the editor of the literary journal "Ploughshares." His stories have been published in GQ, New England Review, American Short Fiction, and Glimmer Train. He has also received fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and St. Botolph Club Foundation. He is a third-generation Korean American.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Don Lee: Good morning, folks. Please feel free to ask questions or make comments on (virtually) any subject, and I'll try to accommodate you.
Herndon, Va.:
Mr. Lee: Do you believe you're sometimes "labeled" as an "Asian-American" writer?
Don Lee: Most definitely, and not just sometimes. In a perfect world, I would like to be accepted as a writer, period. But regardless of what I do, I'm perceived with that qualifying label as an "Asian-American writer." During my book tour, every interviewer has asked me to make generalizations about Asian Americans. However, this isn't entirely unfair, since I have a couple of short stories in my collection--which isn't a polemic--that nonetheless directly address racism. And the fact is, it helps to promote the book. Literary fiction has a very small audience, and I wouldn't be getting any attention at all if it weren't for this marketing angle.
Alexandria Va.:
I'm a second gen Korean-American, born and raised in the Midwest in the 60s-70s. In those days it was tough, with people not even knowing what/where Korea was (despite the fact that the US fought a war there), and considering all Asians as interchangeable. I'm wondering if you were raised on either US coast. I've always wondered if my personality and views would be fundamentally different if I had grown up in California, for example, where (one would hope) the level of bigotry and ignorance toward Asians, even those born in the US, would have been less due to simple numbers.
Thanks.
Don Lee: I have ties to California and Hawaii, but mostly grew up on Army bases and embassy compounds in Korea and Japan (my father was in the State Dept.). But you're right: there is a difference between the coasts. There's much more acceptance and understanding of Asian culture in the West. I've often said that I didn't really know I was Asian until I moved to Boston.
Please Answer This!:
As a first-generation Korean American writer, I have since met the following dilemma: I feel that there is much pressure on the community of Asian writers to be in someway, "loyal" to their heritage in their writings.
What I mean is this: what are the social implications of writing a story that does not have characters speaking in broken english and eating rice, where instead, the Asian protaganist drinks at bars, gets wasted, has sex with strangers and eats rice with a fork?
How much expectation is there from the literati to enforce Asian stereotypes, even to some trivial degree? Is it scandalous, even now, to have an Asian-American protagnist who is "as American as apple pie?"
-- From a writer in turmoil
Don Lee: You're getting at something I was trying to accomplish with my book. Most of the Asian-American literature I'd seen dealt with FOBs--immigrants fresh off the boat. I wanted to write about people like me, third- and fourth-generation post-immigrant Asian Americans who are very much assimilated into the overall culture, but who have residual ethnic loyalties (that make them ambivalent), and who also face subtle acts of discrimination or stereotypes (that make them feel powerless or angry).
I wanted to show that Asian Americans can be just as individual and different, as sexy, artsy, feisty, athletic, articulate, neurotic, and screwed up as anyone else in America. So I've got Asians who are public defenders, artists, big-wave surfers, venture capitalists, poets, fishermen, and management consultants, and I also have Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino Americans.
But I also wanted to educate people about the kind of prejudice Asian Americans face every day. With literary fiction--an admittedly small audience--I always believed I was preaching to the converted. But I found out I was wrong one day in talking to a very well-educated, liberal academic, who told me he had never really thought Asians were discriminated against. So I allowed myself to go on the soapbox a bit.
As an ethnic writer, you really can't win. People will criticize you for being too ethnic or not ethnic enough.
New York, N.Y.:
Mr. Lee, how can we get a schedule of your book tours? And are you planning to write any more short stories in the future?
Don Lee: Unfortunately my tour is over. I was in NYC on April 25 and 26. I have a contract with my publisher, W.W. Norton, for a novel, and that's what I'll be concentrating on for the next few years, although I expect to continue writing stories, which I believe is a vastly underrated art form.
Washington, D.C.:
Mr. Lee:
Your novel sounds interesting-- does your novel deal with the stereotypes of Asian-American men-- asexual, unpowerful, cruel to women, etc.?
Of course, the stereotypes of AA females of being passive, mysterious, etc. exists as well.
What will it take for American media, society, etc. to get past this?
Don Lee: One could say (I don't) that the stereotypes are benevolent: All Asians are smart and hard-working. All Asian men are geeky engineers with high-flood-water pants and calculators on their belts. All Asian women are either passive, submissive chrysanthemums or seductive, manipulative hotties. I suppose it's true that these aren't hugely destructive stereotypes, but they are stereotypes nonetheless, and they can have hurtful consequences. I think to get rid of these stereotypes, Asian Americans are going to have to be more vocal and political.
Vienna, :
How did you come up with the characters for Oriental Hair Poets? Why did you use the term "oriental"? Also, did you know the women that you wrote about?
Don Lee: I had such an easy and fun time writing that story, "The Price of Eggs in China." I knew I wanted to write about a Japanese chairmaker, but nothing else. Then the phrase "Oriental Hair Poets" popped into my head, and the story simply took off. I did chose "Oriental" because it's a derogatory term, and a lot of people don't know that it's derogatory. The poets are VERY loosely based on some poets I used to know in Cambridge, Mass.
Same person who wrote Please Read..:
I think that's an interesting point, about the well-versed academic who said that he/she never thought Asians were discriminated against. I think white-collar, white Americans see Asians as the "majority" -- stereotypically, whether rooted in fact or fiction, an unthreatening, hard-working race with many in white-collar jobs.
Whether it's conscious or not, Asians are often seen as the "acceptable" minority. I've often heard people say, "Oh, I don't like blacks or Latin people, but Asians...they're ok. They work hard." Regardless, it's all still racism when you strip away the nicities.
Don Lee: Yes, exactly.
New York City:
1. Do you have an agent?
2. In your opinion, what do publishers and literary agents consider a "hot sell" when a story is written by an Asian American? Do they only consider FOB-type stories as sellable?
3. How did you get started with your writing career? When did you feel like it was really taking flight?
Don Lee: I do have an agent, and I think it's important to get one before approaching publishers. Right now, I think there's a backlash against "immigrant" or "multiculti" lit. But it's a continual ebb and flow. The gist of your question is on the mark, however. Publishers need some way to sell books, and this is one that has been successful in the past.
New York NY:
Mr. Lee, as a Korean American adoptee, I was quite impressed that you even depicted a relationship of a Korean American adoptee
and an older man. I really enjoyed your book and would like to know how would I go about getting you to sign my book? :P
(waves to the igoo people)
Don Lee: Thanks. I'll get the Washington Post to contact you with an address.
New York, N.Y.:
Mr. Lee: Are there any particular writers whom you look to as models for your own work?
Don Lee: Quite a few. I'm a big Fitzgerald fan. More contemporary: Richard Ford, Tim O'Brien, Kazuo Ishiguro, Haruki Murakami, Alice Munro.
Don Lee: Addendum to the person who wanted a book signed. Please go to my brand-new website (not much there right now) and e-mail me, and I'll give you an address.
http://www.don-lee.com
Tysons Va:
Mr. Lee, I am from Vietnam but was raised here in the U.S. for 22 yrs. Throughout my life, I have observed 2 things about Asians. 1st, referring to the FOBs that you mentioned, they are very unfriendly and seem to think they are better. 2nd, Koreans (not all), but a trend in the way they are raised and told by their parents that they 'are' the superior Asian race (I hear this from Korean friends). Have you experienced/encountered these views?
Don Lee: I think every person of a specific Asian background believes his or her particular ethnicity is superior, and I find this humorous.
Centreville, Va.:
Being 1st generation Filipino-american it bothers me that all Asians (Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, etc.) are clumped together in the media. Just because you're "yellow" skinned you are automatically type casted into a "chinese concubine" or a "chinese store clerk" or the villian in some kind of action film. Do you think that the media will ever change and actually cast Asians in "normal" roles and not stereotyped roles?
Don Lee: As I said above, it will take time and political pressure. Asian Americans will have to lobby for change. I remember watching the TV show "M*A*S*H" when I was a kid, and listening to an actor (Japanense) speaking gibberish that was supposed to approximate Korean!
Alexandria, Va.:
The fact that you're based in the Boston area is interesting, since I lived there during my time at MIT 20 years ago. I've noticed that the student body has become even more heavily "Asianized" (for want of a better term), similar to places such as Berkeley and other prestigious campuses. Do you feel that this a continuing trend and is it healthy?
Wouldn't the perceptions we face become more realistic if Asian Americans were content to attend more "mainstream" universities? Or even more radically, to forego college altogether and learn to become skilled service workers such as plumbers, carpenters or auto service techs?
Don Lee: I have mixed feelings about factionalizing according to race on campus. It's become very sticky, and polarizing, yet it's a way of ensuring representation. On the other hand, I know that many whites resent the whole thrust of multiculturalism. I think in time Asians will become more mainstream.
Silver Spring, Md.:
During the past month, presumably for Asian American month, washingtonpost.com has scheduled three Americans of East Asian descent (a Chinese American, a Japanese American, and now you, a Korean American). Why no Americans of South Asian or Southeast Asian descent? It seems to me if they are going to have an month they call Asian American, they should be more inclusive, or call it East Asian American month if that is what they mean. washingtonpost.com:
Actually, we did feature a South Asian author. Manil Suri, author of "The Death of Vishnu," was online May 9, 2001 at 1 p.m. EDT. You can read the transcript:
http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/01/authors_suri0509.htm.
Don Lee: This goes back to the unfair umbrella of "Asian," doesn't it?
Alexandria Again:
Yeah, this idea of AAs being the "good" minority (almost like white folks!) led to some interesting experiences for both my father and father-in-law, when they had to travel in the segregated Southern US in the 1950s and 60s. Sometimes my dad would sit in the middle of the public buses (in between the whites in the front and the blacks in the back), until they figured out what to do with him...my father-in-law was an officer in the South Korean navy and on trips to Norfolk VA he was treated as an "honorary" White Person so that he could use those facilities and the like. Like someone else implied, it would almost be funny if it wasn't so sad back then.
Don Lee: As Asians, we definitely are in a middle ground. There have been occasions when whites have included me as one of their own, and confided their prejudices against blacks and Hispanics.
Arlington, Va.:
I was talking to a friend in Ireland the other day, and I described someone as Asian. She was very confused, and when she finally realized who I was talking about, she said, "Oh, you're mean he's Oriental." Apparently, many people in Europe, or at least Ireland and the UK, have a more limited view of who would be included as Asian (those from India, Pakistan, etc.). Do you ever find that here?
Don Lee: I didn't even know about the term "SA" until recently. South Asian. It does seem strange to me that "Asian" encompasses the entire continent--people so vastly different.
Washington D.C.:
Have you heard of the 1.5 generation phenomenon? It's said to be the most prevalent in asian americans. They lose touch with their parent culture within 1.5 generations, can't speak the language, etc. Why do you think this is more prevalent in Asians?
Don Lee: I thought the 1.5 generation referred to those who were born overseas but raised in the US?
My biggest regret is that I've lost my languages. At one point, I had a good conversational grasp of Korean and Japanese. When I was younger, however, I had a real identity crisis, and felt shame--I'm ashamed to admit now--about being Asian. I wanted to be white, to repudiate my Asian-ness. That probably had a lot to do with losing the languages and other cultural attachments.
Almost White?:
Had to jump in with a personal experience. When I was born (mid-60s) in the South, there was no "Asian American" box to check on the birth certificate, which provided only two options, "White" and "Colored". Being new immigrants, my parents weren't really sure what that all meant anyway, so they left it blank. The well-meaning doctor "corrected" them and checked "white". My parents later forced the clerk to type in "Chinese"
Don Lee: I find stories like this fascinating because it's such recent history.
New York, NY:
You said that "Oriental" is a derogatory term, although many people don't know that. Why exactly is that? All it means is "Eastern"--there's no inherent prejudice in the etymology. Is this a case of "it's an older term and so is presumed to have a lot of attending baggage, so we must come up with a new, baggage-free term"? (something which frustrates a lot of older people, because they're constantly being told, "You can't call them that anymore" and because it feels arbitrary.) Or is it because it's biased--i.e., Oriental-Eastern presumes one is discussing from the Occidental-Western point of view. This would be a case of bias, but not necessarily prejudice (i.e., subjective, but not necessarily pejorative).
Don Lee: My understanding is that the phrase has become a no-no because it pigeonholes Asians into exoticized stereotypes, e.g., Charlie Chan. I agree with you in general, though: sometimes political correctness goes too far.
Arlington, Va.:
Mr. Lee,
I am a first generation Filipino-American. I was born in the Mid-West and my father was career U.S. Army soldier. I seem to encounter throughout my life an instant prejudice from filipinos born in the Philippines. The first question I get asked is, "Do you speak Tagalog." When I answer no, the conversation is over. There is no point for them to continue to speak to me in English, a language they are also fluent in. My impression is that they feel I've betrayed my heritage since I do not speak the language. Do you get this same negative experience from Korean-born immigrants?
Don Lee: Certainly some Korean Americans express disappointment that I don't speak the language, but thus far I haven't been shut out like you.
Watertown, Mass.:
Would you agree that the minimalist sensibility in short fiction has been noticeably prevalent among white writers rather than among writers of color? Any theories about this? Do you feel attracted to the tactics of minimalism?
Don Lee: I don't think minimalism is particular to race, and I believe that as a literary trend it's seen its day and is now pretty much gone. I see writers more interested in robust narrative and language, plots.
Don Lee: I think we have to close the discussion now. Thanks so much for dropping by. I'd appreciate your telling friends and family members about my book. Take care.
washingtonpost.com:
That was our last question today. Thanks to everyone who joined the
discussion.
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