life of th mind
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M a x i n e Hong K i n g st o n
Acclaimed author Maxine Hong Kingston brings poetic gift to PLU cclaimed author Maxine Hong Ki ngston talked about her search for poetry and peace d uring a visit to PLU. Ki ngston is best known for her novel "The Woman \Varrior: Memoirs of a Gi rlhood Among Gh osts," which chronicles Chinese myths, family sto ries and events from her California childhood that have shaped her identi ty as a first generation Chi nese American. Kingsron finds herse lf creat ing her own srories by fi lling in the blanks her mo[her left. The book won the National Book Critics C i rcle Award and was named one of Time Magazine'S to p nonfiction books o f the 1 970s. Ki ngston, also wrote the award -winning novels "Ch ina Men" and "Tripmaster Monkey." PLU English professor Lisa Marclls is one of several professors who teach Kingsron in the classroom, and consid ers her "one of the most i mportant writ ers of the last three decades." While at PLU, Ki.ngsron discussed everything from Chinese-American cul ture to creative writing ro making peace. Kingston said she is excited by PLU's
Wang Center fo r I n ternational Programs, especially PLU's Peace Studies classes and the Peace Studies Working Group. " [ think it is absol ute ly wonderful," she said. "Learning abou t peace i n the classroom is the first step. I hope the process will create PLU students who will write the peace works of the fu ture." Kingston's latest work, "The Fifth Book of Peace," has taken an extraordi nary jou rney. Traced all the way back ro the late 1 980s, it all began with a rumor she heard regardi ng three lost books of peace i n China. She hoped ro track them down to " balance the dam age" done by Sun-Tzu's famous book "The Art of\Var." After years of research in China, she wrote her fictional book of peace, only to see i t destroyed in the 1 9 9 1 Oa kland Hi lls fi re. After that, she wrote an entirely new book-this time non-fic tion and personal-reflecting on her ideas on ending conflict and her CO I11ing to terms with the Vietnam War. Wriring an almost 800-page peace work of her own revealed changes about her future as a writer. "At that point, I wanted to be socially i rresponsible," she said with a smile. " [ wanted t o write as [ did a s a c h i ld, about my fecli ngs, my inside." To do that, Kingston turned to poetry.
The result was the rece ntly released "To Be the Poet," in which Kingston chronicles her attempts to adopt " the life of the poet," and i n later sections shares her poems. Kingston, who is also a creative writ ing professor at the University of California, Berkeley, wants to continue shaking up how college students are taught creative writing. Ki ngston does n't back away from her 1 970s statement that col.lege interfered with her creativi ty. "Creative writing is a seed , it mustn't be criticized right away," Ki ngston said. " College writing has to be abou t build ing a supportive com munity of writ ers." In her own Berkeley classroom, she takes time out for activities like meditation, which helps her students move from a "rational to an imagina tive state." At a campus reading and discussion, she encou raged all to participate i n her favorite fo rm, the shorr poem. Kingsron, PLU students and faculty shared their immediate responses, with everything from the i nspirational, ("Desire never says enough,") to the political, ("Inspections, Not WaL") "That is what I love ab out poetry, both the d iscovery and response are im mediate," Ki ngston said. "It is a gift." By Drew Brown