New York Times bestselling author R.F. Kuang visited Harris Hall on Friday evening for a talk and Q&A session with English and Asian American Studies Prof. Michelle Huang, hosted by Northwestern’s Asian American Studies Program.
Known for her bestselling trilogy “The Poppy War” and satire “Yellowface,” Kuang focuses heavily on critiquing systems of violence and oppression in her books while drawing from her research on Sinophone and Asian American literature.
Kuang’s books span several genres, from historical fantasy to literary fiction, and she said each of her novels derive their inspiration from a speculative question that once challenged her creatively.
Kuang’s 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards winning novel, “Yellowface,” is a psychological satire. The book follows white author June Hayward as she sells her late Chinese-American friend’s novel as her own, rebranding herself as the ethnically ambiguous “Juniper Song” in the process. From there, “Song” must balance her overnight success with hiding her real identity.
“Yellowface” was primarily shaped by a therapy exercise called “yes, and?” according to Kuang. While the point of the exercise is to make one realize their situation is not as bad as it seems, Kuang said she retooled it to figure out all the ways her troubled protagonist could worsen her “deliciously awkward” situation.
“Let’s follow everything to its worst possible conclusion,” Kuang said. “What if you messed up every single thing about a book launch?”
In addition to discussing her books, Kuang described key moments from her writing process.
While working as a professional translator converting Chinese sci-fi stories into English, Kuang said she was set on finding the most accurate matches for each word. She quickly realized there was no perfect translation between words and phrases across languages.
“There’s always this floating web of meaning that you have to make compromises with,” Kuang said. “I already thought (translation) was magic — the fact that text can travel thousands of years to us.”
The sensational side of translation is what inspired the magic in “Babel,” Kuang said, which relies heavily on the analytical foundations of etymology and linguistics. In the book, “match-pairs” of translated words written on silver bars have the power to accomplish a variety of tasks, from healing wounds to lighting cities.
Asian American Studies Prof. Tara Fickle said she is a fan of Kuang’s and even organized an undergraduate reading group for “Babel.” Fickle credited the novel as a “teachable and accessible” jumping point for talking about the effects of imperialism.
“I’m very glad that this book exists,” Fickle said. “I feel like it gets people to talk about issues they may not normally see in fiction.”
The crowd of roughly 80 attendees included both new and old fans of Kuang’s work.
Attendee and Litowitz MFA+MA student Robin Seiler said she enjoys Kuang’s work.
“(Kuang’s books) are really fascinating, and they’re very unique books in a way,” Seiler said. “They’re kind of unflinching.”
As a current Yale University graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in East Asian languages and literatures, Kuang said she compartmentalizes her academic and novel writing.
Kuang said she appreciates the opportunity to switch between writing styles, as writing a novel for more than three hours a day causes her to “get sick of these people I made up.”
“I’m longing for something more grounded, Kuang said. “I don’t want to be a solitary voice anymore; I want to be responding to people … It’s a pleasure to go back and forth.”
On the subject of school, Kuang said she is no stranger to NU’s campus. She made regular weekend visits while her now-husband was an undergraduate student, even spending a summer at the Sigma Phi Epsilon house.
“My husband will be upset if I don’t say, ‘Go ’Cats,’” Kuang said. “It’s really nice to be back on campus.”
Email: migueltsang2028@u.northwestern.edu
Email: sydneygaw2027@u.northwestern.edu
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