Maureen Sun reads from her debut novel "The Sisters K" and Jennifer Chang reads from her latest collection of poetry "An Authentic Life." The readings will be followed by a moderated discussion.
In Maureen Sun’s novel "The Sisters K," after years of estrangement, Minah, Sarah, and Esther have been forced together again. Called to their father’s deathbed, the sisters must confront a man little changed by the fact of his mortality. Eugene Kim, vicious and pathetic in equal measure, wants one thing: to see which of his children will abject themselves for his favor-- and more importantly, his fortune.
Sprawling yet urgent, meditative yet lucid, the poems in Jennifer Chang’s third collection, "An Authentic Life", offer a bold examination of a world deeply influenced by war and patriarchy. In dialogues against literature, against philosophy, and against God, Chang interrogates the “fathers” who stand at the center of history. These poems navigate wounds opened by exploration of family and generational trauma and draw on the author’s experiences as a mother, as the daughter of immigrants, and as a citizen of our deeply divided nation.
About the Speakers:
Maureen Sun has taught literature at Princeton, Barnard, NYU, and the University of Hong Kong. She is at work on a second novel. Her work has been recognized in The Best American Essays 2021.
Jennifer Chang is the author of "The History of Anonymity" and "Some Say the Lark", which received the 2018 William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America. She is the poetry editor of New England Review and teaches at the University of Texas in Austin.
Cosponsored by Labyrinth Books, The Lewis Center for the Arts and the library.
Presented with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
