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face to face with Maxine Hong Kingston
“Remember to breathe, pay attention, and tell the truth.”
—
Maxine Hong Kingston
Washington State University, March 13, 2003
“Who Speaks for America?” series, sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and the Department of Comparative Ethnic Studies
| ask. |
Can you tell me how your new book, The Fifth Book of Peace, was named? |
| MHK |
Chinese legend says there existed three books of peace, which were probably lost in cultural revolutions and changes in regime; it was a tradition to burn the libraries of historians of previous regimes. So three books of peace were lost in China. I was thinking that we need a book of peace for our time. I was working on a book, in which I thought about how we could write dramatically without writing violently. I was working on that book for two years, and then it burned in the (1991 Oakland/Berkeley Hills) fire. So, I thought about it as the fourth book of peace, and so when I began again, it was the fifth book of peace. |
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| ask. |
Woman Warrior has been called the most read, most quoted, most taught book on American university campuses. Did you have the sense that this book would have that sort of impact when you were working on it? |
| MHK |
I probably did because my attitude while I am writing is that I am speaking to everyone, and I am speaking across borders and boundaries, and I am also engaging with the people from the past and also our descendents, and so I do have that sense of immortality, that I want to communicate with all humanity. |
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| ask. |
How do you deal with criticism? Do you pay it any mind? Does it play a role in your creative process somehow? |
| MHK |
When I first started getting negative criticism, it felt really bad, and I kept thinking is there something I can learn from this. I tried, but I could not. I remember a friend said to me, “Don’t let them make you pull your punches,” and that was very helpful. |
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| ask. |
Growing up, was your family encouraging and constructive? What was your childhood like? |
| MHK |
My parents were readers and storytellers. I think that is very important in my upbringing. Both of them would sing Chinese poetry. My father had classical poetry memorized; he had all of Confucius memorized; he would just sing it. My mother comes from a line of professional storytellers. We always had bedtime stories that were sagas. I think that it was a great upbringing for a writer. Although when I wrote, I felt that it was my secret. It was a wonderful secret treasure of my own, and I didn’t want anybody to know about it or see it. I didn’t want anyone to know I was doing it. I am sort of like that to this day. When I am first composing something, I don’t want anybody to look at it because I guess that I don’t want them to criticize or say how dumb the idea is. That first moment of inventing something, it is in its incoherent shape; you allow yourself to be as free as you feel the need to be, including all your stupid thoughts, invisible visions that have not been shaped and formed before. If somebody looks at it too early, it is almost like breaking into an embryo or egg. I always keep that first part secret. |
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| ask. |
Tell me about your arrest along with Alice Walker and others in the anti-Iraq war protest in D.C. (March 2003) |
| MHK |
The idea was Code Pink. It was International Women’s Day. We would be women gathered in Washington, D.C., to try to stop the war, women practicing nonviolence. It was amazing. Women came from all over the United States. This was the first time in my life I have been arrested. This was also the first time in my life that I have experienced the energy of women, feminine energy. I’ve been on demonstrations before that were confrontational, macho, violent. I experienced for myself what nonviolence feels like. We were handcuffed, put in paddy wagons, fingerprinted, and in jail for four hours. The one terrible thing that I saw for myself was the journalists were arrested first. One of them was Pam Goodman; she does the “Democracy Now” show that is on public radio. She was obviously there as a journalist, and they took her camera and handcuffed her. Later she said to me that an event does not happen if it is not witnessed and photographed by a journalist. Pennsylvania Avenue was blocked off by police, and the Washington Post, New York Times, and “ABC News” could not get through. I wish they had been there. |
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| ask. |
Do you have a philosophy of life? |
| MHK |
Remember to breathe, pay attention, and tell the truth. I tell my students that we artists are always looking for inspiration, and all inspiration means is “breathe in.” If you breathe in and breathe out, you are inspired. The creativity will take place. |
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| ask. |
Do you enjoy nurturing others? |
| MHK |
I think that I have two callings in life; one is to write, and the other is to teach. I have been teaching since my 20s. I think I have taught every level of school. I enjoy enlightening students. |
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| ask. |
What would you consider a fun or pleasant afternoon? |
| MHK |
Go out and work in the garden. After the house burned, the woman next door was a widow, and she said that a woman alone can’t rebuild. So we bought her lot and turned it into a garden. Sometimes when I pick something like the fl owers, food, or vegetables, I think God and I did this. We did this together, we made this apple together. |
About Maxine Hong Kingston
Maxine Hong Kingston’s list of awards includes the 1981 American Book Award for general nonfiction for China Men, which was also runnerup for the Pulitzer Prize. Kingston is best known for her book Warrior Women, which won numerous awards including the 1976 National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction.
Who Speaks for America?
1984 – “Who Speaks for America?” speaker series created by Alex Kuo, professor of comparative ethnic studies and English. Poet Carolyn Kizer was the first speaker. Nearly 40 speakers have appeared as part of the series, including Ishmael Reed, Joy Harjo, Leslie Silko, Sherman Alexie, Winona LaDuke, and John Nichols. |
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