My family immigrated when I was 3, and our predecessors inhabited the Korean Peninsula for as long as can be recalled. Chang-Rae Lee Read Quote
I write on a computer. On breaks, I’ll make myself green tea. I don’t want something too caffeinated. I guess I don’t believe in chemical enhancement of my writing. Just slight, but nothing crazy. Chang-Rae Lee Read Quote
As for what’s the most challenging aspect of teaching, it’s convincing younger writers of the importance of reading widely and passionately. Chang-Rae Lee Read Quote
I don’t believe complete assimilation is possible, at least not for anyone who has an active, open mind. Every step, every entry into the flows of existence can be seen as a beginning, a commencement of a brand new way of seeing oneself in the world. This is the case for everyone. Chang-Rae Lee Read Quote
One of the ready advantages of writing a road or quest story is that it mirrors the experience of writing a novel. Chang-Rae Lee Read Quote
I think my parents recognised that I’d always wanted to be a writer, and so they didn’t think that this was some idle, faddish wish on my part. Chang-Rae Lee Read Quote
Before I start my work in the morning, I need to have quickly browsed the entire paper, noting articles that I want to read during lunch. Chang-Rae Lee Read Quote
In my teaching, I try to expose my students to the widest range of aesthetic possibilities, so I’ll offer them stories from Anton Chekhov to Denis Johnson, from Flannery O’Connor to A.M. Homes, and perhaps investigating all that strange variation of beauty has rubbed off on me. Or perhaps that’s why I enjoy teaching literature. Chang-Rae Lee Read Quote
What’s fun about a dystopian novel is that we can enjoy and be entertained. But that world is only slightly different, right? It’s familiar enough to be recognizable, and skewed enough to give us pause. Chang-Rae Lee Read Quote
Unlike F. Scott Fitzgerald and Tom Wolfe, I don’t like proper dress while working. I like writing in pajama-like clothing, which eases and relaxes me and allows me to connect with the decidedly improper. Chang-Rae Lee Read Quote
