Part
of writing a novel is being willing to leap into the blackness. You have very
little idea, really, of what's going to happen. You have a broad sense, maybe,
but it's this rash leap. – Chang-Rae Lee
Born in
Korea on this date in 1965, Lee is a novelist and professor of creative
writing at Princeton where he has headed up that program for many years. Lee has used his Korean immigrant experience
as a focal point for his award-winning writing.
But, while that is his own focus, he stresses with students to be aware
of a broad spectrum of writing and writing styles.
“I'll offer them stories from Anton
Chekhov to Denis Johnson, from Flannery O'Connor to A.M. Homes. Perhaps investigating all that strange
variation of beauty has rubbed off on me … (and) that's why I enjoy teaching
literature.” 
Lee's first novel, Native Speaker, won numerous prizes,
including the prestigious Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. The novel centers
around a Korean American industrial spy and explores themes of alienation and
betrayal as felt or perpetrated by immigrants and first-generation citizens,
something he’s repeated in other works.
Lee's first novel, Native Speaker, won numerous prizes,
including the prestigious Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. The novel centers
around a Korean American industrial spy and explores themes of alienation and
betrayal as felt or perpetrated by immigrants and first-generation citizens,
something he’s repeated in other works.
Often, he said, he isn’t sure where
he’s headed when he starts writing, but that’s not a bad thing. As for what's the most challenging aspect of
teaching, he said it is convincing younger writers of the importance of reading
widely and passionately. “I often think that the prime directive
for me as a teacher of writing is akin to that for a physician, which is this:
do no harm.”
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