|
On the one hand, with the country in complete chaos, I feel like this is a terrible time to have a book launch. On the other hand, because of the hateful lunacy that is going on, there's probably no better time to remind people that this country belongs to all immigrants (and honestly, the country belongs to NO immigrants either since we are all squatting on land stolen from the Indigenous population who was here first). But since we immigrants are here, let's celebrate our unique identities and our place in North American history. Today is the Ching Ming (also known as Qing Ming or Qing Ming in Mandarin) Festival. It's been celebrated by the Chinese for over 2,500 years. My fond memories of celebrating it as a child in Hong Kong have never faded over the past five plus decades, and some years ago, I wrote a story that incorporated my warm, fuzzy feelings about it with a fictional Chinese family that had lived in America for several generations. It's the story of my heart but it took a while for the right people in publishing to appreciate it. Author and historian, Leonard Marcus, wrote some very kind words about the story which ended up winning Silver in the Astra International Picture Book Competition, and it was ultimately bought by Astra Young Readers for publication.  Astra found the most incredible illustrator for the story. William Low is a fine artist whose work is evocative and dreamy. He completely elevated the story and breathed such life into the characters.
One of my all time favorite poems is about Ching Ming (清明). Written by the poet 杜枚, who lived in the late Tang Dynasty, it goes: 清明時節雨紛紛， 路上行人欲斷魂。 借問酒家何處有， 牧童遙指杏花村。 There's a translation for the poem as well as a short video of a cute kid reciting it on the Cantonese for Families site. If you want to find out more about this very cool holiday, you can check out this brief Smithsonian article, or read my book, CLEAR AND BRIGHT, which comes out today to coincide with Ching Ming!
0 Comments
Yesterday was International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which is always a good excuse to celebrate one of the most amazing women in science: Wu Chien Shiung. Dr. Wu was born in a small town in China, but immigrated to the United States to do a Ph.D. in physics and then stayed to become a professor and researcher. Despite the racism and sexism she faced in America, she became one of the most renowned and revered scientists of her day. Top physicists like Richard Feynman and Enrico Fermi sought her out to perform experiments that backed up their theories and therefore helped them win the Nobel Prize. Sadly, like so many notable women, she did not win one herself. In addition, during World War II, she was part of the Los Alamos group that helped to win the war. Most media, like the film Oppenheimer, do not generally include her and her efforts. In her later years, she conducted research to help people who suffered from sickle cell anemia, as well as funded initiatives to train girls in the fields of science.
Her contributions were honored posthumously by a commemorative postage stamp! Immigrants such as Wu enriched, and, yes, even save, the United States. This country would be so much worse off if not for those like her. To learn more about Professor Wu, read Queen of Physics and check out the other resources on my website. (Unfortunately, when nonfiction books are talked about, those on immigrants, and their experiences and contributions, are still largely ignored, as in this example below.)  |
AboutI'm in the process of moving content from my Wordpress blog to here. I'd love for you to follow me here; we will have fun together! Archives
March 2025
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed