Meet Ken Chen!
Novelist V.V. Ganeshananthan recently visited The Asian American Writers' Workshop to interview its new Executive Director - Ken Chen. The interview begins with some small talk, as Workshop Administrative Director Jeannie Wong prints out a computerized astrological profile of both Ganeshananthan and Chen. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
V.V. Ganeshananthan: So, why did you choose to join the Workshop at this time?
Ken Chen: I think I tend to work best when I am in a situation that involves creativity and problem-solving. I've been pretty involved in entrepreneurial arts projects in the past. I started a monthly news and literature magazine called Satellite and I worked on a cultural website, Arts & Letters Daily. Like these projects, the Workshop requires someone who is both left and right-brained -- someone with a lot of spastic creative energy but also the ability to be organized.
V.V. : Where did you come from before becoming joining the Workshop?
Ken Chen: I'm a writer and I previously worked as a lawyer at a mid-sized litigation firm. But I was still writing when I was in law school. I woke up every day at seven and worked on my novel manuscript. I taught a poetry workshop. Being a lawyer and writer is helpful for the Workshop because I can sit on both sides of the table. I can be organized and aggressive in terms of fundraising and project management, but I'm also sensitive to how the Workshop can help writers.
In fact, this works as an analogy for the Workshop's dual roles: externally, the Workshop serves as the authority on Asian American literature, and internally, it has always functioned as a nurturing haven for writers, both emerging and established.
Chen pauses to answer the phone - it's his mother, who is calling to provide the exact time of his birth, a variable required for the astrological services of Jeannie Wong.
Ken (to mother): Well, thank you for giving birth to me! (Hangs up.) My mom says it took thirty-seven hours to give birth to me.
V.V. : That's ... inspirational.
Ken: I'm a very inspirational person. (Laughs.) Actually, everyone who works here is required to put my framed photograph on their desk.
V.V. : Do you believe in astrology?
Ken: No.
V.V. : Your astrological report says Geminis are "talkative, quick-witted, and have innate curiosity about everything, creative." It also says you have lower back pain. Do you have lower back pain?
Ken: Yes.
Jeannie Wong: You can put in that I believe in astrology!
Ken: You can put in that staff member Jeannie Wong has compiled an astrological database of several highly prominent Asian American writers.
(All laugh.)
V.V. : Like who?
Jeannie: Well, I have information for Regie Cabico, a poet who recently read with us.
V.V. : I heard that after Regie Cabico visited, he called you the Korean Barack Obama, which made me laugh really hard, because --
Ken: He did call me the Korean Barack Obama. The funny thing is, I didn't even tell him I was running for president! Actually, I am Chinese, but when I was growing up my dad's girlfriend was Korean and Regie, of course, sensed that. (Laughs.) And my stepdad was a Caucasian American guy from Denver.
V.V. : What a melting pot! I've never liked that term. (To Jeannie) What about Ken being a Gemini?
Jeannie: Now that I've worked with him it makes sense. He's intellectual and kind of hops all over the place and likes bouncing ideas off of people. I can see it in him.
Ken: What about Pisces? (Ganeshananthan's sign.)
Jeannie: They definitely are moody. It's a water sign.
Ken (reading from astrology report) : And you apparently love aviation, hunting, and professional drag racing.
Jeannie: See, even the skeptics still have so much to say about astrology!
V.V. : Even Korean Barack Obama here.
Ken: I'm spreading a message of audacious hope and kim chi! We're having an open house in May and I'm looking forward to getting as many people involved in the Workshop as possible.
V.V. Ganeshananthan is the author of the novel Love Marriage and Vice President of the South Asian Journalists Association.
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