National Bestseller Cathy Park Hong Visits the UWB Campus

Cathy Park Hong, national bestseller, recipient of the 2020 National Books Critics Circle Award for Autobiography, and the author of Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning (2020), Engine Empire (2012), Dance, Dance, Revolution (2006), and Translating Mo’um (2002), joined us at UWB for an informal talk and luncheon prior to her Graduate School lecture on December 1st, 2022. Hong joined students and faculty in IAS, the MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics, and the Master’s of Arts in Cultural Studies Program to answer questions about her books, writing practice, and pedagogy. Hosted by IAS faculty Amaranth Borsuk and Ching-In Chen, the conversation addressed a broad range of topics, including the vulnerability of sharing personal history in a work of nonfiction, the author’s relationship with broken English and multilingualism, and how a book of poems comes together.

After the dialogue, the group shared a luncheon where the conversation continued and students had the opportunity to chat with Cathy Park Hong and have their books signed. That evening, Hong and Chen discussed Minor Feelings, taking questions from an audience of over 400 people who had gathered for Hong’s Graduate School Public lecture. Borsuk introduced the pair.

Hong’s visits to UW Seattle and UWB were co-sponsored by The Graduate School, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics, and the UW Bothell Office of the Chancellor. We were deeply grateful for her time and generosity with our community.