• Raconteuse Radio

    Season 2, Episode 028: My First Time

    February 8, 2022 - By 

    Guilliean reads her creative non-fiction piece of the same name. Stream it and read along with the text! The first time I had a transformative bowl of killer ramen was the day after my first date with my boyfriend. Being American, all I knew was Maruchan. However, my genetic disposition for heart disease put the swift kibosh on that. But, at its core, I knew ramen was soup. I was raised on soups and stews. I could get on board with that. My handsome date advised adding black garlic oil to whatever ramen bowl I chose that day. I didn’t…

  • Photo by Abdelrahman Ismail on Unsplash
    Tsundoku

    Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

    February 3, 2022 - By 

    I bestowed Ray Bradbury with the honorary title of being the grandfather of my literary aesthetic: cinematic absurdism. I found an essay (an interview, really) in this book where he states “All my stories are cinematic. … I may be the most cinematic novelist in the country today. All of my short stories can be shot right off the page. Each paragraph is a shot.” Ray Bradbury I knew there was a reason why I enjoyed his work so much! That is how I approach my writing: every dialogue break, every inch of white space, is simply a subtle stage…

  • Photo by Abdelrahman Ismail on Unsplash
    Tsundoku

    Unbound Feet by Judy Yung x A Larger Memory by Ronald T. Takaki

    February 1, 2022 - By 

    Happy Lunar New Year, one and all. May the Year of the Tiger bless you and your family this year. In celebration of this event, I’m sharing a review of the books Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco by Judy Yung and A Larger Memory: A History of Our Diversity with Voices by Ronald Takaki. The thesis of Unbound Feet is that a storied and engaging history is found through the lens of Chinese American women, and their voices are as valid as any other. The thesis of A Larger Memory was that by telling…