Chang-Rae.doc
- 1. Professor Chang-rae Lee Draws Praise With His New Book, Aloft, Lee Flies High W hen Chang-rae Leejoined Princeton's faculty in 2002, President Tilghman hailed him as "a rising star among Ameri- can novelists:'Now,as he helps aspiring undergraduate writers reach new literary heights in Princeton's Program in CreativeWriting, his third novel, Alr1i,is accelerating his own ascent. The book made TheNew ThrkTimesbest-seller list. It was described by TheWashingtonPostas the work of a "master craftsman:' And it has been optioned for development into a screenplay.That would be enough, but Lee isespecially gratified His novels move readers to examine lIthe nature of the communitiesll they inhabit. by the audience that the novel is attracting. "I'm very pleased with the reception," he says,"and with the sense that my readership has expanded significantly with this book:' The novel focuses on Jerry Battle, a Long Island suburbanite and amateur pilot who keeps a dis- tance between himself and his loved ones, until a series of family misfortunes forces him to forge connections with them. Lee's first two novels, NativeSpeakerand A GestureLife,centered on pro- tagonists who, like Lee, are Korean-Americans. This led to the label of Asian-American writer, but that is not how he sees himself. His books explore themes that are common to the American experience - dislocation, assimilation and community.That maybe the reason that three very different places - Seattle, Princeton and New York City - have chosen his works for community reading programs. "Mybooks illus- trate the conflicts and tensions that can occur in a community,"Lee says,"which gets people talking about the nature of the communities we live in:' Lee had a quintessentially suburban childhood. His family emigrated from South Korea when he was three years old, but Lee grew up in Westchester County, outside of NewYorkCity.He m,yored in English at Yale University and later took ajob on Wall Street. After a year, he quit to pursue writing, work- ing odd jobs before enrolling in a master of fine arts pro- gram at the University of Oregon. He taught there for five years before returning to NewYork,where he developed the MFAprogram in creativewriting at Hunter College. He came to Princeton as an Old Dominion Fellowof the Chang-rae Lee Humanities Council in 200l,joining the faculty the followingyear as a professor in the Council of the Humanities and Program in Creative Writing. In his short time on campus, Lee has earned a reputation for being a committed teacher who is readily accessible to his students. A.Jay Katsir '04, who wrote a novel for his senior thesis, says that during his one-on-one sessions with Lee, they explored the personal experiences behind his writing. "Itwas almost like therapy," Katsir says.In seminars, Lee guides students' develop- ment as readers first, teaching them to examine the parts of a story the way that an appren- tice woodworker scrutinizes a cabinet. "Professor Lee taught us to write by seeing the nuances in a story and examining the decisions every author makes," saysMarianne E. Chubb '06. For a much-lauded author - among other honors, he was named to TheNew Thrker magazine's list of top 20 writers under the age of 40 - Lee is surprisingly down-to-earth. So much so that he puts little stock in the accolades he has received and much more in the role Princeton is playing in his life. "When you win an I award, the connection is for an 'SI evening at most,"he says,"but J the community of scholars here has made a long-term commit- ment to me and my writing which is truly prestigious:' ~ .......