May-lee Chai was born in Redlands, California and is the
eldest daughter of an Irish-American mother and a Chinese father. Her mother
was an artist and her father was a political scientist. She has lived in
fourteen states and four countries. She majored in French and Chinese studies
from Grinnell College in Iowa, got her M.A. in East Asian Studies from Yale
University, got another M.A. in English- Creative Writing from the University
of Colorado-Boulder, and got her M.F.A. from San Francisco State University. Chai
is the author of eight books, including three novels, My Lucky Face, Dragon
Chica, and Tiger Girl. The story of Nea
and Sourdi continues in Dragon Chica. She was awarded the National Endowment
for the Arts Grant in Literature. She is currently an assistant professor at
the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Chai maintains a blog about her books and writing. She even
replies to questions about her pieces. According one of her responses, “Saving
Sourdi” was actually inspired by an actual Chinese-Cambodian refugee family
that she knew when she was a teenager in South Dakota. The family opened their
town’s first Chinese restaurant. She continues to explain how the characters in
her short story were inspired by many different Cambodian Americans she met
throughout her life. She incorporates their experiences with prejudice,
bullying, cultural assimilation, and traumas from refugee camps in her writing. Bibliography:
Chai, May-lee. "Re: Questions on "Saving Sourdi"" Web log comment. Questions on "Saving Sourdi" WordPress, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2015
Chai, May-lee. "May-Lee Chai Biography." May-Lee Chai Biography. May-lee Chai, 2007. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
Medeia Sharif. "Medeia Sharif." : Interview with Author May-lee Chai. Medeia Sharif, 3 Oct. 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.