ABOUT THIS EPISODE
You can read this episode's transcript at https://iwp.uiowa.edu/page/say-the-world-podcast-transcript-episode-8-kevin-chen
Today's guest is the Taiwanese novelist Kevin Chen. We discussed the ways that people confuse biography and fiction, Chen's colorful work history, how literary lies can bring us closer to the truth, and more.
Bio: Kevin Chen (novelist; Taiwan) started his career as a stage and screen actor. He is also the author of ten novels and short story collections, which have garnered him several literary awards in Taiwan. GHOST TOWN, in Darryl Sterk’s translation, among Library Journal’s Best Books of World Literature 2022, was longlisted for PEN’s 2023 Translation Prize and will be translated into 11 languages. Chen lives in Berlin, where he long was foreign correspondent for Taiwanese TV. His participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Read Kevin Chen’s English writing sample: https://iwp.uiowa.edu/sites/iwp/files/CHEN_sample%20ENG.pdf
Read Kevin Chen’s writing sample in the original language: https://iwp.uiowa.edu/sites/iwp/files/Chen_sample_original.pdf
Say the World: An International Writing Podcast is made by the International Writing Program. The hosts are IWP Director Christopher Merrill, most recently the author of ON THE ROAD TO LVIV (Arrowsmith Press, 2023) and IWP Communications Coordinator Mike Meginnis, most recently the author of DROWNING PRACTICE (Ecco, 2022). Additional research, transcription, and other support provided by Research Assistant Derick Edgren Otero.
IWP programming is primarily funded by the University of Iowa and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the U.S. Department of State, with additional funding provided by organizations like the Doris Duke Foundation, as well as donors like you. If you’d like to donate to IWP, go to bit.ly/iwp-support.
Learn more about IWP at iwp.uiowa.edu.
