A Writer's China chronicles the journey of ten American writers into China one year before the Tiananmen massacre. The importance of this visit is highlighted by the fact that Western writers have not been invited back since, and thus Lincoln's report remains relevant. China then is China now -- still moving slowly onto the global stage. The delegation was headed by Pulitzer-prize winning author Harrison Salisbury, whose The Long March. about Mao's rise to power, has been a bestseller in China. Others include nature writer Barry Lopez; poet Charles Wright, who won a Pulitzer in 1998; Maxine Hong Kingston, who completed her novel Tripmaster Monkey on this trip; novelist and Vietnam vet Larry Heinemann; as well as Native American writer Roberta Whiteman; poets Alice Fulton and Jay Wright; and educator Robert Rees.The Americans attended a conference in Beijing hosted by the most popular writers in China. Each author's presentation is included, as well as their running commentary on the visit as narrated by Lincoln. This is a close-up report of China's literary life today, including the devastating results of the Cultural Revolution. Readers interested in Asian American cultural history will find this subjective report enlightening and provocative. Another instructive aspect of Lincoln's story is the defection of their translator, who appeared at his front door in Los Angeles sometime later. Anyone curious about China, the third largest economic force in the world, will find A Writer's China valuable and informative. The subtitle Bridges East and West underscores the need for maintaining an ongoing dialogue with perhaps the oldest extant civilization on the planet. Includes 16 colorphotos.
