Link: Lecture/Interview with R.F. Kuang

Listening to this lecture this morning and it is *so good.* I finished reading The Poppy War last night and am now a little obsessed; I ordered the other two books in the series.

Her points are super interesting. Waaaaay back ca. 2000 I took an Asian American Lit class, taught by a white person, and while I really enjoyed the class there was very much a focus on trauma. (The book list as I remember it: Memories of My Ghost Brother, The Woman Warrior, Obasan, No-No Boy, annnnnnd one other I'm blanking on.) Asian American SFF of the last few years--The Tensorate Series, The Dandelion Dynasty, and The Poppy War books--have engaged with this too.  Kuang says here that Asian American SFF is incredibly reductionist and Orientalist and she's right. (She talks about people getting her confused with SL Huang.) So much to think about and I have a new literary crush, basically.

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Also something that struck me about The Poppy War is how it was A LOT like the cdramas I watch while also not having the cdrama tropes I'm familiar with (no background queers, for instance). Also lack of filial piety. Like, I do not think anyone is going to be punished for their bad relationships with parents and sifus. Like this is not Daoist at all, which makes it VERY different.

Anyhow, new hyperfixation and I want to write paper now...