THE KOREA DAILY NEWS
"I love writing so much that I barely go a day without it..."
An Interview with Leonard Chang, about his new novel Crossings
by Sukie Park
Leonard Chang's newly published novel Crossings is attracting great attention. Set in the San Francisco Bay Area and about human trafficking and illegal immigrants, the novel centers on two characters, Unha and Sam, and the pursuit of the American Dream.
Chang was born in Manhattan, grew up on Long Island, and studied Philosophy at Dartmouth College and Harvard University. He received his Master's degree from the University of California at Irvine.
His first novel, The Fruit 'N Food, was published in 1996. He also wrote a popular Noir trilogy, which includes Over the Shoulder, Underkill and Fade to Clear. He lives in Santa Monica and teaches at Antioch University.
What triggered you to write “Crossings”?
About four years ago there was a large FBI sting of Korean-owned massage parlors in San Francisco, and over 100 Korean women, illegal immigrants, were found to be working as prostitutes against their will. I was living in the Bay Area at the time, and was stunned that this was still going on, especially so close to me. I began reading more about it, thinking about those women trapped here in the country, and knew I had to write a novel about it.
How did you research this, and how long did it take to write the novel?
I tend to research while I write, so the novel took me about four years of researching and writing simultaneously. It was one of the hardest books I've written, in part because the stories were traumatic. However, this is probably my strongest novel because I did spend so much time writing and rewriting multiple drafts. My research took on many forms, including interviews with everyone ranging from the head of a non-profit organization trying to stop international human trafficking, to illegal immigrants in this country. I also did some research on Korean organized crime here and in Korea.
Were there any Koreans who inspired the characters?
Many Koreans I know, especially relatives here and in Seoul, helped inform some of my characters. An uncle whom I met only twice in my life left such an impression on me that some of his mannerisms and personality became infused in Sam.
What is writing and teaching for you?
I love writing so much that I find I can barely go a day without writing something, anything, even if it's a letter to a friend. I've been writing since I was child, and writing, for me, is a way to process and analyze the world around me. I write to understand others and myself better.
Teaching is a natural extension of that, and I've been very lucky to have smart and gifted students throughout my teaching career. One of the biggest rewards is when a student goes on to have a successful writing career. This has happened often, and it makes me feel like I've done something worthwhile.
As a New York-born writer, how do you like living and working on the West Coast?
Even when I was in New York I couldn't stay away from the ocean. I even took a job at Jones Beach for that reason, working as a busboy, waiter, and then Cold Side Assistant Chef (making salads and pastas) at the Boardwalk Restaurant . Now, I live in Santa Monica, ten minutes away from the beach, and I couldn't ask for anything more. In fact, right now I am in my backyard, a cool ocean breeze blowing over me as I do this interview.
Can you tell me about your growing up in Long Island? Was there racial diversity?
Unfortunately in my Long Island town there wasn't any racial diversity. This was over thirty years ago, so I'm sure things have changed, but when I was growing up in my small town, I was often the only Asian in my school.
Who was your role model?
My mother was my role model from a very early age. She worked harder than anyone I've known. She taught me the value of hard work, of determination and perseverance, and she used to tell me to do what I loved. She once wanted to be an artist, so she understood my desire to be a writer. My mother gave me many, many books to read, including many English and American classics, since she was a literature major in college. She also encouraged us to use the Merrick Library, which was only a few blocks away.
She had shelves and shelves of books, and I remember looking through the novels -- most of them in English, but with her Korean margin notes -- like Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Henry James, Charles Dickens.
My mother also introduced me to Korean writers Younghill Kang and Richard E. Kim when I was beginning to write seriously.
When did you decide to be a writer?
I remember the day I decided that I was going to be a professional writer. Although I was writing for years before that, the actual day was in the summer of 1989, and I was living and working in Kingston, Jamaica, for the U.S. Peace Corps. It must have been over a 100-degree outside. I was sweating and writing in my tiny room. No air conditioning. I wrote a story that moved me, a story that unlocked something inside me. I felt like this short story was as close to the truth as I was ever going to get, and I knew then that I had to do this. I had to be a writer.
What is your writing habit? What do you do when you have writer‘s block?
I write every day. Sometimes it's just for a couple hours, but writing is more than a habit for me now – it's a way of life. And because of that, I don't get writer's block. If something I'm writing isn't working, then it means I have to try harder.
What is next?
I've been toying with writing non-fiction, but I'm also writing film and TV scripts. I've been writing novels non-stop for almost two decades, and I want to switch gears for a while.