Alexander Kuo (born 1939 in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

) is an American teacher, poet, fiction writer, and essayist. He was a Professor of English at

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

, and retired in 2012. He has taught in numerous academic institutions in China, including

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and Changchun universities. In 2002 he won an

American Book Award The American Book Awards are an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "t ...

for his ''Lipstick and Other Stories'' of the

Before Columbus Foundation The Before Columbus Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Ishmael Reed, "dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of contemporary American multicultural literature". The Foundation makes annual awards for books published in ...

Early life and education

Alexander Kuo was born in Boston, Massachusetts, where his father

Zing-Yang Kuo Kuo Zing-yang (or Z. Y. Kuo; ; 1898–1970), was a Chinese experimental and physiological psychologist. He was a renowned educator and is also notable as having been the President of Zhejiang University, who was expelled by Zhejiang students i ...

, a visiting Chinese scientist, was doing research at the Carnegie Nutrition Laboratory. His mother, Lin Qui Fang, was also a scientist. His parents returned to China in 1939, when he was 9 months old. He lived in Chongqing and Shanghai until 1947, when his family moved to Hong Kong. In 1956 he came to the United States to continue his education. He received his B.A. from Knox College in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in 1961, where he studied with Sam Moon and Gogisgi. He earned an M.F.A. from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, where he studied in the

Iowa Writer's Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...

with

Donald Justice Donald Rodney Justice (August 12, 1925 – August 6, 2004) was an American poet and teacher of creative writing who won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1980. Early life and education Justice was born on August 12, 1925, in Miami. He attended the ...

and

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (; March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short-story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophical ...

Career

Kuo was a professor of English at

(WSU), which lists him as an example of their "world class faculty." He is the former chair of the Department of Comparative American Cultures (now called Comparative Ethnic Studies). In 2001, WSU named him as their first

Writer-in-Residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

. Kuo has been a mentor to

Sherman Alexie Sherman Joseph Alexie Jr. (born October 7, 1966) is a Native American novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker. His writings draw on his experiences as an Indigenous American with ancestry from several tribes. He grew up ...

, a notable Native American writer.

Honors

*Kuo has won multiple

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

grants. *He has held numerous teaching fellowships in China, including a 1989 fellowship at

Beijing University Peking University (PKU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. It i ...

, Senior

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

at Changchun University in 1991-92, and a Lingnan Fellow in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in 1997-98. *He has held positions at numerous universities in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

including

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

Beijing Forestry University Beijing Forestry University (BFU, ) is a public university located in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education, and co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education, the National Forestry and Grass ...

Jilin University Jilin University (JLU) is a public university in the city of Changchun, Jilin, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. History Founded ...

, and

Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is a public Liberal arts education, liberal arts university with a Christian ethics, Christian education heritage in Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The university was established as Hong Kong Baptist ...

. *In 2002-03, Kuo was Writer-in-Residence with the

Mercy Corps Mercy Corps is a global non-governmental, humanitarian aid organization operating in transitional contexts that have undergone, or have been undergoing, various forms of economic, environmental, social and political instabilities. The organizati ...

. *2003-2004, he received a

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

grant for a Bellagio residency in Italy. *2002, ''Lipstick and Other Stories'' won the

of the

Writing

Reviewer Robert H. Abel said in 2001 that Kuo's writing makes demands on the reader in a way comparable to

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

.Robert H. Abel, "Review of 'Lipstick and Other Stories'," ''Asian Review of Books'' (March 2001)

Works

Poetry

*''The Window Tree'' (1974) *''New Letters from Hiroshima, and Other Poems'' (1974) *''Changing the River'' (1986) *''This Fierce Geography'' (1998) *''A Chinaman’s Chance:'' ''New and Selected Poems 1960-2010'' (2011) *''Meeting Words at the Gate'' (Bilingual English/Chinese, 2015)

Fiction

*''Chinese Opera'' (novel, 1998) *''Lipstick and Other Stories'' (short stories, 2001) *''Panda Diaries'' (novel, 2006) *''White Jade and Other Stories'' (short stories, 2008) *''The Man Who Dammed the Yangtze: A Mathematical Novel'' (novel, 2011) * ''shanghai.shanghai.shanghai'' (novel, 2015) *''Mao’s Kisses: A Novel of June 4, 1989'' (novel, 2019)

Nonfiction

*''My Private China,'' (2013)

Notes

External links

Official Alex Kuo Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuo, Alexander Living people Loomis Chaffee School alumni Knox College (Illinois) alumni American writers of Chinese descent Jilin University people American Book Award winners 1939 births