This week on The Write Question, host Lauren Korn speaks with poet and professor Jane Wong about her debut memoir, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City (Tin House Books), a resounding love song of and to the Asian American working class, a portrait of how we become who we are, a story, really, made up of many stories—full of heartache, tenderness, anger… And food. Lots of food: In the late 1980s on the Jersey shore, Jane Wong watches her mother shake ants from an MSG bin behind the family’s Chinese restaurant. She is a hungry daughter frying crab rangoon for lunch, a child sneaking naps on bags of rice, a playful sister scheming to trap her brother in the freezer before he traps her first. Jane is part of a family staking their claim to the American dream, even as this dream crumbles. Beneath Atlantic City’s promise lies her father’s gambling addiction, an addiction that causes him to disappear for days and ultimately leads to the loss of the restaurant.
In her debut memoir, Wong tells a new story about Atlantic City, one that resists a single identity, a single story as she writes about making do with what you have—and what you don’t. What does it mean, she asks, to be both tender and angry? What is strength without vulnerability—and humor? Filled with beauty found in unexpected places, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City is a resounding love song of the Asian American working class, a portrait of how we become who we are, and a story of lyric wisdom to hold and to share.
This conversation was recorded in Spokane, Washington, in the Spokane Public Radio studios, in partnership with both SPR and the 2023 Get Lit! Literary Festival, where Jane appeared as a participating author.
About Jane:
Jane Wong is the author of the poetry collections How to Not Be Afraid of Everything and Overpour. An associate professor of creative writing at Western Washington University, she grew up in New Jersey and currently lives in Seattle, Washington.
Jane Wong recommends:
The Kingdom of Surfaces by Sally Wen Mao (forthcoming August 2023; Graywolf Press)
The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Doubleday Books)
Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille Dungy (Simon & Schuster)
Rose Quartz by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe (Milkweed Editions)
Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency by Chen Chen (BOA Editions)
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery (MCD)
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T. Kira Madden (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Lauren Korn recommends:
Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong (Tin House Books)
The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Doubleday Books)
Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Café and Other Stories from Canada’s Chinese Restaurants by Ann Hui (Douglas & McIntyre)
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Alfred A. Knopf)
The Middle Kingdom Under the Big Sky: A History of the Chinese Experience in Montana by Mark Johnson (University of Nebraska Press)
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This conversation was recorded in Spokane, Washington, in the Spokane Public Radio studios. The Write Question team for this episode was Lauren Korn, host, co-producer, and editor; and Chris Moyles, co-producer and editor.
The Write Question logo and brand (2022) was designed by Molly Russell. You can see more of her work at iamthemollruss.com and on Instagram @iamthemollruss. Our music was written and recorded by John Floridis.
Funding for The Write Question comes from Humanities Montana; members of Montana Public Radio; and from the Greater Montana Foundation—encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans.
The Write Question is a production of Montana Public Radio.
