We're always observing, and we're cautious people. We really want attention, but at the same time, we're ashamed of wanting attention. All those bizarre qualities of being outside are necessary for being a writer.
Min Jin LeeRead
I think it's not an accident that you don't have that many Asian American women writers who are breaking out. I don't think it's an accident that you don't have that many Asian American writers, either women or men. I don't think that immigrants are encouraged to become artists. That's very gendered and racialized and ethnicized.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the systemic barriers that discourage Asian American writers, particularly women, from pursuing artistic careers.
Min Jin Lee's statement reflects on the cultural and societal obstacles that hinder the emergence of Asian American writers. By emphasizing the role of gender and ethnicity in shaping the artistic landscape, she draws attention to the lack of encouragement for immigrants to express themselves through art. This limitation stems from broader societal issues that often marginalize certain voices in the literary world.
Themes
Asian AmericanWritersArtImmigrantsBarriersGenderEthnicity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about representation in literature, this quote can be used to highlight the need for greater support for diverse voices.
More from Min Jin Lee
All quotes →Twenty-five million people who live in North Korea are denied freedom in every respect of their lives. In short, they are hostages. Imagine 25 million hostages.
Min Jin LeeRead
My father was born on Christmas Day in 1934. He grew up in what is now part of North Korea. When the Korean War began, my father was 16, and he found passage on an American refugee ship,thinking he'd be gone for just a few days, but he never saw his mother or his sister again.
Min Jin LeeRead
Koreans are worried about the Japanese right-wing people, who tend to be against foreigners. But the Koreans in Japan aren't even foreigners. They are essentially culturally Japanese. If a family has lived in Japan for three generations, it's absurd to see them as foreigners.
Min Jin LeeRead
I've often felt like an outsider, not necessarily because I'm Korean, an immigrant, or female. I think writers are odd people.
Min Jin LeeRead
Education is a beautiful, liberating thing, but I think that tying in education and status, and the need to do well at every cost, is toxic.
Min Jin LeeRead
Similar quotes
I've always thought one of the tricks of being an actor for a long time is keeping yourself interested once you've figured out how to pay the rent.
Martin ShortRead
The ultimate aim of all artistic activity is building! ... Architects, sculptors, painters, we must all get back to craft! ... The artist is a heightened manifestation of the craftsman. ... Let us form ... a new guild of craftsmen without the class divisions that set out to raise an arrogant barrier between craftsmen and artists! ... Let us together create the new building of the future which will be all in one: architecture and sculpture and painting.
Walter GropiusRead
Math and music are intimately related. Not necessarily on a conscious level, but sure.
Stephen SondheimRead
All you have to do is play one note. But it needs to be the right note.
Herbie HancockRead
Life is a shitstorm, in which art is our only umbrella." (spoken by character in a novel by Mario Vargas Llosa)
Mario Vargas LlosaRead
Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets.
Oscar WildeRead