Follow Friday: Jennifer 8. Lee, author and journalist
April 2nd, 2010 | Published in Follow Friday
Welcome to another Follow Friday segment. Every Friday, we’ll be featuring a different writers, artists, activists, and all-around awesome people who have contributed something unique to the American cultural and social landscape. These are people to watch, who you can follow online!
This week, we’re spotlighting writer Jennifer 8. Lee: journalist for The New York Times and author of the bestselling book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles
While with the Times, Lee wrote on a wide range of topics. From the cancellation of pensions for NY teachers to the empowerment of at-risk youths through art, Lee has exhibited a sharp eye for human stories that relate to larger social issues. She’s covered the battle for New York’s welfare system to provide better translation services for immigrants and highlighted the unique impact of Passover on a New York Chinese restaurant.
Her book has been featured in Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, and Readers Digest. It’s become the centerpiece of college curricula and been featured on The Colbert Report and Good Morning America.
Her book begins as an investigation of the origins of the Chinese fortune cookie – an investigation that leads her through a sampling of America’s forty thousand Chinese restaurants and on a globetrotting journey from the shrines of Kyoto to the birthplace of General Tso. In the process, she describes the Chinese American story, and asserts something quite unexpected: that what we in the U.S. think of as “Chinese food” is actually more American than apple pie.
General Tso’s chicken – fried, battered, and sweet – has its origins in New York City, as a dish engineered to appeal to the American palate. Lee uses American Chinese food to explore concepts of culture, immigration, assimilation, and society. Lee’s writing is sharp and entertaining, sometimes poignant, and always engaging.
Her writing process is recorded on her blog. Lately, she’s used her blog to update her followers on her speaking events or quirky stories about American Chinese food. And of course, she reposts reader reactions, such as this note from a Chinese American immigrant (recorded with typos and all):
I read the prefcace of the book that Jennifer wrote,I was pretty touched by what she wrote at the first page, I dont rememebr the exact words she used but the gist was: To Mom and Dad, who struggled their life so that we can chase our own passion….
..I was almost crying, when I read that….”
Some may look at the fortune cookie, or at an Asian American, and ask, “Where are you from?” Lee answers that question with a story that is wholly, undeniably American.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, the Racebending.com staff read her book and absolutely loved it. It’s a pitch-perfect blend of entertainment and history, with an Asian American twist.
Lee’s Twitter is a constant source of interesting news tidbits, foodie tips, and entertaining commentary about hot events from a journalist on the ground – from the TED talks to SXSW. For more on Jennifer 8. Lee or her book, check out the links below.
- @jenny8lee on Twitter
- The New York Times archive of Jennifer 8. Lee’s articles
- The Fortune Cookie Chronicles official site
- The Fortune Cookie Chronicles blog
- The Fortune Cookie Chronicles
