“I hope writers will feel empowered to experiment with form in their own work!” —Jenny Tinghui Zhang
On Wednesday, October 15, Jenny Tinghui Zhang will teach “Playing with Form: Exploring New Shapes & Structures in Storytelling.” In this class, students will learn how to work with different shapes and structures of narrative writing, experimenting ultimately with the parameters of their own work.
Jenny Tinghui Zhang is the author of the novels Superfan and Four Treasures of the Sky, named an Idaho Book of the Year and short- and longlisted for the Chautauqua Prize, the Dublin Literary Award, the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Her work has appeared in The Cut, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, Texas Highways, and elsewhere. She is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree and has received support from Yaddo, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Kundiman, VONA/Voices, Tin House, and the University of Wyoming, where she completed her MFA.
Here’s what Jenny had to share with us:
Who are your earliest influences? What people and books made you a writer?
Jenny Tinghui Zhang: My English teachers. My mother. Writers like Toni Morrison, Alexander Chee, Kazuo Ishiguro, Edith Wharton.
What writing challenges have you faced? What have these challenges taught you about your process?
JTZ: Most of my writing challenges have happened in between projects–imposter syndrome strikes and I find myself questioning myself, my artistry, and who I am as a writer. By now, I’ve realized that this is a signal for me to take a break from the pressure of “creating” and refill my artistic well by immersing myself in other forms of art–books, poetry, visual art, film, music, dance, etc. I look at this as replenishing, and it has become crucial for me to reconnect with why I write.
From your perspective, what’s the most rewarding part about being a writer?
JTZ: Two things: one, the ability to connect with people through writing and thus feel less alone. Two, that life can never be called boring.
Who do you write for?
JTZ: Controversial, but: myself. Or, a version of myself.
What do you hope writers will learn from your course?
JTZ: I hope writers will feel empowered to experiment with form in their own work!
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Thanks, Jenny!
Click here to learn more about Jenny’s upcoming class.
