BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:talks.ox.ac.uk BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Public Lecture: The Elastic Heart: Writing an Epic Family Memoir - Professor Ava Chin (CUNY) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250611T173000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250611T191500 UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/150ec75d-f148-4d8e-a9fd-9d85bd04c7de/ DESCRIPTION:*Professor Ava Chin*\, the award-winning author of *_Mott Stre et: A Chinese American Family's Story of Exclusion and Homecoming_*\, addr esses the joys and challenges of tackling large societal issues like immig ration and belonging through the lens of four generations of her family. T his talk provides a toolkit for life-writers.\n\n*About _Mott Street:_*\n\ n‘Essential reading for understanding not just Chinese American history but American history—and the American present’\n* Celeste Ng\, bestsel ling author of _Little Fires Everywhere_\n\n‘The _Angela’s Ashes_ for Chinese Americans’\n* Miwa Messer\, _Poured Over_ podcast\n\nAs the only child of a single mother in Queens\, Ava Chin found her family’s origin s to be shrouded in mystery. She had never met her father\, and her grandp arents’ stories didn’t match the history she read at school. Mott Stre et traces Chin’s quest to understand her Chinese American family’s sto ry. Over decades of painstaking research\, she finds not only her father b ut also the building that provided a refuge for them all.\n\nBreaking the silence surrounding her family’s past meant confronting the Chinese Excl usion Act of 1882—the first federal law to restrict immigration by race and nationality\, barring Chinese immigrants from citizenship for six deca des. Chin traces the story of the pioneering family members who emigrated from the Pearl River Delta\, crossing an ocean to make their way in the Am erican West of the mid-nineteenth century. She tells of their backbreaking work on the transcontinental railroad and of the brutal racism of frontie r towns\, then follows their paths to New York City.\n\nIn New York’s Ch inatown\, she discovers a single building on Mott Street where so many of her ancestors would live\, begin families\, and craft new identities. She follows the men and women who became merchants\, ‘paper son’ refugees\ , activists\, and heads of the Chinese tong\, piecing together how they bo re and resisted the weight of the Exclusion laws. She soon realises that e xclusion is not simply a political condition but also a personal one.\n\n_ Mott Street_ uncovers a legacy of exclusion and resilience that speaks to the American experience\, past and present.\n\n*Ava Chin* is an author\, j ournalist\, and Professor of Creative Nonfiction at the City University of New York (Graduate Centre\, where she is the head of American Studies\, a nd the College of Staten Island). She is currently a Visiting Scholar at t he Oxford Centre for Life-Writing\, University of Oxford.\n\nShe is the au thor of the award-winning memoir _Mott Street_ (Penguin Press\, 2023)\, wi nner of the CALA Best Book Award and a PEN/Open Book Award Finalist\, and _Eating Wildly_ (Simon & Schuster\, 2014)\, which won the M.F.K. Fisher Bo ok Award for excellence in food writing. _Mott Street_\, an ALA Notable Bo ok and one of _People_ magazine’s top books by Asian American authors\, was a Best Book of the year in _TIME_\, the _San Francisco Chronicle_\, _L ibrary Journal_\, _Kirkus Reviews_ and _Elle_. Ava has appeared on NPR\, P BS\, and CSPAN\, among others. Ava Chin’s writing has appeared in _The N ew York Times_ (“Urban Forager”)\, _Washington Post\, Los Angeles Time s\, Village Voice\, Marie Claire_\, and _SPIN_. She is the recipient of fe llowships from the New York Public Library’s Cullman Centre for Scholars & Writers\, Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program\, New York Foundation for the Arts\, Asian American Writers’ Workshop\, MacDowell\, and the New York I nstitute for the Humanities\, where she is a board member. A former slam p oet\, she has performed on numerous stages such as Joe’s Pub\, the Knitt ing Factory\, the Nuyorican Poet’s Café\, and Woodstock ‘94\, and con tributed lyrics to Soul Coughing’s El Oso. _The Huffington Post_ named h er one of ‘Nine Contemporary Authors You Should Be Reading’.\nSpeakers :\nProfessor Ava Chin (CUNY) LOCATION:Wolfson College (Leonard Wolfson Auditorium)\, Linton Road OX2 6U D TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/150ec75d-f148-4d8e-a9fd-9d85bd04c7de/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Public Lecture: The Elastic Heart: Writing an Epic Family Memoir - Professor Ava Chin (CUNY) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Public Lecture: Professor Ava Chin\, ‘The Elastic Heart: Writin g an Epic Family Memoir’ - Professor Ava Chin (CUNY) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250611T173000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20250611T191500 UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/de5af850-fd29-447f-94a0-fe427ae29771/ DESCRIPTION:Professor Ava Chin\, the award-winning author of Mott Street: A Chinese American Family's Story of Exclusion and Homecoming\, addresses the joys and challenges of tackling large societal issues like immigration and belonging through the lens of four generations of her family. This ta lk provides a toolkit for life-writers.\n\n \n\n\nAbout Mott Street:\n\n\n \n‘Essential reading for understanding not just Chinese American history but American history—and the American present’\n\n—Celeste Ng\, bes tselling author of Little Fires Everywhere\n\n\n‘The Angela’s Ashes fo r Chinese Americans’\n\n—Miwa Messer\, Poured Over podcast\n\n\nAs the only child of a single mother in Queens\, Ava Chin found her family’s o rigins to be shrouded in mystery. She had never met her father\, and her g randparents’ stories didn’t match the history she read at school. Mott Street traces Chin’s quest to understand her Chinese American family’ s story. Over decades of painstaking research\, she finds not only her fat her but also the building that provided a refuge for them all.\n\n\nBreaki ng the silence surrounding her family’s past meant confronting the Chine se Exclusion Act of 1882—the first federal law to restrict immigration b y race and nationality\, barring Chinese immigrants from citizenship for s ix decades. Chin traces the story of the pioneering family members who emi grated from the Pearl River Delta\, crossing an ocean to make their way in the American West of the mid-nineteenth century. She tells of their backb reaking work on the transcontinental railroad and of the brutal racism of frontier towns\, then follows their paths to New York City.\n\n\nIn New Yo rk’s Chinatown\, she discovers a single building on Mott Street where so many of her ancestors would live\, begin families\, and craft new identit ies. She follows the men and women who became merchants\, ‘paper son’ refugees\, activists\, and heads of the Chinese tong\, piecing together ho w they bore and resisted the weight of the Exclusion laws. She soon realis es that exclusion is not simply a political condition but also a personal one.\n\n\nMott Street uncovers a legacy of exclusion and resilience that s peaks to the American experience\, past and present.\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nSpe aker Details:\n\n\n\n\nAva Chin is an author\, journalist\, and Professor of Creative Nonfiction at the City University of New York (Graduate Centre \, where she is the head of American Studies\, and the College of Staten I sland). She is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Oxford Centre for Life- Writing\, University of Oxford.\n\n\nShe is the author of the award-winnin g memoir Mott Street (Penguin Press\, 2023)\, winner of the CALA Best Book Award and a PEN/Open Book Award Finalist\, and Eating Wildly (Simon & Sch uster\, 2014)\, which won the M.F.K. Fisher Book Award for excellence in f ood writing. Mott Street\, an ALA Notable Book and one of People magazine ’s top books by Asian American authors\, was a Best Book of the year in TIME\, the San Francisco Chronicle\, Library Journal\, Kirkus Reviews and Elle. Ava has appeared on NPR\, PBS\, and CSPAN\, among others. Ava Chin ’s writing has appeared in The New York Times (“Urban Forager”)\, Wa shington Post\, Los Angeles Times\, Village Voice\, Marie Claire\, and SPI N. She is the recipient of fellowships from the New York Public Library’ s Cullman Centre for Scholars & Writers\, Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program\, New York Foundation for the Arts\, Asian American Writers’ Workshop\, M acDowell\, and the New York Institute for the Humanities\, where she is a board member. A former slam poet\, she has performed on numerous stages su ch as Joe’s Pub\, the Knitting Factory\, the Nuyorican Poet’s Café\, and Woodstock ‘94\, and contributed lyrics to Soul Coughing’s El Oso. The Huffington Post named her one of ‘Nine Contemporary Authors You Shou ld Be Reading’.\n\n\nFurther Details and Contacts:\n\nAfter the event\, join us for a complimentary wine reception and book sale by Caper (@capero xford ).\n\nThis event is free and open to all\; however\, registration is recommended.\n\nThis is an in-person event\, but will be recorded and mad e available soon after on the OCLW website.\n\n\nRegistration will close a t 10:30 am on 11 June 2025.\nSpeakers:\nProfessor Ava Chin (CUNY) LOCATION:Leonard Wolfson Auditorium (Accessibility information available h ere: https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/accessibility-wolfson-college#panel1) TZID:Europe/London URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/de5af850-fd29-447f-94a0-fe427ae29771/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Public Lecture: Professor Ava Chin\, ‘The Elastic Hear t: Writing an Epic Family Memoir’ - Professor Ava Chin (CUNY) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR