Professor Chang-rae Lee Draws Praise

With His New Book, Aloft, Lee Flies High

When Chang-rae LeejoinedPrinceton's faculty in 2002,President Tilghman hailed himas "a rising star among Ameri-can novelists:'Now,as he helps

aspiring undergraduate writers reach new literaryheights in Princeton's Program in CreativeWriting,his third novel, Alr1i,is accelerating his own ascent.

The book made TheNew ThrkTimesbest-sellerlist. It was described by The WashingtonPostas thework of a "master craftsman:' And it has been

optioned for development into a screenplay. Thatwould be enough, but Lee is especially gratified

His novels move readers toexamine lIthe nature of the

communitiesll they inhabit.

by the audience that the novel is attracting. "I'mvery pleased with the reception," he says,"andwith the sense that my readership has expandedsignificantly with this book:'

The novel focuses on Jerry Battle, a Long Islandsuburbanite and amateur pilot who keeps a dis-tance between himself and his loved ones, until aseries of family misfortunes forces him to forgeconnections with them. Lee's first two novels,Native Speakerand A GestureLife,centered on pro-tagonists who, like Lee, are Korean-Americans.This led to the label of Asian-American writer,but that is not how he sees himself. His books

explore themes that are common to the

American experience - dislocation, assimilationand community.That maybe the reason thatthree very different places - Seattle, Princetonand New York City - have chosen his works forcommunity reading programs. "Mybooks illus-trate the conflicts and tensions that can occur in

a community,"Lee says,"which gets people talkingabout the nature of the communities we live in:'

Lee had a quintessentially suburban childhood.His family emigrated from SouthKorea when he was three yearsold, but Lee grew up inWestchester County, outsideof New YorkCity. Hem,yored in English at YaleUniversity and later took ajobon Wall Street. After a year, hequit to pursue writing, work-ing odd jobs before enrollingin a master of fine arts pro-gram at the University ofOregon. He taughtthere for five yearsbefore returning toNew York,wherehe developed theMFAprogram increativewriting atHunter College.He came toPrinceton as anOld DominionFellowof theChang-rae Lee

Humanities Council in 200l,joining the facultythe following year as a professor in the Council ofthe Humanities and Program in Creative Writing.

In his short time on campus, Lee has earneda reputation for being a committed teacher whois readily accessible to his students. A.Jay Katsir'04, who wrote a novel for his senior thesis, saysthat during his one-on-one sessions with Lee,they explored the personal experiences behindhis writing. "It was almost like therapy," Katsirsays. In seminars, Lee guides students' develop-

ment as readers first, teaching them to examinethe parts of a story the way that an appren-tice woodworker scrutinizes a cabinet.

"Professor Lee taught us to write by seeingthe nuances in a story and examining thedecisions every author makes," says MarianneE. Chubb '06.

For a much-lauded author - among otherhonors, he was named to TheNew Thrker

magazine's list of top 20 writersunder the age of 40 - Lee is

surprisingly down-to-earth. Somuch so that he puts littlestock in the accolades he hasreceived and much more in

the role Princeton is playing inhis life. "When you win an

I award, the connection is for an'SI evening at most,"he says,"butJ the community of scholars here

has made a long-term commit-ment to me and my writingwhich is truly prestigious:' ~

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