Maxine Hong Kingston

Writer

Bio

Maxine Hong Kingston is recognized for her contributions as a writer. Her novels and non-fiction have examined how the past influences our present, and her voice has strengthened our understanding of Asian American identity, helping shape our national conversation about culture, gender, and race.

Maxine Hong Kingston is the author of memoirs and fiction, including The Fifth Book of Peace, The Woman Warrior, China Men, Tripmaster Monkey, I Love a Broad Margin to My Life, and Hawai’i One Summer. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the PEN West Award for Fiction, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, and a National Humanities Medal, as well as the title of “Living Treasure of Hawai’i.” She is senior lecturer for creative writing at the University of California, Berkeley.

Maxine Hong Kingston receiving the National Medal of Arts from Barack Obama

President Barack Obama presents the National Medal of Arts to writer Maxine Hong Kingston in a White House ceremony on July 28, 2014. Photo by Jocelyn Augustino.
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