Episode 163 - Qin Sun Stubis - Writing Inspired by Long-Held Family Lore

Qin Sun Stubis is a Chinese-American author of the book Once Our Lives: A Memoir of Shanghai, Teahouses, and Three Generations of Family, which tells the story of four generations of Chinese women in Shanghai, China during the Great Famine, navigating war and revolution.

 

In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews Qin about her early life, China’s Cultural Revolution and her love of words and storytelling. Qin explains how the loss of her parents inspired her to write a memoir that brings to life her family’s stories and a fascinating part of China’s history. She also discusses her writing process and the challenges she faced as a first-time author. Qin has received awards for this beautiful book and continues to write essays and short stories.

 

In this episode, Lynne and Qin discuss: 

• Growing up in poverty and how that influenced her writing

• A mother's influence on her love of words

• Early memories of writing – quoting Mao Zedong’s quotations

• Attending the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Languages

• Being a late-blooming writer 

• A mission to preserve family stories and reputation

• Why history and humanity is the same around the world

• First-time author challenges along the publishing journey

• The importance of the first sentence and first chapter

• Forming a support group for older women writers

• Her column for the Santa Monica Star

 

Links and Resources: 

• Chinese Cultural Revolution

• Thomas Hardy

• Shakespeare’s Sonnets

• Louisa May Alcott

• Bessie Streeter Aldrich

• Tess of the d’Urbervilles

• F. Scott Fitzgerald