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41 quotes by Chang-Rae Lee

Chang-Rae Lee Hangul 이창래 Hanja 李昌來 Revised Romanization I Chang-rae McCune–Reischauer Yi Ch'ang-rae Chang-rae Lee (born July 29, 1965) is a Korean American novelist and a professor of creative writing at Princeton University, where he has served as the director of Princeton's Program in Creative Writing.
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I don't believe complete assimilation is possible, at least not for anyone who has an active, open mind. Every step, every entry into the flows... →

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I often think that the prime directive for me as a teacher of writing is akin to that for a physician, which is this: do no harm.

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I'm interested in people who find themselves in places, either of their choosing or not, and who are forced to decide how best to live there.... →

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After college, I was living in New York and wrote furiously, a huge novel that I knew was a failure. I hoped that the book would work, but to be... →

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As for what's the most challenging aspect of teaching, it's convincing younger writers of the importance of reading widely and passionately.

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I think my parents recognised that I'd always wanted to be a writer, and so they didn't think that this was some idle, faddish wish on my... →

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I'm not the sort of writer who can plan out things. Mostly I have no idea where I'm going.

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One of the ready advantages of writing a road or quest story is that it mirrors the experience of writing a novel.

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A novel, even a social realist one, can't simply be a comprehensive rendering of what is. A novel requires a special angle or approach, whether... →

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Even though I went to Exeter and Yale, and I enjoyed all the trappings of those places, I think at the same time - and maybe it's because I'm... →

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I can put together a pretty decent meal from whatever happens to be in the refrigerator and the pantry. I like the challenge of this sort of... →

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I don't listen to music while writing; it seems to me I'm trying to make my own kind of music, and to have anything else going on is just... →

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My parents - my mother, particularly - were very focused on our succeeding. I loved my parents, and was very grateful to them for everything, and I... →

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