Maxine Hong Kingston

Maxine Hong Kingston is an American author, educator, activist, and poet renowned for her thought-provoking works including The Woman Warrior, China Men, and Tripmaster Monkey.

Maxine was born in California, the daughter of Chinese immigrants. As a child during WWII, racial tensions toward the Asian American community did not stop Maxine from winning her first writing contest for an essay titled, “I Am an American.” Maxine writes American stories with pacifist and feminist values while incorporating history and Chinese cultural ties.

Maxine followed in her father’s footsteps as an educator. She is Professor Emerita at her alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught English starting in 1981. She also held other teaching positions throughout her career including at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa.

For more than twenty-five years, Kingston has hosted a writing workshop for military veterans and their families. Participants have lauded their experience as a new form of therapy. Her work, The Fifth Book of Peace, combined her personal journey, the journey of veterans, and her rewritten lost novel, the original of which was destroyed in a fire.

Maxine Hong Kingston has received two presidential awarded medals, the National Humanities Medal, and the National Medal of Arts. She has also received numerous book and writers’ awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Asian American Literary Awards.