Chinatown Live(s): Oral Histories from Philadelphia’s Chinatown

Posted by on April 1, 2005

Here’s info about events for two books published by New City Press. The first features the book of interviews with Mexican farmworkers in Kennett Square PA; the second features oral histories with residents and workers of Philadelphia’s Chinatown.

Wednesday April 13th
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Independence Branch, Free Library of Philadelphia, 18 S. 7th Street

Celebrate the publication of Chinatown Live(s): Oral Histories from Philadelphia’s Chinatown with the book’s editor, photographer, interviewees and interviewers. The event will feature a roundtable discussion and refreshments. The book will be available at a reduced price.

Chinatown Live(s) is a landmark book exploring Philadelphia’s Chinatown through oral histories and photo portraits of 22 diverse residents and workers. Spanning multiple generations and many nations of origin, the stories shared in Chinatown Live(s) challenge the perceptions of Chinatown as a monolithic ethnic enclave or a superficial tourist destination, and allude to the complexity of relationships and perspectives that comprise this growing, living neighborhood. In Chinatown Live(s) a long-time activist recounts the organizing efforts to “Save Chinatown” from being paved over by a highway and the ongoing struggle for affordable housing. A Chinese American police offer describes her parents’ reaction to her career choice; a Catholic school principal talks about growing up bi-racial; a teenaged son confesses his desire for American fast food instead of his mother’s home cooking; a Vietnamese funeral home owner shares his philosophy of life; and seventeen others illustrate a multi-layered community informed by a wide diversity of experiences.

Nicole Meyenberg
email: nicole@critpath.org
New City Writing office: 215-204-7347
Books Through Bars office: 215-727-8170