Irwin Tang September 19, 2007

Irwin Tang talks about growing up as one of the few Asian kids in College Station, Texas and how it shaped his writing. He talks about the truths behind the title of his story collection, How I Became a Black Man and Other Metamorphoses, which the Austin Chronicle called “brilliant and heartbreaking.”

Tang talks of his triumphs and tribulations in writing and publishing his first book, an honest look at the history of Texas A&M University and its traditional bonfire.

He is best known nationwide for his 2003 public tangle with Shaquille O’Neal. He unrolls the entire yarn of how he and Shaquille O’Neal battled over Shaq’s “ching-chong” taunts and how Tang won. His tale reveals dirty truths about American sports media, but also how it has changed since publication of Tang’s opinion column telling Shaq to “come down to Chinatown.”

Tang speaks on his latest book, When Invisible Children Sing: the true story of five street children, an idealistic young doctor, and their dangerous hope, and his collaboration with a high-profile medical doctor. Finally, Tang unveils his latest work, Asian Texans: Our Histories and Our Lives.

He currently works as a freelance writer for magazines and for NPR’s Pacific Time. He is writing a film adaptation of Karl Taro Greenfield’s Speed Tribes for an independent production company.

Meet the man who changed Texas A&M University, American sports media, and, in some ways, how Americans see Asian Americans.

Official Website: http://www.writersleague.org/programs/mp.html