ALUMNI IN ACTION
Amy Tan: Novelist, Birdwatcher, Icon
By Julia Halprin Jackson
ALUMNI IN ACTION
Amy Tan: Novelist, Birdwatcher, Icon
By Julia Halprin Jackson
Celebrated novelist Amy Tan shares how her love of language blossomed at San Jos茅 State.
As they flit and fly within arm鈥檚 reach of her writing desk at home in Sausalito, Amy Tan counts the species of birds that visit. She鈥檚 up to 66 so far.
The award-winning author of the literary classic,鈥淭he Joy Luck Club,鈥� discovered her passion for nature journaling following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, when the weight of the world felt profoundly heavy. So she turned her attention to the sky. Her practice of birdwatching, illustrating and writing, transformed into Tan鈥檚 most recent book, 鈥淭he Backyard Bird Chronicles,鈥� a collection of journal entries, drawings and observations of life, birds and creativity.
Tan honed her skill for observation as an undergraduate at San Jos茅 State in the early 1970s. Five decades later, she recalls an important moment in one of her English classes. The late 91传媒厂 English Professor Franklin Rogers assigned his class to write down all of the images that came to mind after reading Nathaniel Hawthorne鈥檚 鈥淭he Scarlet Letter.鈥� Tan, who created her own major with a mix of English and linguistics courses and enrolled in seven classes a semester, found Rogers鈥� approach refreshing.
鈥淚n the case of 鈥楾he Scarlet Letter,鈥� the images had a lot to do with light and dark,鈥� says Tan, 鈥�72 English/Linguistics, 鈥�73 MA Applied Linguistics, 鈥�02 Honorary Doctorate. 鈥淚 remember the emergence of Hester coming out of the dark and walking through the forest, past a row of trees. Even now, I see the shadows of soldier-like trees flitting across her. It was so eye-opening because I realized that鈥檚 how I respond to fiction 鈥� through subliminal aspects of a scene that were very visual and imagistic. I realized that was a great way to think of writing: Think of images and how they build upon one another and transform. That class at San Jos茅 State was very instructive to me.鈥�
A finalist for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the International Orange Prize, Tan is the author of seven novels, two memoirs, two books for children and 鈥淭he Backyard Bird Chronicles.鈥� Her work has been translated into more than 35 languages. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2022 and awarded the National Humanities Medal by former President Joe Biden in 2023. But she couldn鈥檛 have predicted this meteoric rise in literary celebrity during her days at 91传媒厂.
A quote from 鈥淭he Joy Luck Club鈥� is immortalized in the 91传媒厂 Diaz Compean Student Union. Photo: Julia Halprin Jackson.
Every summer, Amy Tan returns to the Community of Writers conference in Lake Tahoe. Photo: Julia Halprin Jackson.
Discovering a love for words
When Tan, who was born in Oakland, arrived at 91传媒厂 with her then-boyfriend and now husband of 50 years, she envisioned becoming a professor of linguistics. After completing her master鈥檚 in linguistics at 91传媒厂, she was accepted to a doctoral program, first at UC Santa Cruz, and later at UC Berkeley. She left academia after the sudden murder of her roommate, who inspired her to shift directions.
鈥淟inguistics is very compatible with being a writer,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a love of language and how language is used, as well as the imagery, history and sociological import contained in words. It is wonderful.鈥�
Tan鈥檚 dexterity with language came in handy when she transitioned out of academia and worked as a freelance business writer, copywriting for industry giants like IBM and AT&T as much as 90 hours a week. It wasn鈥檛 until she was on vacation and received a cryptic message that her mother was sick that Tan recognized a core truth: To give her life meaning, she was compelled to write fiction grounded in her own experience, which meant learning more of her mother鈥檚 and grandmother鈥檚 past.
She traveled to China with her mother and began writing stories in earnest 鈥� stories that later laid the groundwork for 鈥淭he Joy Luck Club.鈥� The beloved novel tells the stories of Chinese women living in San Francisco and their relationships with their American-born daughters, inviting readers in through an apartment window to watch four families gather to play mahjong and discuss the stock market. Each story plays with time in distinct ways, zooming into a matriarch鈥檚 path out of China, and then to one grandmother鈥檚 experience living as the fourth wife to a wealthy man. A masterclass in language, character and setting, 鈥淭he Joy Luck Club鈥� opened doors Tan never expected.
Tan's illustrations from "The Backyard Bird Chronicles" are provided courtesy of Alfred A. Knopf.
Seeking emotional truth
When the novel was published in 1989, it spent 40 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, attracting attention that caught her unprepared. As a woman writing an American novel that centered Chinese American daughters, mothers and grandmothers, Tan felt a sudden and unwanted sense of responsibility.
鈥淚 was handed the mantle of responsibility that I didn鈥檛 quite know that I could handle,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 constantly found myself saying, 鈥楴o, this is not representational; this is fiction.鈥� The book was published during a time when people were trying to find literature that could right the social wrongs that had been [committed] in the past, especially in stereotypes and underrepresentation.
鈥淚 had people praising me for writing about their lives, characters that they could identify with, while others said, 鈥楬ow dare she write about people speaking broken English? That鈥檚 not how we speak in my family.鈥� But people didn鈥檛 understand. There鈥檚 no way one book can satisfy the emotional, sociological and psychological needs of many different people from different backgrounds.鈥�
As Tan navigated the international spotlight, she discovered the true pleasure in writing fiction 鈥� exploring the universal emotional truths inherent in families, especially between daughters and mothers. Her storytelling paved the way for generations of writers to come.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no way one book can satisfy the emotional, sociological and psychological needs of many different people from different backgrounds.鈥�
鈥� Amy Tan
Amy Tan's debut made waves at 91传媒厂 in 1991. Headline reads "91传媒厂 grad's second book tops bestseller list." Source: 91传媒厂 ScholarWorks.
鈥淪an Jos茅 State was a very influential time in the sense that at that stage in life, you end up making discoveries of new ideas that become lifelong pillars of curiosity. I got a terrific education at San Jos茅 State.鈥�
鈥� Amy Tan
This excerpt of PBS American Masters' "Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir" reveals how she and her husband studied at 91传媒厂.
Following the release of the 2021 PBS documentary, 鈥淎my Tan: Unintended Memoir,鈥� novelist and former Steinbeck Fellow at San Jos茅 State, that 鈥淭an inspired me and so many others who followed to write the stories that only we could tell.鈥�
Regardless of the nationality or gender of her characters, Tan wants her readers to know that good storytelling speaks to its readers when it is grounded in specificity 鈥� everything from the description of a jade pendant to the color of pygmy nuthatch鈥檚 feathered head (slate gray). The connections live in the details.
鈥淓ven if the outer appearance of a story is fictional, it has to have depth and an emotional component that鈥檚 very true, very authentic,鈥� Tan says. 鈥淧eople believe in that specificity of detail, combined with emotion. It makes them feel that this [the story] is their world that they have inhabited, even if they've never been a part of that world. That鈥檚 because emotions are universal.鈥�
Watching the right things
Fifty-two years after graduating from 91传媒厂, Tan鈥檚 life is guided by curiosity and attention to detail. In order to draw a bird well, she says you must first repeat out loud what you see: Black crown, blue eye ring, short beak. The act of telling creates an image in your mind that you can then better re-create on paper, just as the practice of recalling literary images from a powerful book can strengthen a writer鈥檚 voice. Birds and characters alike contain entire stories in images, real and imagined.
鈥淲atching and observing birds and writing fiction have influenced each other for me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just that watching birds has helped me write fiction, or that writing fiction has helped me become a better birdwatcher. [Both are motivated by] an intense curiosity where I can watch the same thing for a very long time 鈥� not just more than five minutes, more than an hour, but for years. I鈥檓 able to watch how things develop and change over time and in context to larger issues in history.鈥�
Tan has observed generations of birds nesting in her yard. During our interview, she noticed a purple finch, an oak titmouse and a junco 鈥� all within the course of a few seconds. Her birds, like her characters, leave impressions that last a lifetime.
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