A photo of Wong in a cowboy outfit from 1957 was used for the book cover of his first novel, "Home Base."
The 1960s were a formative time for a second generation Chinese American like Shawn Wong. As an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, he joined the nation in trying to grasp the evolving notion of identity.
Among all of the uncertainties during the time, Wong was sure about one thing — he loved to write.
“I was trying to make sense of all kinds of things,” said Wong. “I became interested in finding my own history and Asian American history.”
“America needs to learn to talk about race and it can’t be simplified. It must be on a more sophisticated level, more than black and white, or yellow and white.” ♦
Meet Shawn Wong on Oct. 11 at China Harbor Restaurant, 2040 Westlake Ave N., Seattle. He is one of Northwest Asian Weekly’s nine honorees for the Asian American Pioneer Dinner. Tickets are $60 per person before Oct. 5, $75 after. For more information, please e-mail rsvp@nwasianweekly.com.