Klapper Hall, Room 703
Crystal.Kim@qc.cuny.edu
You can find my website here.
Research Interests
As a fiction writer, I am driven by a desire to understand lineage—the stories we lose and gain across time. My research interests include the history of Korea, including its occupation by Japan, the Korean War perpetuated by foreign powers, the stalemate that continues, and the decades-long aftermath, in which a fractured country has rebuilt itself into two drastically different nations. I also am interested in excavating the the systemic oppression women have faced for generations. My first novel If You Leave Me follows the lives of five characters, all shaped by the Korean War and its wreckage on their homeland. My forthcoming novel The Stone Home is based on real event and uncovers the hidden history of what was known as a reformatory institution in 1980s South Korea.
Teaching Interests
I am passionate about teaching creative writing, with a focus on fiction. Community and inclusivity is important to me, regardless of the class’s subject matter. I regularly teach workshops that include craft lectures, with a diverse reading list that tries to widen the ‘canon’ commonly used in academic settings. I am also enjoy teaching seminars on Asian American literature, multilingual texts, and novels that push our understanding of form in new ways.
Selected Publications
Books
The Stone Home. William Morrow / HarperCollins. Forthcoming 2024.
If You Leave Me. William Morrow / HarperCollins. 2018.
Essays
“How to Keep Going.” Poets and Writers. January 2022.
“Translation and the Family of Things.” Guernica. October 2019.
“Like You Know Your Own Bones.” The Paris Review. July 2018.
