{"product_id":"our-laundry-our-town-my-chinese-american-life-from-flushing-to-the-downtown-stage-and-beyond-paperback-softback-9781531504830","title":"Our Laundry, Our Town; My Chinese American Life from Flushing to the Downtown Stage and Beyond (Paperback \/ softback) 9781531504830","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eOur Laundry, Our Town\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eMy Chinese American Life from Flushing to the Downtown Stage and Beyond\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eAlvin Eng (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781531504830\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 10 October 2023\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e212 pages, 24 b\/w illustrations\u003cbr\u003e21.6 x 14 x 1.7 cm, 0.302 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWith humor and grace, the memoir of a first-generation Chinese American in New \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eYork City.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eOur Laundry, Our Town\u003c\/i\u003e is a memoir that decodes and processes the fractured urban oracle bones of Alvin Eng's upbringing in Flushing, Queens, in the 1970s. Back then, his family was one of the few immigrant Chinese families in a far-flung neighborhood in New York City. His parents had an arranged marriage and ran a Chinese hand laundry. From behind the counter of his parents' laundry and within the confines of a household that was rooted in a different century and culture, he sought to reconcile this insular home life with the turbulent yet inspiring street life that was all around them––from the faux martial arts of TV's\u003ci\u003e Kung Fu\u003c\/i\u003e to the burgeoning underworld of the punk rock scene.\u003cbr\u003e In the 1970s, NYC, like most of the world, was in the throes of regenerating itself in the wake of major social and cultural changes resulting from the counterculture and civil rights movements. And by the 1980s, Flushing had become NYC's second Chinatown. But Eng remained one of the neighborhood's few Chinese citizens who did not speak fluent Chinese. Finding his way in the downtown theater and performance world of Manhattan, he discovered the under-chronicled Chinese influence on Thornton Wilder's foundational Americana drama, \u003ci\u003eOur Town\u003c\/i\u003e. This discovery became the unlikely catalyst for a psyche-healing pilgrimage to Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China—his ancestral home in southern China—that led to writing and performing his successful autobiographical monologue, \u003ci\u003eThe Last Emperor of Flushing\u003c\/i\u003e. Learning to tell his own story on stages around the world was what proudly made him whole.\u003cbr\u003e As cities, classrooms, cultures, and communities the world over continue to re-examine the parameters of diversity, equity, and inclusion, \u003ci\u003eOur Laundry, Our Town\u003c\/i\u003e will reverberate with a broad readership.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1 \u003c\/b\u003eThe Urban Oracle Bones of Our Laundry:\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eChanneling China's Last Emperor \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eRock 'n' Roll's First Opera\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e2 \u003c\/b\u003eEverybody Was Kung Fu Fighting . . . or Faking It\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e3 \u003c\/b\u003eOur Laundry's Roots in Resistance: \u003ci\u003eFamily Reunification Along Flushing's Fault Line\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e4 \u003c\/b\u003eIt's Only a Paper Son: The Chinatown Bachelor Society\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e5 \u003c\/b\u003eAddressees\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e6 \u003c\/b\u003eDisappearing Acts: That Old-Time Religion\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e7 \u003c\/b\u003eChinese Rocks: Opium, the Chinese Diaspora and Soul . . . and Punk Rock\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e8 \u003c\/b\u003eA Sort of Homecoming: But Where Are You \u003ci\u003eReally \u003c\/i\u003eFrom?\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e9 \u003c\/b\u003eThe Bigger Picture, On Screen and Off\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e10 \u003c\/b\u003eTrip the Light, Gorgeous Mosaic: Double Happiness, Discovering Playwriting and Activism\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e11 \u003c\/b\u003eCommencement Ceremonies: Leaving Flushing\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e12 \u003c\/b\u003eVillage Pilgrimage for a Marriage Blessing\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e13 \u003c\/b\u003eLife Dances On: \u003ci\u003eOur Town\u003c\/i\u003e in China\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eEpilogue\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Empire State Editions","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52619265016088,"sku":"9781531504830","price":14.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/our-laundry-our-town-my-chinese-american-life-from-flushing-to-the-downtown-stage-and-beyond-paperback-softback-9781531504830","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}