{"product_id":"9780819571991","title":"Encounters with Chinese Writers","description":"\u003cb\u003eWinner of the New England Book Show Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt’s been a pilgrimage for Annie Dillard: from Tinker Creek to the Galapagos Islands, the high Arctic, the Pacific Northwest, the Amazon Jungle—and now, China.  This informative narrative is full of fascinating people: Chinese people, mostly writers, who encounter American writers in various bizarre circumstances in both China and the U.S.  There is a toasting scene at a Chinese banquet; a portrait of a bitter, flirtatious diplomat at a dance hall; a formal meeting with Chinese writers; a conversation with an American businessman in a hotel lobby; an evening with long-suffering Chinese intellectuals in their house; a scene in the Beijing foreigners’ compound with an excited European journalist; and a scene of unwarranted hilarity at the Beijing Library.  In the U.S., there is Allen Ginsberg having a bewildering conversation in Disneyland with a Chinese journalist; there is the lovely and controversial writer Zhang Jie suiting abrupt mood changes to a variety of actions; and there is the fiercely spirited Jiange Zilong singing in a Connecticut dining room, eyes closed.  These are real stories told with a warm and lively humor, with a keen eye for paradox, and with fresh insight into the human drama.","brand":"Wesleyan University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47118785446128,"sku":"9780819571991","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780819571991_p0.jpg?v=1769910511","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780819571991","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}