Christopher John Stephens

1 week ago | sampan.org | Christopher John Stephens

When a reader has to walk that vulnerable space between style and substance, falling deeply into the former at the sake of the latter, there’s a literary problem. If a writer consistently offers a surfeit serving of style that suffocates basic plot structure and purpose, there is a literary problem. Such has been the story, arguably, with writer Banana Yoshimoto.

1 week ago | sampan.org | Christopher John Stephens

When a reader has to walk that vulnerable space between style and substance, falling deeply into the former at the sake of the latter, there’s a literary problem. If a writer consistently offers a surfeit serving of style that suffocates basic plot structure and purpose, there is a literary problem. Such has been the story, arguably, with writer Banana Yoshimoto. As a relative wunderkind who came onto the scene in 1988 with Kitchen, the template is more than familiar: Take […]

1 month ago | sampan.org | Christopher John Stephens

In the previous issue of Sampan, we presented the first half of a two part interview with NPR reporter and author Emily Feng, who recently published her book, Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping’s China. The book explores who we are as reflected by our political surroundings and as defined by our cultural baggage in its collection of stories about people in China. In the first half, we discussed “Document Nine,” an initiative set forth by Pres.

1 month ago | sampan.org | Christopher John Stephens

It would be trivial to start any discussion of the genocide in Gaza, now 19-months old and counting, looking at how the consequences of campus protests and journalistic free speech have decimated both the fourth estate — the media —and academia. Look toward statistics of over 53,000 killed and 100,000 wounded by Israeli forces, and nearly 2,000 killed since the breaching of a ceasefire. Palestinian forces reportedly killed 1,195 people, including 815 civilians in their initial invasion of Israel.

1 month ago | sampan.org | Christopher John Stephens

In the previous issue of Sampan, we presented the first half of a two part interview with NPR reporter and author Emily Feng, who recently published her book, Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping’s China. The book explores who we are as reflected by our political surroundings and as defined by our cultural baggage in its collection of stories about people in China. In the first half, we discussed “Document Nine,” an initiative set forth […]