“Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”: Seven Questions for Adrienne Su
When I was a little girl, I always thought of poetry as a fantasy style of writing that always rhymed, and was most commonly found through the dialogue of picture books read to me at bedtime. As I grew older, I realized it was definitely the opposite of what I had thought. Although elementary school was an unmemorable blur, getting to middle school, I learned to decipher every single line of a poem assigned to me, carefully examining any possible theme, symbol, or motif. I separated poetry from the real world and the classroom. However, that is not the case for all writers.
Adrienne Su is an author, poet, and teacher from Atlanta, Georgia. Growing up, Su always knew she wanted to be a writer, of both fiction and poetry. When attending Harvard University, she majored in English; however, she stated in a 2022 interview with the Phi Beta Kappa society that the most influential class she took was “The Sacred Geography of Traditional China,” which led to her development as a poet, as well as a pursuit of an East Asian Languages and Civilizations major. Growing up as a Chinese American girl living in the South shines through four poetry books, her newest, Peach State, as well as Living Quarters, Having None of It, Sanctuary, and Middle Kingdom, and her book composed of essays, Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet. These books are a reflection of many things: experiences growing up, food and kitchen influence, her Eastern Asian studies, and her family. Today, she teaches creative writing at Dickinson College, teaching introductory workshops in poetry and fiction, as well as continuing her interest in poetry in addition to writing.
In your poem, “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome,” I notice that you often begin sections with a sense of possibility, such as “the chance” or “the likelihood.” Although there could be a non-specific reason, does this help to create a reminiscing reflection of sorts? Or does it more reflect a lack of specific memory of the past, creating a more distant feel?
I conceived of it as a list of symptoms of a “syndrome,” with the hope that each “symptom” would become a portal into memory—the “reminiscing reflection” you mention—but not just my own memory. The hope is that a reader of any background can connect with the sense of loss (and gain) over generations. And I wanted to examine the phrase “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” and push it beyond its conventional use.
Reading the line “Peking duck, though crispy and succulent, is not the artist’s medium,” I couldn’t quite figure out if the line is criticizing how the Chinese Restaurant is unable to perfect the dish as well as a home-cooked meal, or is it saluting the fact that the restaurant provides a meal that “the cook” could enjoy as well?
It didn’t occur to me to read it that way, but it can work in that mode. I can tell you what I was thinking about, but that should not make someone else’s reading of the poem wrong, if that reading can be supported by the poem. In my mind were the many immigrants who have an art they practiced back home—whether the practice of medicine or the practice of architecture, etc.—but who for reasons of language, licensing, etc., cannot practice it in the new country and must do whatever is available to make a living, such as cooking in a restaurant.
Overall, would you say this poem reflects a more observant tone, or a tone that reflects on the importance overall personally of Chinese restaurants?
I think tone is in the reader’s ear and therefore is not for me to describe. But there probably is a sense of tribute to, or appreciation of, Chinese restaurants.
You mentioned how, as a poet, you enjoy connecting with other poets and their poems. In addition to this, you listed some of them and their attributions. How do you help your own students find poetic influences?
When teaching a workshop, I include as much reading and discussing of established poets’ work as I can, without crowding out the workshop time too much, and at Dickinson College, my colleagues and I invite poets to campus. I also encourage students to browse the archives of the Poetry Foundation and the Academy of American Poets for poems they connect with, then lead a class conversation about a poem that resonated with them.
In our class, we read an essay written by Robert Archambeau on the current state of American Poetry. Connecting this, what would you say are some advantages of writing and teaching just poetry in your class? Are there any disadvantages?
I’m not sure what Archambeau essay you read, but to answer your question on its own: It depends on what the class’s focus is. If it’s a poetry class, we read mostly poetry but sometimes an essay, review, or interview as well. In other classes, we read poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
I read how, before you knew your strength was poetry, you wrote both fiction and poetry and illustrated it. Would you say that through this practice early on, it led you to use descriptive imagery in your poetry as well as following a more collective and free-style sort of poetry?
The early habit of illustration probably did contribute to my interest in imagery, or maybe illustration was simply an expression of the same impulse that leads to descriptive writing, but it’s hard to say how it influenced the forms the poems take. If anything, my poems are generally less “free-style” than most current poetry. As for fiction: Almost every writer has tried multiple genres, and fiction is the most familiar genre to most readers, so I’m not sure it has any significance in my case.
Based on your interest in cuisine and above all, recipes, would you say there is any key dish that sticks out as your favorite? Have you ever attempted to create a recipe from scratch yourself?
I’m hopeless at choosing favorites of anything, but to answer part two, yes, I have been working on recipes lately, in essays on literature and art. I test them and ask others to test them—very different from running a poem draft by a writer friend. This is a nascent project, so not a lot of it is out in the world yet. One essay with recipes is forthcoming in a collection of prose writings by poets, Fix Your Hearts or Die: Essays on David Lynch (LSU Press, 2027)