A Conversation with Award-Winning Writer and Educator Patricia Park, the Author of Ambrosia Lee Drops the Mic

Welcome to Season 6, Episode 17! We love stand-up comedy as well as books with diverse representation. So we're really excited that our guest today is Patricia Park, a professor of creative writing and an award-winning writer. Her latest book is Ambrosia Lee Drops the Mic, a YA novel about a Korean American former child actress who decides to branch out and stand out in order to pursue her newfound love — stand-up comedy.  It's a funny story that also has some very real moments as Ambrosia, whose acting career peaked at the age of eleven, confronts family dynamics, the challenges when you don't fit the stereotypical looks in Hollywood, and how hard it is to do stand-up comedy. Patricia Park is a tenured Associate Professor in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at American University, Fulbright scholar in Creative Arts, Edith Wharton Writer-in-Residence, Jerome Hill Artist Fellow. Her other moves have included the adult novel Re Jane as well as the YA books Imposter Syndrome & Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim and What's Eating Jackie Oh. Additionally, Park has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Guardian, Salon, and others notable publications. In our conversation, Patricia shares a little about her journey, what it was like to perform over 50 times in stand-up, how she designs emotional moments, the importance of having non-stereotypical characters of Asian descent, and more. To learn more about Patricia, you can visit her website patriciapark.com, follow her on IG @patriciapark718, read her essays, and of course buy any of her novels including her latest Ambrosia Lee Drops the Mic. Enjoy the Conversation. If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].