PLENARY SESSION: Friday, September 30, 11:30am - 12:45pm in Lecture Center 100

Da Chen

From China to Wall Street to Random House

Da Chen grew up in the deep south of China, running barefoot in muddy fields and riding the backs of water buffaloes. In his tiny Fujian village, water was fetched from an ancient well swimming with snakes, and the only lights that burned in most households were hissing kerosene lanterns. As the grandson of a disgraced landowner, he was a victim of political persecution and hollowing poverty. During the Cultural Revolution, his family was beaten, his father thrown into reform camp, and at the age of nine Chen was threatened with imprisonment.

Unfailing family love helped him survive, as did the unexpected love and friendship he found with four other outcasts. However, it was above all his dreams that enabled him to soar above the poverty and persecution. His first encounter with a Christian woman, a Baptist professor, was life changing. She taught him English and opened the possibility of another world. He excelled in college at Beijing Languages and Culture University, and stayed on to teach English after graduating top in his class.

Da arrived in America at the age of 23 with $30 in his pocket, a bamboo flute, and a heart filled with hope. He attended Columbia University School of Law on a full scholarship, and upon graduating, worked for the Wall Street investment banking firm of Rothschilds, Inc. before launching a career as an author

Colors of the Mountain, his first memoir, was compared to Angela's Ashes and was the object of an intense bidding war among five top New York publishing houses and went on to become a New York Times bestseller in 2000 before being adapted for children as China's Son.

Colors of the Mountain China's Son

Sounds of the River, the sequel to his first memoir, was published in 2003 to rave international reviews: Los Angeles Times says, "Chinese emigre literature has brought to these shores many new and interesting voices--the haunting lyricism of Ha Jin, the harsh worldview of Anchee Min, the righteous indignation of Adeline Yen Mah. Da Chen's voice comes from the soil of China. . . his exuberance for life and its possibilities set him apart from others in the genre."
Da's first fiction for young readers, Wandering Warrior, by Random House Children's Books, is described by USA Today as "China's answer to [Harry] Potter."

Wandering Warrior

All students in Freshman Comp at SUNY New Paltz during the Fall 2005 semester are reading Da Chen's Sounds of the River

Sounds of the River

His first adult fiction, Brothers, will be published in Fall 2006

** If you are a person with a disability who will require special accommodations, please contact Meredith Venetten at the SUNY New Paltz Composition Program office (845-257-2727) no later than Friday, September 9.