Longtime Washington State University professor Alex Kuo, a distinguished Chinese-American poet and novelist whose heritage figured prominently in many of his works, died June 11, 2025.
Here, friends and former students remember the writer.
‘One-of-a-kind’
Alex was on a Fulbright in Beijing when he reached out to me and a few other former students about teaching positions at a nearby program there. His letter said something like, “Quit your job and come right away. You’ll have plenty of time to write.” I did quit my job and, within a month, was teaching English at the Beijing Forestry University. Alex was working at an adjacent … » More …
Joan Burbick spent 30 years searching for her mother-in-law. The result is a spellbinding fictional memoir about sifting through family secrets and lies, unearthing the truth, and seeking justice. Erased is her second novel. Here, the retired Washington State University professor of English and American studies discusses her relentless and perhaps obsessive pursuit for answers.
When did you decide to turn your search for answers about your mother-in-law into a book—and a fictionalized version at that? What made you want to share the story?
At first, all I wanted was answers. What happened to Katherine Lin? It wasn’t until I sensed that the search … » More …
The treacherous Arctic is the setting of a harrowing true story of shipwreck, disaster, and survival in the early twentieth century. Acclaimed adventure writer Buddy Levy, also a creative writing and English professor at Washington State University, talks with Washington State Magazine associate editor Adriana Janovich about his latest book, Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk.
The second of three nonfiction historical narratives by master storyteller Levy about survival and exploration in the Arctic wilderness, this book tracks the voyage of the Karluk to the Bering Sea and its destruction in the ice, leaving crew, Inuit guides, and … » More …
Here’s a round-up of reading recommendations featuring titles by WSU alumni, faculty, and staff—including one to watch for later this spring.
Anything and everything by Buddy Levy. The celebrated author of seven books, Levy specializes in historical narrative, particularly epic adventures and survival stories—perfect for the pandemic, which makes us all armchair travelers. Levy’s taught writing at WSU for more than 30 years, and his own writing—meticulously researched, masterfully organized—simply sings. His riveting narratives make readers feel like they are right there with protagonists, experiencing everything they’re going through.
“Buddy Levy: Historical investigator” from the Summer 2011 issue
Labyrinth … » More …
Buddy Levy likes to make the trip.
He specializes in historical narrative, paying meticulous attention to detail, writing cinematically, and traveling to the sites of the stories he’s researching—sometimes several hundred years after they’ve occurred. Travel, he says, is necessary for scene-setting and description, and can be more meaningful than archival research.
His seventh book, Labyrinth of Ice, started with a visit to Greenland in 2003. But he was there to write about something else. Levy was covering a race in which Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to summit Mount Everest, was competing, and he managed to convince Weihenmayer to let … » More …