The Oakland University AAPI and LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Groups (ERG) invited Curtis Chin, a talented writer and author, to Oakland University’s campus. On Nov. 8, Chin led a discussion about his memoir, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant.”
In Chin’s memoir, he recalls his memories growing up in his family’s restaurant in Detroit, Chung’s Carry Out. Through his take-out menu-inspired chapters, Chin talks about his experiences with his customers and his family and how working for his family’s restaurant helped him learn life lessons he will never forget.
“I felt like the city came to us,” Chin said. “They came to our dining room, so I got to see the whole gamut, whether it was Mayor Coleman Young or literally the prostitutes and pimps that would come in after six or seven at night. I really got to see all of Detroit.”
At the OU event, Chin was a featured Q&A panelist alongside Randiah Green, a reporter from Metro Times. Green and several others at the event are Detroiters who have known about Chung’s Carry Out or have experienced the restaurant themselves. Many of the questions given to the panelists felt as though they were out of a place of love for the restaurant and Detroit as a whole.
Although many horrific events were happening in Detroit at the time of the book, from the crack epidemic to the murder of Vincent Chin, Chin’s memoir still feels relatively positive.
Green asked Chin why it is important for a Detroiter to tell a story set in Detroit.
“Detroit gets a really bad rap. But I feel like I had a great childhood,” Chin said. “I wanted to present Detroit. Detroit produces good things, and it’s still a good place to raise a family, despite all the difficulties and the challenges that the city has gone through.”
In an anecdote from his book, Chin explained how his creative writing teacher at university accused him of plagiarism due to his story being too good. Ultimately, he decided not to make a big deal out of the situation.
During the discussion, Green asked Chin if he had any advice for current students who may struggle with the same problems.
“Just find better writing buddies,” Chin said. “Find situations where you feel like people are going to give you good feedback. It is still useful to get different feedback. If you’re a young writer, it’s really important for you to surround yourself with people that nurture you, that believe in your writing, and who can help you discover your voice. Not shut it down.”
Chung’s Carry Out was a beloved restaurant for many Detroiters. Unfortunately, Chung’s shut its doors for good in 2000.
Green asked Chin about the general audience’s reaction to the book. Chin expressed how the response to the book was emotional for him.
“He [his dad] just closed it, and one day it was there, and then it was gone,” Chin said. “Now that I’m coming out with this book, I feel like this is my chance to sort of thank the customers, the people who came to our restaurant for all those years, because you guys gave my family a great life.”
To learn more about Curtis Chin, visit his ‘Curtis from Detroit’ webpage.
