Rebecca F. Kuang, 'Goodness, Beauty, and Truth: The Value of Art in Times of Crisis,' 2022

The 2022 Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature, delivered by Rebecca F. Kuang on May 23 at Pembroke College, Oxford.
00:00 Lecture
32:16 Questions
Rebecca F. Kuang is a Marshall Scholar, translator, and the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award nominated author of the Poppy War trilogy and the forthcoming Babel. She has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford; she is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale.
More about Rebecca F. Kuang: rfkuang.com
More about the Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature: tolkienlecture.org

[@kaliloon]

"...we've fallen into the habit of reading and critiquing books solely for their themes and messages, or what we think are their themes and messages, rather than reading them as explorations of all the infinite ways that one can be human." 12:40 this really struck a chord for me

[@davidwinkle2818]

She touched on a contradiction at the heart of modern fantasy. Part of its appeal is escapism, for sure. But because art is never made from a vacuum, it cannot be fully seperate from real life or from real human experiences. The fantasy author and blogger Brian De Leonard once said that if you want pure escapism, it is better to play tetris.

[@baloog8]

Tetris reminds me of the different shape objects my ex wife threw at me in succession.

[@zohalarbabzada9654]

R.F Kuang perfectly captured my unspoken thoughts on the over-emphasis of readers on the themes in novels in contributing to the value of literature in contemporary society!

[@nikhilmavi6076]

I think I’ll need a lecture on this lecture

[@Asummersdaydreamer14]

Thank you for sharing her lecture, and thank goodness Tolkien shared his writing

[@YourTrueShelf]

I was so happy that this lecture was available online. Rebecca was a brilliant speaker, and I learned and considered new things from her talk. Questions were also very interesting. I'm reading Babel at the moment and it's wonderful.

[@warmybear1009]

Love this! I read The Poppy War because someone said it did something quite new (in their experience) regarding violence & the cost of war within fantasy but came out thinking that a certain character was both monstrouous and also felt that it was interesting & somewhat relatable that their journey started on wanting to find their own worth & defend what was important to them. I got why Rin did what she did and was just thankful this wasn't a book and me in her shoes. It took me a long time to read & I have multiple learning disabilities but it felt more like through a horrific & terrifying scenario I felt like I grew a little, learnt a little & developed a little. I'm not sure if I've explained it well but Ms Kuang's work resonated in a way I wasn't expecting and I'm very thankful for her work.

[@ohsoabby4689]

I’ve been looking forward to watching this for so long and it somehow still exceeded expectations!!! Such a thoughtful lecture👏

[@grafffuller3265]

Thank you for this wonderful lecture. Learning how you gathered your information for the books, even while studying and gaining your degree is quite impressive. You time management must be incredible. I find for myself going ONE way or ANOTHER, but the balancing of the BOTH incredibly difficult. Your thoughtful words about your experience as a writer was truly insightful and appreciated. I've read your Poppy War series twice and am looking forward to reading Babel...and your romance book that takes place in hell (so interesting). Congratulations on your engagement. May the two of you continue to inspire each other both in your relationship and in your careers. Again, thank you for this lecture.

[@m.b.2709]

im so happy that she exist

[@justinadair5458]

Great talk and follow-up Q&A, I really enjoyed it. Kuang is a treasure and we're lucky to have her writing. Can't wait to read Babel!

[@rohanxdavis]

Excellent lecture Rebecca. I salute you.

[@azmilog]

fantastic lecture : )

[@bobbybaucom9440]

This afternoon I have a book discussion at the local library of Yellowface, R.F. Kuang's popular novel. To learn a bit more about the book, in addition to reading it, naturally, I watched a few You Tube video reviews. Some were very positive while others less so. I was wondering to myself while listening to the reviews if Ms. Kuang listen to them much like June Hayward aka Juniper Song, did in the book. I guess that's the life of every author, no matter how successful. The best to all of you and good reading.

[@billyalarie929]

the little tidbit on "show vs. tell" absolutely blew my mind out of the W A T E R Rebecca is such a valuable force on this world. she's going to take us into the heart of this millennium, until it's finally beating again. let's go.

[@billyalarie929]

as a person with a disability, i think it's time to put my voice in the hat, of writers who challenge the status quo of white/straight/cis/ablebodied/etc.............. 🤔

[@angeliprimlani9389]

OMG THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

[@peetypete13]

When she said, “Bigots seeing themselves as the hero” that was some powerful stuff.

[@EdrickSnowbeard]

By that logic, Rebecca is now a bigot since she paints herself as a hero for people of color in fantasy. And I would have to agree…Rebecca Kuang is a bigot.

[@jack.6956]

She's talking about herself

[@joshualavender]

Thank you, Ms. Kuang, for having the courage to criticize the publishing world's current obsession with identity and labels, and for pointing out the myopic reading this leads to. Your critique puts me in mind of how Jeanette Winterson observed in Art Objects (I'm paraphrasing from memory) that publishing work or reviewing it favorably merely because the writer is gay or the work is about homosexual experience ultimately does a disservice to the writer and to literature. The one novel I've written so far features characters across the range of sexuality and centers a love story between a lesbian woman and a bisexual woman. The novel is a far-future, post-Singularity dystopia about digital disembodiment. The idea that readers are primed to take it as instead being about homosexuality, with some readers embracing it and others reviling it for that when all I've done is allow characters to be who they are and love whom they choose, is disheartening. The idea that, because of this priming, some agents and editors are assessing the manuscript simply for its strength as "representation" and missing its point entirely is not only disheartening but infuriating. For the sake of writers like me who write with diversity but not *about* diversity (and also hate the use of the word "diversity" in book marketing), I hope the publishing world takes heed of your criticism and course-corrects to engage readers with what we're really writing about. Also, your book Babel sounds fascinating and I look forward to reading it. Also, congrats on your engagement!

[@adamgrofe9989]

That lecture was so good that I decided to buy Babel!

[@andyapricot4104]

4:43

[@wtfiswrongwithmee]

“there’s love in the air… in hell” cant wait to read a romcom by rf kuang!!!!!!

[@Tonywozere99]

You couldn't spell out the 2 Chinese reformers mentioned around the 5-6minute mark by Rebecca please?

[@warmybear1009]

Liang Qichao & Lu Xun (deaf so going off subtitles but I think that's them!)

[@Tonywozere99]

@@warmybear1009 subtitles, of course, shud have turned them on. Thanks for that

[@warmybear1009]

@@Tonywozere99 ha no worries!

[@ShubhamBhushanCC]

It's amazing that we only think propaganda comes from the suppressed

[@Luka-zr4ue]

😔 ρɾσɱσʂɱ

[@jack.6956]

Babel was decent

[@jack.6956]

Lol "bigots see themselves as the hero" shes talkin about herself the little hypocrit. Just read babel, i had to force myself to finish it

[@SaralinaLove]

Ironic that she speaks against bigotry and hate when her book Babel promotes these exact things. I’m deeply concerned young people or anybody who is reading her books that are covert propaganda clearing leaning in a certain direction

[@phaioncirrus3818]

exactly. remember HER type of bigotry/hate (the leftist kind) is OK and is to be tolerated. Leftists are allowed to be bigoted, it's only if you're conservative then it's not ok

[@derlis_whatever7033]

you really didn't listen to the lecture so you should just leave honestly

[@derlis_whatever7033]

@@Hengest-Horsa no, he proved her point actually

[@derlis_whatever7033]

@@Hengest-Horsa 😂

[@jack.6956]

Agreed. She's a hypocrit and a fool

[@EdrickSnowbeard]

I really don’t like Rebecca

[@legendswithjasper]

Personally, I think she’s brilliant. To each their own

[@billyalarie929]

lol great response, Ghoul. really living up to your name, there, buddy.

[@Kiki-oo3bw]

you don't even know her, wtf 💀

[@EdrickSnowbeard]

@@billyalarie929 just look at her acceptance speech for the 2020 Hugo Awards and you’ll see what I mean. Also, you don’t have to be a passive aggressive dick.

[@EdrickSnowbeard]

@@Kiki-oo3bw from what I’ve seen of her, it’s more than nauseating.

[@manzoorahmed366]

She's got the purpose of art all wrong