The week of October 17th unofficially became Ha Jin week around the department of English and Philosophy. The acclaimed author of Ocean of Words and Waiting visited Drexel's campus on Wednesday, October 20 and Thursday, October 21. The Freshman English Program Advisory Group, which chose Dr. Jin's The Bridegroom as required summer reading for all incoming freshmen, initiated the author's trip to Drexel. Events during his visit included an appearance in the Main Auditorium, a master class for freshman writers, and a reading/lecture in MacAlister Hall.

Dr. Jin's presentation, held on Wednesday in the Main Auditorium, began on a casual note. He emphasized that he was giving a "talk" instead of a lecture, and sought to involve the audience in the experience. The soft-spoken professor from Boston University discussed his reasons for moving to the United States in 1985. Because he saw "groundless suffering" in his native China, he was compelled to leave. Dr. Jin also believed that working there would be detrimental to his writing, and that his work would lose its integrity under heavy Chinese censorship. This attitude is reflected in much of Dr. Jin's work, as he often conveys the negative aspects of living as a Chinese citizen under the authority of the ever-pervasive socialist government.

This talk also gave Dr. Jin ample opportunity to offer some words of encouragement to aspiring writers. "In this profession," Dr. Jin urged, "the only thing that will wait for you is failure." He also went on to describe his philosophy about the craft: "Writers don't [write] for success...they do it because that's their way of life. That's how I confronted failure."

Shortly after the oration, a reception was held in the Great Court. Light refreshments were served, and Dr. Jin signed copies of his books for the audience. The Magnificent Minds arts and lecture series sponsored the reception.

On the following day, Dr. Jin gave two additional presentations in more intimate surroundings. The first was a master class for freshman writers. These students were selected to attend the master class based upon their previously submitted writing. The select group was excited to have their work examined by an established author, and the students were eager to hone their skills as writers.

The third and final event of the Ha Jin visit was a reading conducted to a small crowd of students and faculty. Dr. Jin read one of his short stories, "Saboteur," and deconstructed it for the audience. He also offered numerous tips for would-be authors. One of his most interesting pieces of advice was to split a story in two and throw out the first half. He suggested placing the story's dramatic center in the opening in order to draw the reader in, a technique that Dr. Jin said he learned from 19th-century Russian author Anton Chekhov.

Other important advice that Dr. Jin gave to the crowd was to use different types of language in a short story: both description "to show" and summary "to tell." He informed the crowd that summary is very important to a short story, and said that strength as a writer is shown in telling a story in a peculiar, interesting way. Dialogue, according to Dr. Jin, is also important because it serves to further the drama and reveal character. He termed this use of dialogue the "slant approach" to character development. Also, to give characters depth, Dr. Jin suggested "thinking with the characters in order to define nuances and the psychology of the protagonist."

Drexel's students and faculty showed their appreciation for Dr. Jin's visit and for his professional advice. Both public events had strong turnouts, with about 130 students and faculty attending the talk and 45 present for the reading.

Bill Valerio is a pre-junior majoring in English, and an editorial assistant for the Drexel Online Journal.