In 2016, disturbed by a rise in racism and divisiveness, bestselling novelist Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club, The Bonesetter’s Daughter) took refuge in nature journaling. Unable to drive, she became especially enamored with the birds in her backyard. The Backyard Bird Chronicles excerpts entries and skillful colored-pencil drawings and sketches from her illustrated journals across five years that reveal the novelist’s obsession with birds as well as her fascination with their dramas. As the entries unfold between 2017 and 2022, readers witness Tan’s knowledge of California scrub jays, oak titmice, dark-eyed juncos, hermit thrushes, pygmy nuthatches, Cooper’s hawks, and great horned owls growing alongside her genuine curiosity about avian mysteries. As ornithologist and bird illustrator David Allen Sibley mentions in his introduction, under Tan’s gaze, these birds become characters. This is a bright, sometimes funny, and intimate look at what happens when a celebrated fiction author brings her creativity to a medium in which she faces no public expectations or scrutiny—and yet produces something strong in personality and beauty.
AUTHOR AMY TAN IN CONVERSATION WITH JOHN FREEMAN
- When: Thursday, September 18, 2025, 5 p.m. Pacific time.
- Format: Freeman will lead a free hour-long conversation with Tan, which will include a reading by her and questions from the audience. Produced by Alta Journal for streaming on Zoom.
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