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HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!
@idinamenzel #PeasproutChen and I wish you a happy year of the fire horse!
Love,
Henry
#lunarnewyear #yearofthehorse #DiverseBooks #reading

The virtual programming leading up to the 2026 #LocusAwards weekend takes place May 27-28, with a series of fantastic author readings! #HenryLien and #KellyRobson will read on Thurs May 28 from 4-5PM PDT, make sure you have your ticket to tune in!

locusmag.com/awards26in bio

ME FUELING UP FOR MY @LECTURESONTAP PERFORMANCE TONIGHT
Stir-fried pea leaves and chewy tofu, sautés avec peanuts, scallions, garlic, low sodium soy sauce, turmeric, over brown rice. Vegan and about 18 grams of protein (same as fish filet sandwich).
Love,
Henry
#vegan #hipstereats

A LABYRINTH, NOT A LIBRARY

Just got back from the members’ preview of the magnificent new @davidgeffen Galleries at @lacma.

Instead of organizing just by historical period, movement, or medium, like most encyclopedic museums, this is vibe-coded around theme and tone in a democratically ahistorical or multihistorical organization. The result is an experience that is exciting, not academic, effortlessly diverse, not agenda-driven.

@peterzumthorarchitecture’s beautiful flowing design straddles Wilshire Blvd like a napping Colossus. It deliberately interrupts not just a linear path, but any kind of orderly path, through the museum. The usual march through history and the hushed reverence of most museums is replaced with disorientation, discovery, and delight. Small doorways open onto vast rooms of treasures in seeming defiance of physics. Also, there are NO. WHITE. WALLS. This has a remarkable effect on reducing the pretension and intimidating feel of the clean white cube presentation of most art institutions.

This is a museum that doesn’t usher you through an orderly catalog. It’s not a library. It’s a labyrinth.

Love,

Henry
#DavidGeffenGalleries #LACMA

Hey, you. Yeah, you. You like watching an author work himself into a lather about #kishotenketsu and Eastern storytelling structures? Thot so, you look like the type. Well, then, here’s a hawt video for you. Link in profile.
- Henry
#SpringSummerAsteroidBird @w.w.norton

Interview with Henry Lien #fiction #nonfiction @henrylienauthor @andreagoyan @mariakorolov @metastellarmagazine @marieginga

The Art of Eastern Storytelling
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#creativeprocess #storytellers #storytellingart #bookrecs #artofstorytelling

COOL LECTURES + DRINKS - EXAMS =
I got invited by @lecturesontap to do a lecture about my book #SpringSummerAsteroidBird (@w.w.norton) and #kishotenketsu. They bring cool professors to talk about intriguing subjects but in bars, with alcohol. So it’s the best parts of college without the pressure. DM me for link to buy tickets. This goes on public sale on Sunday and it WILL sell out (they always do) so tarry not. @skylightbooks will be hawking my book there.
Love,
Henry
#beerphilosophy

MAKE AN OLD MAN HAPPY
Today is my 56th birthday! My birthday wish is that people do something loving for animals, their bodies, and the planet by having a vegan meal and then sharing a picture and tagging me! If you need suggestions for restaurants near you with vegan options, check out happycow.net.
Love,
Henry
#BirthdayWish #Vegan #PoorEmaciatedVegan #OMGTheyreSlowlyKillingThemselves #VeganSarchasm

Experience this introduction to non-Western, non-linear storytelling structures using case studies ranging from The Thousand and One Nights to Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.

TAKE THIS CLASS IF:
- You write anything from fiction to non-fiction, prose, screenplays, or poems.
- You’re interested in exploring how cultural values dictate forms.
- You suspect there is a way to go deeper into your work but can’t seem to cram it into a tidy, three-act, linear structure.
- You’re interested in possibility.

The deadline to register for this class is Wednesday, April 22 at 5:00 PM CDT. Learn more and sign up at the link in our bio!

PLEASE NOTE: This class has been rescheduled from Wednesday, April 15.

Experience this introduction to non-Western, non-linear storytelling structures using case studies ranging from The Thousand and One Nights to Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.

TAKE THIS CLASS IF:
- You write anything from fiction to non-fiction, prose, screenplays, or poems.
- You’re interested in exploring how cultural values dictate forms.
- You suspect there is a way to go deeper into your work but can’t seem to cram it into a tidy, three-act, linear structure.
- You’re interested in possibility.

The deadline to register for this class is Wednesday, April 22 at 5:00 PM CDT. Learn more and sign up at the link in our bio!

PLEASE NOTE: This class has been rescheduled from Wednesday, April 15.

East Asian Four Act Structure #storytelling #empathy #surprise #kaboom #podcast

#stories are #entertaining, they give us #meaning and are part of what it mean to be #human