Irwin Tang
bonfirebook@hotmail.com

Irwin A. Tang is the author or co-author of four books. How I Became a Black Man and Other Metamorphoses (2006) is his first book-length work of fiction. Irwin’s latest nonfiction book is When Invisible Children Sing: a true story of five street children, an idealistic young doctor, and their dangerous hope (2006), which he co-wrote with the principal author, Dr. Chi Huang, MD.

Publisher’s Weekly wrote in a starred review that When Invisible Children Sing “demonstrates the humanity of those who are usually invisible.”

The Austin Chronicle wrote about How I Became a Black Man, “The fabulous Irwin Tang delights and haunts with his brilliant and heartbreaking collection of short stories.”

Nha Magazine calls How I Became a Black Man “the Asian American Crying of Lot 49” and AsianWeek calls Tang‘s writing “laugh-out-loud funny” and “righteously sexy.”

Tang says that the stories are based on “his life and surreal times.”

Irwin’s first nonfiction book was The Texas Aggie Bonfire: Tradition and Tragedy at Texas A&M. He is the editor and co-author of Asian Texans: Our Histories and Our Lives, to be published in summer 2007.

Irwin Tang was born and raised in College Station, Texas. He had a childhood marked by racism, controlling and demanding parents, and completely repressed teenage desires. Upon graduating from A&M Consolidated High School, he attended his hometown Texas A&M University on a major scholarship.

At Texas A&M, he was a campus leader on various issues, and when César Chávez spoke at the university, he asked Tang to work for the United Farm Workers. After graduation, Tang worked as a community organizer for the union and then earned a master’s degree in Asian Studies at UT Austin. Tang wrote his master’s thesis on anti-Asian violence in the United States. While studying at UT, Tang co-led a movement to establish the university’s Center for Asian American Studies.

After enlightening experiences as a substitute teacher and a worker in a social program for the homeless, Tang earned a master’s degree in fiction and screenwriting from the University of Southern California. In 1998, he took a trip to La Paz, Bolivia to witness the work of then-medical student Chi Huang, who treats street children for ailments and wounds. From this came the publication by Salt River/Tyndale House of When Invisible Children Sing: a true story of five street children, an idealistic young doctor, and their dangerous hope by Dr. Chi Huang, M.D., with Irwin Tang.

Tang has since worked as a freelance writer, a radio correspondent, and a college screenwriting teacher. In 2003, Tang caused a national sports controversy by criticizing basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal for his racial taunts and threats against basketball rookie Yao Ming. The controversy helped change the way that Asians are treated in sports media.

In 2005, Irwin Tang decided to publish the short stories he had been working on for ten years. The stories are largely based on his childhood, coming of age, the splintering of his identity, and his attempts to find meaning looking through a shattered looking glass.

In 2006, Irwin Tang earned his License of Professional Counseling-Intern license. He works as a counselor, community college creative writing teacher, and independent writer in Austin, Texas.