Courtesy of David Bazemore
Author and Grammy-nominated musician Michelle Zauner spoke at UC Santa Barbara’s Campbell Hall about her book “Crying in H Mart: A Memoir,” which was selected as the official 2026’s UCSB Reads book.
Zauner is the lead vocalist for indie pop band Japanese Breakfast. “Crying in H Mart,” her debut memoir published in 2021, dives into themes of family, culture and loss, exploring Zauner’s complex relationship with her late mother and self identity through images of food.
The May 7 event served as the closing evening to the 20th annual UCSB Reads program. In its history, the program has brought in books and speakers on topics ranging from family memoir, like “Crying in H Mart,” along with politics, environmentalism and social justice. Book selections are made by the UCSB Library and Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost.
Since its publication, “Crying in H Mart” has received mass critical acclaim, receiving a 2022 American Book Award and spending 60 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
Zauner was joined in conversation with Sameer Pandya, Chair and Associate Professor of the UCSB Asian American Studies department. Together, the pair talked about their experiences and relationships with culture and identity, along with creative expression and artistry.
Half Korean and half white, Zauner spent her upbringing in a mixed-race household in Eugene, Oregon, developing a unique relationship with her culture. Her complicated and loving relationship with her Korean mother, who passed away from cancer in 2014, is the key theme of “Crying in H Mart.”
After the passing of her mother and a seemingly-failed music career at age 25, she moved to New York City and worked a corporate job, something she described as “deeply unfulfilling.”
While working her office job and still reeling from the loss of her mother, music never left her mind. “I just thought, ‘I’ll do creative work on the side to feel better about myself,’” Zauner said.
After being unexpectedly let go from her corporate job, Zauner took the opportunity (and a two month severance package) to focus on her music career and creative endeavors. Zauner’s music career began picking up and Japanese Breakfast entered full swing, embarking on tours, receiving critical acclaim and writing album after album.
To Zauner, her music was a way of expressing her grief, writing songs to understand and process the loss of her mom, her biracial identity and her relationship with her identity. Her venture into creative nonfiction came about when she needed more words to express herself than lyrics allotted for.
“There was some very specific story happening with being biracial and connection to that culture. And something about food as a story could not be captured in a song anymore, and that was going to be a big idea,” Zauner said.
Zauner began writing the essays that later became her memoir, “Crying in H Mart.” Excerpts of her work were originally published in The New Yorker, after Zauner received advice to create an “interactive website” to promote her second album, “Soft Sounds from Another Planet.” While both she and The New Yorker editor she met with were unsure of what that meant, he offered to read any writing she had.
“[The essay] had such an amazing response,” Zauner shared. “I reached back out to that agent and sold my book.”
The success of both “Crying in H Mart” and Japanese Breakfast is something that is often overwhelming to Zauner. She talked about how she handles the mass attention towards her deeply personal artistry, and what it’s like to navigate fame.
“Something that helps me is reminding myself that whatever I’m making is just an archive of who I am as an artist in that moment, and all I can do is my best in that moment and let it go fast,” Zauner said.
Before closing the conversation, Pandya asked about two duets Zauner has done — her introduction to the 20th anniversary edition of David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest” and her collaboration with Jeff Bridges on her song “Men in Bars.” The audience laughed when she mentioned both were inadvertently tied to masculinity in the music and literature industries.
The evening concluded with an audience Q&A session and a book signing. Several fans got the opportunity to speak with the author and share their relationship with the memoir.
This article appeared in the May 14 print edition of the Daily Nexus
