Ang Lee (and Irene Shih)

The Eponymous Shih of What Shih Said

 Seven years ago, director Ang Lee wrote an essay describing his difficult personal journey to his film-making career, including the opposition of his father, and a crisis at 30 that almost saw him turning his back on his passion:

For the days that followed, I descended into malaise. My wife, noticing my unusual demeanor, discovered a schedule of classes tucked in my bag. She made no comment that night.

The next morning, right before she got in her car to head off to work, my wife turned back and – standing there on our front steps – said, ‘Ang, don’t forget your dream.’

And that dream of mine – drowned by demands of reality – came back to life. As my wife drove off, I took the class schedule out of my bag and slowly, deliberately tore it to pieces. And tossed it in the trash.

It's a beautiful essay (and very economically told, go see for yourself), and was a nice breath of fresh air floating around after all the other Oscar brouhaha.

And even better, this lovely essay was elegantly translated by my talented friend Irene Shih, fellow Lynbrook alum (go Vikings) and an excellent writer in her own right. And her translation of Ang Lee's essay has gone viral, popping up everywhere from Roger Ebert's Twitter feed...

Ang Lee on what he told his father about why he decided to attend the Univ. of Illinois. Thanks to Michael Mirasol. dld.bz/ck9sy
— Roger Ebert (@ebertchicago) February 26, 2013

...to Esquire magazine's "Things to Which You Should Toast", right under a picture of Jennifer Lawrence in a bikini.

It couldn't have happened to a nice gal. Kudos, Ms. Shih on a translation well done.

And, while you're over at her blog, checking out her Ang Lee translation, (which you should, right now), check out some of her other entries, including short fiction, a letter to her teenage self, and a loving tribute to 30 Rock on behalf of weirdos everywhere.

So, do yourself a favor, and spend some time with Ms. Shih. You'll be in very good company.