Author Michael Meyer visits Morningside

Last week, Morningside had its first Writers Series event of the year. Author of In Manchuria: A Village Called Wasteland and the Transformation of Rural China and The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed, Michael Meyer spoke about living in China and transforming his experiences into two pieces of travel writing. Meyer, while working as an elementary school teacher, witnessed the arrival of forces like Walmart and Eastern Fortune Rice Company to the communities he would end up telling the stories of. Largely rejecting any nostalgic desire for preservation, he presented change in a positive light by explaining that many of the individuals within the affected areas have embraced the increased availability of goods and services. The event wrapped up with a raffle, in which a few lucky students got a signed copy of In Manchuria.