ESP Biography



XIAO YU WANG, MIT PhD Economics Student/lifelong writer



Major: Economics PhD

College/Employer: MIT

Year of Graduation: Not available.

Picture of Xiao Yu Wang

Brief Biographical Sketch:

Grew up in Central WI. Majored in Creative Writing, Math, and Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an undergrad.

Served as literature editor and editor-in-chief of the Undergraduate Journal of Humanities; worked with other journals as well. Oversaw the installation and operation of several art galleries. Took way too many writing workshops because they are incredibly fun.

I love writing and reading, all of it, wholly and unabashedly. (In case you're wondering why I'm a doctoral student in econ, I also love econ and math--particularly theoretical economics and analysis/topology/probability--but writing and reading are my first passions.) Junot Diaz is part of the reason I chose to come to MIT for grad school.

I don't believe there are ANY rules in writing.

My favorite magazines include (but are not limited to) The New Yorker and The Economist.

also: have embarrassing weakness for limericks, potassium, chuck norris jokes, le petit ecolier biscuits, eastern europe, zombie movies, trees--which means if if somebody plunked me down in a park in Ljubljana with a notepad, some bananas and biscuits, and a copy of Resident Evil, I'd probably just collapse from sheer bliss.



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

H2410: The Short Story and the Short Short Story in HSSP Summer 2009 (Jul. 12, 2009)
Have a lot to say but not that much time to say it? Ever wonder how entire lifetimes blossom and recede within a matter of pages? Do you ever wave a particularly brilliant story at a perfect stranger, proclaiming, "You have GOT to read this"? Have you ever spent an entire morning typing one sentence, and an entire afternoon deleting it? Or do you just, well, love to write? The aim of this course will be to push the boundaries of the short and short short story forms, but also to expose you to the broadest possible range of work. Most importantly, the focus will be on your writing, and the opportunity to read the work of your peers--the class will be *extremely* interactive. Finally, at least one class will be dedicated to experimental literature. The only way to improve as a writer is to write and read as often as possible, and to build lasting friendships with fellow writers. I hope this class serves as a springboard for all of these things. I think we'll have tons of fun! Note: I also believe food is a critical part of the writing process.