Writing, Event, and Peace: The Art of Peace in Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Fifth Book of Peace

The Fifth Book of Peace begins with Maxine Hong Kingston’s decision to see the Oakland-Berkeley fire as significant event posing the problem of peace. Her subsequent inquiries about this event reveal that no universal ideas of peace and methods of peace are eternally valid. Her answer consists in writing as a model for any kinds of answers to that problem because writing involves various perspectives and can lead to a shared perspective when agreement among them is reached. Writing is also useful because it facilitates self-understanding and inner peace, and because it helps writers grasp the ephemeral ideas of peace eclipsed by representation. Thus Kingston conducts writing workshops in which members practice writing, meditation, and silence. Her vision of a peaceful world is composed of peace-makers using peaceful methods to achieve inner peace and to produce peace in the world through a shared idea of peace.