Articles By: Eric Allen

I teach English in Xiamen, China and I like to write sometimes. Hope you like to read sometimes. I’m kinda tall and I have red hair. I like bean burritos and rum but not together. My dream is to die under a sycamore tree. Well, not really I just like to write sometimes. Bob Dylan’s fantastic and Jesus walked on water or something like that. You should read "Lost in the Cosmos" by Walker Percy and Vincent van Goh wasn’t bad at what he did either. I’m an INFP if you know what that means. My niece and nephew are pasty and cute. http://epallen.wordpress.com/ http://ericallen83.blogspot.com/

Don’t Blame Ling Ling (or) Fools April

Don’t Blame Ling Ling (or) Fools April
Ling Ling works at the largest condom factory in the world. About six months ago I moved to one of those boom cities on the shores of southern China. Naturally, she was a bit embarrassed to tell me but after a few weeks of her saying she worked at some packaging factory, she laid it on me. I was shocked....
March 31st, 2012 | Fiction, Fiction & Poetry | Read More

Thanks Lucifer

Thanks Lucifer
I had an outcast in my middle school a while back.  She was significantly bigger than the rest of the students and in China, where the genetic code predicts that about 83% of the people are going to be skinny, this compounds the stigma of being “big boned.”  She sweated a bit too much....
November 3rd, 2011 | Social Justice | Read More

Tales of a Face Giver

Tales of a Face Giver
  Sensational. That’s probably the wrong word to describe the last few days in my life but I’m not sure that one word is capable of describing it. Not even a sensational word like sensational. Some people have an inflated view of who they are and how important they are but other people usually...
September 26th, 2011 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Dharma Bumming

Dharma Bumming
“I saw that my life was a vast glowing empty page and I could do anything I wanted.” (The Dharma Bums – Jack Kerouac) Recently I’ve been fostering within me a rather simple approach to life which goes like this: if a person asks you to do something, then do it even if you’re tired and try not...
July 13th, 2011 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Why can’t we be all the adjectives?

Why can’t we be all the adjectives?
I teach too much. I’ve been teaching from the same four books for seven months now. I’m not magical but I’ve come to foresee every question, every laugh and every mispronounced word like a sorcerer sees a shrew. This can be mind-numbing at times but sometimes, rarely, my students unravel strange...
June 24th, 2011 | Featured | Read More

The Music Box

The Music Box
There is nothing comparable in the history of the world to the cultural gap between the young and old in China today. Tonight Qian Yu, one of my very attractive neighbors, sent me a message and invited me to KTV (karaoke). When a beautiful girl asks you to do something, you (I) usually do it. So I flagged...
May 23rd, 2011 | Arts, Featured, Music | Read More

Bob Dylan’s Beijing Blues

Bob Dylan’s Beijing Blues
Forced to sign-and-red-star-stamp a document insuring that he wouldn’t offend the fragile feelings of the Chinese people, he complied, but even a preapproved Dylan is a resourceful Dylan. He’s gritty at 69 and has songs about everything. Nonetheless, the preapproved Dylan was a sad Dylan. A love...
April 12th, 2011 | Arts, Featured, Music | Read More

What Would You Say to a Chinese Journalist?

What Would You Say to a Chinese Journalist?
The boss hovered over and said, “Eric, let’s talk.” This is odd because my boss doesn’t speak much English. What did I do? What did I not do? I went to the end of the hall with him where he takes his smoke breaks by the window. He lit up. Inhaled. Exhaled. Looking out the window he started...
July 13th, 2010 | Essays, Featured | Read More

No Country for Hemingway

No Country for Hemingway
“One would give generous alms if one had the eyes to see the beauty of a cupped receiving hand.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I looked up and saw a black-rimmed college student reading a most mysterious book.  I peaked at the title.  The title was in English.  After seeing Chinese all day...
October 30th, 2009 | Books, Featured | Read More

“Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind”

Yes, we’re talking about Michael Jackson. The world is talking about Michael Jackson. I want to know how you and those around you have paid homage to this man’s death. If you didn’t, that’s okay, you might think about it and try. I will start off by telling you two drastically different tribute...
June 27th, 2009 | Music | Read More