“I had seen an image of these hanging persimmons that are dried during the winter and turned into sweet, dried fruit. And I really like the idea of this very bitter, hard fruit before it's ripened - on display and slowly maturing and turning sweeter and letting its environment impact it. It felt like a very fitting metaphor for where I've come from.”

American musician, singer, songwriter, and author

Michelle Zauner is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author, best known as the lead singer of the indie pop band Japanese Breakfast. She is also known for her memoir Crying in H Mart, published in 2021. Her memoir spent 60 weeks on The New York Times hardcover non-fiction bestseller list. In 2022, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in its Innovators category, reflecting her reach beyond music into writing and public culture.