Jim Wong-Chu: An Asian Canadian Literary Icon

Written by Nicole Go
Translated by Jenni Li
Photography Courtesy of Ricepaper Magazine

Photograph Courtesy of Ricepaper Magazine

An iconic figure in Asian Canadian writing, Jim Wong-Chu was a poet, photographer, editor, and activist. Born in Hong Kong in 1949, Wong-Chu came to Canada as a four-year-old “paper son” of his aunt and uncle, who used falsified documents to bypass policies that restricted Chinese immigration. Like many diasporic subjects, he struggled to define his identity and place within a Canadian multiculturalism that was not always as welcoming as it purported to be.

Wong-Chu attended the Vancouver School of Art (now called the Emily Carr University of Art + Design) from 1975 to 1981, majoring in photography and design before turning to writing. From 1985 to 1987, he enrolled in a creative writing program at the University of British Columbia, an experience that culminated in his 1986 poetry collection, Chinatown Ghosts. Widely considered the first Chinese Canadian book of poetry ever published, the text reflected both historical and contemporary concerns about cultural displacement and gentrification, thinking through the intersections of history, identity, and place. In a poem entitled "old chinese cemetery (kamloops 1977/july),” he writes:

I walk
on earth,
above bones of a multitude
of golden mountain men
searching for scraps
of haunting memories.

Acknowledging the plight of early Chinese immigrants, Wong-Chu seeks out the voices of those forebears, whose contributions to such nation-building projects as the Canadian Pacific Railway have been elided by history.

Photograph Courtesy of Ricepaper Magazine

After his death in 2017, the collection was reissued by Arsenal Pulp Press with additional photographs of Vancouver’s Chinatown taken by Wong-Chu in the 1970s and early 80s, as well as tributes from a variety of Asian Canadian writers and editors, like SKY Lee, Terry Watada, Fred Wah, and Rita Wong. These homages testify to his influence on the Asian Canadian literary sphere—indeed, Wong-Chu is perhaps best known for selflessly nurturing and developing other Asian Canadian talent, an incredible labour of love for which he never received compensation. The Asian Canadian Writer’s Workshop (ACWW), which he co-founded in 1986, served as an incubator for such award-winning Asian Canadian literary luminaries as Madeleine Thien and Larissa Lai. With the help of a Canada Council grant in 1996, the ACWW’s internal newsletter Ricepaper became a literary quarterly, featuring articles, poetry, photography, and artwork by or about people of Asian descent. Wong-Chu was also instrumental in launching LiterAsian in 2013, an annual festival of Pacific Rim Asian Canadian writing held in Vancouver, with a satellite event held in Toronto.

Wong-Chu also co-edited the anthology Many-Mouthed Birds: Contemporary Writing by Chinese Canadians (Douglas & McIntyre, 1991) which, through the inclusion of The Jade Peony, is credited with launching the career of Asian Canadian literary giant Wayson Choy. In addition, Wong-Chu co-edited Swallowing Clouds: An Anthology of Chinese-Canadian Poetry (Arsenal Pulp, 1999), Strike the Wok: An Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Canadian Fiction (TSAR Publications, 2003), and AlliterAsian: Twenty Years of Ricepaper Magazine (2015).

Wong-Chu dedicated his life to giving Asian diasporic communities a voice in a literary arena from which they were often marginalized. His contributions have left an indelible impact on the field of Asian Canadian literature, and in the broader Asian Canadian community.

Wong-Chu helped award-winning Asian Canadian literary luminaries such as Madeleine Thien, pictured above. Photograph Courtesy of Wikipedia

朱藹信 (Jim Wong-Chu; 1947-2017) 是加拿大華人史上一位重要的偶像，他生前是一位詩人、攝影師、編輯和活動家。

在溫哥華藝術學校（現艾米麗卡爾藝術與設計大學）學習期間，朱藹信主修了攝影、設計和寫作，並於其後在不列顛哥倫比亞大學學習了創意性寫作。朱藹信於1986年出版的詩集「唐人街群鬼」成為第一本由加拿大華人發行的詩集。

朱藹信在加拿大亞洲文學圈有著重要的地位，他無私地培養和發展加拿大亞洲人才，而不求個人回報。 1986年朱藹信合作成立的亞裔加拿大作家工作坊 (ACWW)，培養了後來加拿大亞洲文學新星如 Madeleine Thien 和 Larissa Lai。 ACWW 的內部簡訊 Ricepaper 慢慢演變為每季公開發行的刊物，內容涵蓋加拿大亞裔的文章、詩歌、攝影和藝術作品。

終其一生，朱藹信都在為被邊緣化的亞洲人群發聲，他在加拿大亞洲文學和社會歷史上寫下了濃重的一筆。

Editor’s note: The poem below is Jim's "Monsoon". The poem was translated into Chinese by Dr. Jan Walls and May Yan-Mountain and installed in Victoria, BC's Chinatown Fantan Alley.

Monsoon
Jim Wong-Chu

I crawled
under the table
covered by thick blankets
to feel your warm caress
smell the tropical steam
you gave off
as you hit the pavement

季風
朱藹信

我爬到
枱下
厚厚的毛氈覆蓋著
感受你溫暖的撫摸
聞著你
打在馬路時
散發出的熱帶蒸汽