Read Online AlliterAsian by Allan Cho - Free Book Online Page B

Anthology of Stories by Canadian Women (1997), and The Girl in the Picture: The Story of Kim Phuc . Meanwhile, Chong never lost her passion for public policy. In the years of transition from state politics to cultural journalism and book publishing, she continued to pen many government reports on issues ranging from online culture and participation of visible minorities in the public service to what was once known as the “information highway.”
    Which brings us to the question of craft—writer’s craft. I’m curious to hear Chong’s views on fiction and nonfiction and her take on the blurry shades of grey in between. In her mind, Chong is clear about how her content informs the structure of writing and even clearer about these literary genres, saying that, “there is one critical difference between fiction and nonfiction, and it’s so simple. In fiction, the characters are born in the writer’s mind. In nonfiction, someone actually gave birth to the characters.”
    Chong writes about real peoples’ lives, pulling the work out of living memory. “But a book is not a life,” she cautions. “It’s a front and back cover,” alluding to the fact that she stays within the facts of her subjects’ lives, while exercising her licence as a writer.
    I can’t help wonder how Chong’s time in the public service has influenced Egg on Mao , which she often describes as a “biography of a gesture.” In her latest book, she traces the story of Lu Decheng, one of three men who attempted to stand up to the Communist regime by throwing eggs at the painting of Mao Zedong, surely a force much greater than themselves. No doubt, the book offered Chong opportunity to play with structure even as it details one man’s personal and public struggle to act on his rights as a human being.
    â€œWith this story, I didn’t go strictly chronologically,” she says. “I played with stretching time.” The book starts right after the last egg is thrown and ends with the moment before the three men go to throw the eggs. According to Chong, the structure of the book’s narrative is intended to bring the reader on some emotional and moral journey, which, of course, is what it does. In this story, we are offered the intimate details and life story of an ordinary man and his seemingly extraordinary gesture.
    Just before returning to her busy writer’s life, Chong leaves us with a few reflective thoughts. Humble enough to name the pioneers that came before her, “I would bow down to people like Jim Wong-Chu, Larry Wong, and SKY Lee,” Chong says. “As artists, we’re here to break boundaries and push the envelope. That’s what a writer does and that’s what we do as Canadians. We take on a complexity of identities—and I would have that over one simple identity any day.”
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  A UTHOR C OMMENTARY
    Chong’s profile outlines some of the writer’s major contributions but was intended to coincide with the 2009 Vancouver launch of Egg on Mao , a book which focuses on human agency and social justice issues pertinent to contemporary readers. Chong called her book a “biography of a gesture,” which shows how seemingly simple acts can make a difference. — Eury Chang, 2015
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  A BOUT THE A UTHOR
    Eury Chang is a Vancouver-born writer and theatre artist. He worked as the editor of two publications: Dance Central (2004–2011) and Ricepaper (2008–2012), during which time he wrote many artist profiles, critical reviews, and commentary on the Asian-Canadian cultural community.

The Mysterious Life of Wah Kwan Gwan
    Ricepaper 17, nos. 3–4 (2012)
    Jackie Wong
    Vancouver’s Chinatown is changing fast. On East Georgia, Union, Keefer, and Pender streets, the bright newness of independent art galleries, coffee shops, performance venues, and cocktail lounges