Last night's WORD Christchurch Festival started off on a high with Chinese Fish and Backwaters, chaired by Nathan Joe and speakers Grace Yee and Emma Ling Sidnam. The event took the audience on a journey of understanding what it means to feel connected to more than one place. I was very excited to be amongst Chinese writers and I believe that both Grace Yee's poetry collection Chinese Fish and Emma Ling Sidnam's novel Backwaters are two very impactful pieces of literature work that explores the implications of microaggressions. Own voices novels are hugely important in literacy and are an excellent way to learn more about the multifaceted beings of people from around the world. If you are interested in learning more about what if feels like to be a Chinese-Kiwi, I recommend both authors works as well as Nathan Joe's poetry and plays which also centres around his cultural identity.
For many people with a multicultural background, the question ‘Where are you from?’ often leaves a mark on us. When people ask this question, what are they really curious about? What assumptions are they trying to make? Both Grace and Emma guide the audience through their experiences of writing their newly published works.
Grace Yee - Chinese Fish
Let's delve into some literature! Beginning with Grace Yee's beautiful and bold poetry collection 'Chinese Fish', which won the Mary and Peter Biggs award for Poetry and the Victorian Prize for Literature as well. Grace’s collection of poems takes us on a journey through the lens of growing up as a Chinese person in Aotearoa New Zealand. She shares some excerpts from her book with us and through this very intimate short slam poetry moment, we hear the different characters and voices she has given to her writing to emphasis the stereotypes and tropes that are largely associated with Chinese writers and other writers of colour as well.
Chinese food
is supposed to be good, but it is strange and uncanny.
In a bowl of clear water,
there are several things that looked like the specimens
that are kept in spirits in surgeons' museums. 'Fish!'
explained the cook. 'What sort?' 'Oh,
Chinese fish!'
Emma Ling Sidnam - Backwaters
Emma Ling Sidnam's debut novel 'Backwaters' is a beautiful body of fiction that centres around coming of age, race, sexuality, navigating being a young person, and giving a voice to those that don't have one. 'Backwaters' won the Michael Gifkins Prize, and throughout hearing Emma's story through the event, you can easily see why it was the winner. I'm very excited that we get to see a new Wellington based author and to shine a light on our Chinese-Kiwi community.
What drew me to Emma's book was first and foremost, the fact that it discusses feeling confused about where you are from and where feels like home to you. As someone who was the first person on the Asian side of my family to be born in Aotearoa New Zealand and who is also half Malaysian Chinese, I felt a deep sense of connectedness to this novel. As Emma stated, she wrote 'Backwaters' because she felt a story like this hadn't existed yet. Thankfully, now with Emma's stunning debut, not only me, but many others who are feeling lost in this hugely multicultural world might feel some sense of belonging and worthiness through Emma's character 'Laura' who is navigating the constant questioning of where is she really from, snide remarks and racist undertones.
What can we learn from this? As Emma explained, she doesn’t want to always write about race. Fiction gives her a protective way of navigating her identity journey, offering readers something they can enjoy while also learning from it. Emma also shared an excerpt from her novel and immediately, every word her character Laura was saying was something I could relate to, not only that, but the writing flowed beautifully, and the descriptions felt real and alive. Emma’s use of prose in her novel may come from her talents as a slam poet as well, with the two combined writing styles, Emma has written a lyrical contemporary novel that challenges its readers to broaden their minds.
Poetry vs Novel Writing
During the event, chairman Nathan Joe asked the question of what drew our two authors to write in the formats they chose. I found this to be an interesting and useful question because some authors are more drawn to certain style of writing where else others may not be able to adequately write in a certain format and that’s okay! We find the styles that work for us and use it to our advantage to produce work that we are proud of and is accessible to a wider audience.
Grace Yee’s first love is poetry and always will be, she takes joy in being able to rest on a single word for so long and the precision and conciseness with cutting down a poem. This gives her a challenge to say a strong statement with as few words as possible. Grace also enjoys the fluidity of poetry such as being able to write all over the page, lack of punctuation, illustrations and mashing up poetry with any literary form. The lack of restrictions in poetry formatting allowed Grace to extensively portray her message of identity, culture and racism through her hybrid work of ‘Chinese Fish’. Grace labels her work as hybrid as it delves into both poetry and history.
Emma has known for a long time that she has wanted to write novels, since she was five! She believes that every book is a whole other world that allows you to disappear into it. I also agree with Emma when she said ‘‘I’ve made my life longer and more interesting through reading and I genuinely feel that with every novel you read, you add a story to your soul’’. I’m sure this statement can resonate deeply with all readers, who seek comfort from storytelling.
As much as Emma loves novel writing, she does also enjoy poetry but feels more drawn to slam poetry rather than written poetry as she is able to express herself through acting and be dramatic with her storytelling! As someone who also enjoys going to slam poetry events, I can attest that it is fun, engaging and mesmerizing. Initially, she wanted to be a fantasy author, however, she felt the need to write her contemporary fiction ‘Backwaters’ as she felt she had a personal story to tell and educate more people on the matter of race. Although her book predominately centres around race, it’s more than that. Emma is more than that and she explores that in her novel.
Interestingly, both Emma and Grace have often been asked whether their works are autobiographical. Emma stressed that her book is fiction. While it draws on characteristics of people around her and elements of family history, the events and plots are entirely fictional. She explained further that her book addresses issues of representation, allowing people with different identities to feel seen. Her novel, she emphasised, is not just young adult fiction. It explores race, sexuality, and more. Have you figured out why Emma's book is titled Backwaters? Similarly, Grace did not write her verse novel as an autobiography or a memoir. Instead, she aimed to give a voice to those who are often unseen and explored her lived experiences through the creativity of poetry.
Keep an eye out on both Grace Yee and Emma Ling Sidnam as they are both creating new stuff. As for Emma’s next piece of work, she let us in on a little sneak peek that her second novel will be set in France and will centre around some thriller, horror movie vibes!
Coming to an end
The audience was curious about their experiences in writing their first books. For both Grace and Emma, the journey was challenging, though in different ways. Grace wrestled with formatting to ensure that multiple voices were heard. Emma, on the other hand, wrote seven drafts before finalising her novel. Thanks to their hard work, we can now appreciate the beauty of their words, enjoy their stories, and expand our minds.
The Q&A session was interactive and relaxed. Audience members asked questions, shared their own experiences, and even sought advice on writing. Laughter frequently erupted from the crowd. One interesting point raised was that both writers have received very little negative feedback on their works. They welcome critiques and encourage people to engage in discussions about their books.
The event concluded in a friendly atmosphere. Through their remarkable works, the talented writers opened doors for the audience to expand their thinking and envision new possibilities for the future. If you're curious to explore further, reading their books would be a great starting point. Lastly, thank you to Nathan Joe for presenting the event and allowing our authors to open about their work and experiences through your very well thought out questions. It was a night to remember.
Hong Wang and Jemimah Daniel
Photos
Photos from the Chinese Fish and Backwaters event
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