Schema Magazine

Photos by Amir Tamadon for the Laurier Institution

I had the profound honour of introducing Canadian author Wayson Choy, the guest speaker for the 2010 UBC-Laurier Institution Multiculturalism Lecture, which took place at the UBC Chan Centre.

Wayson Choy explores his personal view that many of us - whether recent arrivals or long-established citizens - suffer fears that may damage Canada's quest to become a multicultural nation. As an "in-between citizen" all his life, growing up between values and cultures, he proposes some challenging antidotes—"remedies"—that have both lightened and enlightened his life.

More info at thelaurier.ca

My introduction

Good evening, everyone.
I'm Alden Habacon, and I have the honour of introducing our esteemed speaker, Wayson Choy, on behalf of the Laurier Institution.

It truly is an honour to have Wayson Choy with us this evening.

And for many reasons. As many of you know, Wayon was born in Vancouver and grew up in Vancouver's Chinatown. He is also a UBC Alumni. Not only are Wayson's family roots here, so are the roots of an imagination and an intellect that has touched the lives of thousands of Canadians.

This evening is actually a long-time coming. Seven years ago, when this lecture series was first conceived, it was Wayson that they had first invited. He was not available at the time, so we are most excited to have him with us today.

Of course, we know Wayson as a gifted storyteller.

Most recently, Wayson's first novel The Jade Peony was one of the five celebrated Canadian novels in CBC's Canada Reads 2010. His body of work has made the experiences of Chinese Canadian an intimate part of the Canadian imagination.
Wayson has had an impact on our collective imaginations, since 1979 when The Jade Peony was first published as a short story.

The Jade Peony would later become his first novel, and when published in 1995 spent six months on the Globe and Mail's national bestseller list and later won Ontario's Trillium Book Award and the City of Vancouver Book Award.

Wayson followed this with a memoir in 1999 entitled, Paper Shadows. Also a national bestseller, Paper Shadows won the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction and was a finalist for the Governor General's Award, the Charles Taylor Prize and the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize.

Wayson's second novel, All That Matters, a companion to The Jade Peony, was published in 2004. It too won the Trillium Award and was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. His second memoir and most recent publication, Not Yet: A Memoir of Living and Almost Dying, was published in 2009 to rave reviews.

In 2005 Wayson was appointed to the Order of Canada and won the Harbourfront Festival Prize, an annual recognition of a writer who "has made a substantial contribution to the world of books and writing."

He also has another passion that is often overshadowed by his literary accomplishments. His over 25 years of teaching English literature at Humber College is testament to his delight for teaching and the making of writers.

He has inspired and mentored countless authors. When I asked novelist and CBC Radio's literary columnist Jen Sookfong Lee what impact Wayson had on her as a young writer, she simply said, "There would not be a Jen Sookfong Lee without a Wayson Choy." She is not alone.

I once asked Wayson many years ago why, as an English Lit teacher, writing was so important to him. Writing two novels and two memoirs while teaching is no simple task. But for Wayson, it was a necessity. He said to me (and this is from memory), that he wanted his students to know that writing a published novel was within their reach—that it wasn't just a dream, but a worthwhile and tangible pursuit.

There's this Persian saying that goes "the tree with the most fruit always bows closest to the ground." Wayson is this tree. Despite his celebrated success, above all things, Wayson is a genuinely lovely person—warm and approachable—and easy to be a fan of.

Last week, a journalist for a San Francisco paper was in Vancouver looking for the differences between Asian American and Asian Canadian culture and identity. And Wayson Choy through his work and life embodies many of those differences.

Wayson is an accomplished pioneer in giving voice and opening our nation's consciousness—not just to the history of many Chinese Canadians—but to the complexity of life and identity in a multi-lingual, multi-generational and multicultural society. His body of work and success has made this Canadian complexity mainstream.

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming this great teacher, writer and sage, Wayson Choy.

» Listen to Wayson Choy's lecture on CBC Radio One, IDEAS on June 26, 2010