Interview: May Q. Wong

May Q. Wong was born of Chinese immigrants and raised in the diversity of Montreal’s “Main.” She was educated at McGill University and the University of Victoria, and spent her career in the British Columbia Public Service working toward improving the lives of those in need. Since retiring in 2004, May has devoted her time to travelling with her husband and writing about the people they have met and the places they have been. A Cowherd in Paradise: From China to Canada is May’s first book. She is currently working on her second. (bio from brindleandglass.com)

TCJWW: When did you begin writing and why did you wish to write?

Wong: I cannot remember my earliest writings, but I do recall I had a fascination with books. I read voraciously as a kid, and always had the largest pile of Scholastic books every month. My first language was Chinese (I was not a very good Chinese language pupil) and I learned my English on the streets (I was very good in English and French studies). Reading was something I could do well in.

The first time I remember being made to feel special because of my writing was in high school (Malcolm Campbell High in Montreal). I believe I was the only student in my grade 10 English class to be exempted from doing the regular curriculum. Instead, I was allowed to work on a personal writing project. I must admit, I was not, and still am not a prolific or fast writer, I think it took me all term to complete a short story—about an old man who lived rough (rare in the 50’s) in my childhood neighbourhood of “The Main.” I still remember the old man, but I don’t remember anything of the story I wrote—I got an “A”.

I spent my professional career doing factual writing, starting as a policy analyst, then as a project manager in the Provincial Government. When I retired, I decided to write for myself, about people I knew who had an interesting story to tell, or about things I saw and experienced. I believe everyone has a story to tell, maybe not a whole life story, but everyone has had something special or unusual happen to them at least once, something that others can relate to, or be uplifted by, or from which they can learn something.

I wrote A Cowherd in Paradise to honour my parents for the sacrifices they made; to share my Chinese-Canadian history, and to inspire the reader by putting real faces in front of these facts of history. I felt compelled to tell the story about this brave, determined couple who, against all odds, were reunited after a 25 year separation, and stayed together for another 25 years, despite all their differences. My mother told me these stories in the book, and often encouraged me to keep their memory alive. It was important to her that others not forget how Chinese families suffered because of the institutional discrimination of the Head Tax and Exclusionary laws, regulations, and policies imposed by the governments of Canada and its provinces (it happened in the United States as well). I started writing the book after my mother died, as a way to remember and honour my parents, and to transition into retirement. It took me 5 years to write; if I procrastinated too long, my mother would come to me in a dream and remind me of an incident or a story. However, I also took the time and effort to do a lot of research, and included historical snippets so that I could help readers understand the context of the times (the book spans 100 years of history).

TCJWW: Who are some of your favorite authors?

Wong: I still read fairly voraciously (average 50 books/year), mostly fiction, except when I am doing research. There are so many… in so many different genres…

Some of my all-time favourites, whose books or series I re-read include J.R.R.Tolkien, Katherine Kurtz, Dorothy Dunnett, J.K.Rowling, and Guy Gavriel Kay. I enjoy murder mysteries/legal thrillers by Minette Walters, Ian Rankin, John Lescroart, Patricia Cornwell, Michael Connelly, Michael Crichton, Louise Penny, John Grisham, P.D. James, Elizabeth George, Ruth Rendell, Scott Turow , Jussi Adler-Olsen, and Katherine Neville. In fantasy, I have enjoyed Clive Barker, Anne McCaffrey, and Jasper Fforde. Some recent finds include: S.K.Carnes, Neville Shute, Desmond Morris (non-fiction) and M.L. Stedman.

TCJWW: As an author, how do you keep readers' interest?

Wong: I have tried to portray Ah Thloo and Ah Dang as three dimensional characters. I hope that readers will be inspired by Ah Thloo and Ah Dang’s courage against adversity, but I also reveal their flaws. Readers can identify with characters who make mistakes and learn from them.

I want the reader to feel Ah Thloo and Ah Dang’s pain, happiness, disappointments, and successes, by describing not only their emotions and actions, but also how all their other, relevant senses were reacting. For example, smells can trigger memories, so by describing the smells and textures of foods (like donge) that Ah Thloo’s grandmother cooked, I hope the reader will be able to experience vicariously, the emotions of love and belonging that Ah Thloo felt (not just her hunger.) Readers have told me they have gotten hungry reading my descriptions of food. Readers feel engaged when their own emotions are touched – People have told me they cried when they read about Ah Dang being sold as a child, or about his first days in Canada, or even that the book had to end! When I do a reading, the audience always has a good laugh listening to the story of “Screeching Crow.”

I vary the pace by interspersing personal, emotional scenes with more benign facts. The facts are sometimes lessons in history, but they also help orient the reader as to context (e.g. what else is happening in the world?) I also provide detailed glimpses into a time, place, and culture that few people have ever seen or read about. What was it like as a child to have your feet bound into “golden lilies?” What was it like to take care of a water buffalo? What were the rites of passage for babies, adolescents, and into adulthood? What was it like to grow up during the Chinese Revolution? How does a person adjust from living in a 19th C rural setting to the 20th C in the blink of an eye? How does one forgive an unjust government practice? I hope people will think about these issues.

Sometimes, at the end of a chapter, I add a sentence that presaged the next part of the story, e.g. ”Would she hit back? While Ah Thloo did not fully understand they concepts they gossiped about as teenagers in the nui oak, she never forgot them.” Hopefully, this adds a frisson of anticipation.

TCJWW: Are you interested in the history of China, as a writer?

Wong: As a writer, I am interested in the history of whatever place I write about. For example, I once wrote a series of articles about the Chinese in Mexico and in doing research, found that the Chinese were once numerous and successful as businessmen and entrepreneurs in a number of states, until the nationalistic Mexican revolution saw the Chinese persecuted, murdered, and ousted from the country. Now, China is Mexico’s third largest trading partner! It is informative for us to know about history, hopefully to better understand the current social and political situation, but at least to find, in this case, the irony of today’s reality.

In order to write A Cowherd in Paradise, I was more interested in the modern history of China because of its relevance to my own family. I had to do quite a bit of research from mid-1800s to learn about the Chinese Diaspora, and the Chinese peoples’ interaction with the West. What was China’s political and socio-economic position in relation to the rest of the world? What was happening in China to make people want to leave in such high numbers? Why were the Chinese people treated so badly in North America and elsewhere? I also wanted to know more about the social and cultural aspects of that time. How did people live, especially in rural areas in China (the majority of the people lived in rural areas at the time); what did they do; what did they eat; how did they dress? How did couples meet, behave towards one another, get married; how were children treated? What were some of the unique customs in China, such as feet binding? How were women treated; what were their roles?

I am still interested in China’s history, for another project about the Cultural Revolution. I am alternating between researching that time and a story about the Koreans in Mexico. I am lucky to live near the University of Victoria, which has an active Asian Studies department, and I have access to its library holdings and professors. As a reader, it is about the only non-fiction I read.

TCJWW: Did working at British Columbia Public Service aid you in your writing Career?

Wong: Yes, I would say I gained applicable experiences and skills that I have used in my writing and promotional activities. I started as a policy analyst, which required skills such as: research, including the ability to work with experts and stakeholders to gain information which might contradict each other; critical thinking and comparative analysis to determine essential issues and potential solutions, and; the ability to summarize complicated issues into succinct, easy to understand documents. I certainly did a lot of writing, of various kinds and for various audiences, including the public. I learned perspective and the extremely difficult job of selecting priorities. I was also responsible for overseeing written materials and projects produced by staff or consultants, so was experienced in editing, and understanding and applying effective communications techniques (e.g. developing presentation and promotional materials for new government programs, public speaking).

My interests were social issues: healthcare, aging, children and youth at risk, immigrant settlement and culture; but I also worked on some very cool projects like the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Bid, small business issues like brew pubs, and a revitalization of the whole of the BC Public Service. My favourite projects were those which resulted in programs or policies that helped make citizens’ lives better.

I spent a career dealing with facts, which is probably why I chose to write non-fiction. One of the reasons I wrote this book was to share facts about my Chinese-Canadian heritage, not as a history book, but as context and a learning experience. I spent many years doing research into Chinese and Canadian history and Chinese culture, and have included only a small portion of that information. But because I was writing for myself, I needed a more creative outlet, so chose “creative non-fiction” as a genre. It allowed me to include different perspectives, and most importantly, dialogue. I hear my mother’s voice in much of the dialogue, because this book is based on the stories she told me over and over throughout my life. I hope the dialogue help readers see the characters as real people. I love doing book readings. I use to be a very timid public speaker, but my experiences working in the BC Public Service definitely aids me now.

I always speak positively about my career with the government. Civil servants are not always given their due respect – they are often seen as doing boring, repetitive, unproductive, make-work jobs. In ancient China, the civil service was the one area where people (unfortunately it was only men at the time) could improve their lot in life. My experience was more like working in a multi-national corporation, where there are unlimited opportunities for doing socially relevant, cognitively challenging work that can benefit citizens. How worthwhile is that!