Kristin Cheung, managing editor of Rice Paper. | Photo by Florence Hwang
Rice Paper, a literary journal dedicated to keeping Asian-Canadians connected to their culture, has helped launch the careers of Asian-Canadian authors such as Wayson Choy, Jim Wong-Chu and Rita Wong. This publication continues to shine a light on emerging young writers and unites people who may feel isolated within their community.
Kristin Cheung had no immediate family living in Vancouver when she arrived here and felt she was plugged into a community when she first read Rice Paper.
“When I moved to Vancouver I didn’t feel connected. I volunteered here and there – like [at] the Asian Film Festival and [at] the Chinese Canadian Historical Society. And then Rice Paper popped up,” says Cheung, now the publication’s managing editor.
“I think you have to find your niche to not be alone. You have to actively seek [a community]. You either have to find a community that’s stable or build it from scratch,” says Cheung, who has a background in arts and cultural management as well as some business training.
Celebrating personal history
In the 1990s, few Asian-Canadians were getting published in the mainstream media and, as Cheung points out, artists were not recognized.
By 1994, when still no platform was in place a group of writers founded a publication that would feature Asian-Canadian culture, literature and arts. But Cheung would say the movement to find a platform for Canadian culture began back in the 1960s with a collective group called the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop Society (AWWS). AWWS made it a team collaboration to help support budding writers edit and network their original work. Many of these people have become famous: Paul Lee, Wayson Choy, Sky Lee and Jim Wong-Chu. The Canadian Council, a government fund for arts and culture, created a new agency to help cultivate cultural organizations.
“We provide a space for writers who don’t feel comfortable with speaking at a mainstream event. We’re a safe place to go – to tell their story about their grandparents owning a Chinese diner; being Chinese but not really Chinese,” says Cheung.
Rice Paper is a place for Asian- Canadian writers to tell their stories and not be judged, says Cheung.
“It is a place for lots of writers and artists to get their foot in the door through mentorship by walking them through getting a manuscript completed to helping them getting it published,” she says.
Rita Wong is one such writer. She won the 2011 Canada Reads Poetry award for her poetry book monkeypuzzle. Wong is now an associate professor in Critical and Cultural Studies at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She remains dedicated to the Asian-Canadian literary community and to helping young writers get their foot in the door, says Cheung.
Cheung returned to her home town of Edmonton to spread the word about Rice Paper. When she set up a booth she noticed that the ratio of Asian and non-Asian people visiting was about 50/50.
“We don’t go out to teach non-Asians about Asians,” says Cheung. “I feel most of the non-Asian writers are interested in the quality of writing and connect through the subject matter. Writing is a very solitary world. You want to connect with others with similar interests.”
New platform for Asian-Canadian authors
LiterASIAN is the first annual festival that will feature Asian-Canadian authors. It runs from Nov. 21–24 in the University of British Columbia’s Learning Exchange in Chinatown.
