Wayson Choy was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1939. As a Chinese-Canadian he grew up and lived in Chinatown. He attended Gladstone secondary school, and then went on to attend the University of British Columbia studying creative writing.
He was the first writer of Chinese ancestry to study in creative writing. He studied under Earle Birney. He moved to Toronto, Ontario in 1962, he began teaching at Humber College in 1967 and ended in 2004. He currently continues to teach at the Humber school for writers. He also was the president of the Cahoots Theater company of Toronto from 1992 to 2002. In 2005 he was named a member of the Order of Canada.
His first novel The Jade Peony (1995) ,earned him two prestigious awards, the Trillium Book Award and the Vancouver Book award. His second and last novel to date is All that Matters and is the sequel to The Jade Peony, it was nominated for the Giller Prize.
His first memoir Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood was written in 1999 and won the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction and was nominated for a Governor General's Award. His second memoir Not Yet is excepted out in 2009.
(source - OPPapers)
30 June 2010
ReplyDeleteDear Participants/Colleagues,
A friend informed me of this blog and your interest in my book, for which I thank you for your thoughtful and keen, insightful comments. I read with added pleasure what you had to say as immigrants yourselves - and said with such clarity and unabashed frankness. Whew!
Meanwhile, I gave a very spontaneous and subjective talk on "Multiculturalism - Are We There Yet?" on CBC's IDEAS radio program (June 28th). I understand it is now available as a podcast. If by chance you have time and might listen to it, I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. Most of all, I'm greatly impressed by what you have given me to consider about my work.
Best wishes for your every success - Wayson Choy, Toronto
wsn.choy@gmail.com