Jim Wong-Chu

Jim Wong-Chu (朱藹信; January 28, 1949 – July 11, 2017) was a Canadian activist, community organizer, poet, author, editor, and historian. Wong-Chu is one of Canada's most celebrated literary pioneers. He was a community organizer known for his work in establishing organizations that contributed to highlighting Asian arts and culture in Canada. He also co-edited several anthologies featuring Asian Canadian writers.

Early life Born in Hong Kong on January 28, 1949, Jim Wong-Chu came to Canada in 1953 at age four as a paper son, to live with his aunt and uncle in British Columbia. His aunt lost a child during transit to Hong Kong; with the help of Wong-Chu's father, they were able to create false records. He was seven years old when it was revealed that his aunt was not his birth mother, devastating him. Wong-Chu recalls, "I was the same age as the dead child...They just plucked me in there and I became her son".

Education and career Wong-Chu attended the Vancouver School of Art (now known as Emily Carr University of Art and Design) from 1975 to 1981, majoring in photography and design. During his time at the Vancouver School of Art, Wong-Chu wrote on culture and assimilation for the CFRO-FM radio program called "Pender Guy". From 1985 to 1987 he studied creative writing at the University of British Columbia; his class writings eventually were compiled into his first book of poetry, Chinatown Ghosts. Wong-Chu was among the first authors of Asian descent, along with Sky Lee and Paul Yee, who challenged the Canadian literary establishment and questioned why there were few Canadian writers of Asian descent, despite their long presence in Canada. Wong-Chu states that the organization was inspired by his time as a UBC student attending writing workshops.

Short afterwards, ACWW established an internal newsletter, Ricepaper.

Death Jim Wong-Chu suffered a stroke in March 2017 and later died on July 11, 2017.

Recognition On Wong-Chu's death in 2017, the award was renamed the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writer Award, in honour of his legacy and contributions to Canadian writers of Asian descent.

To honour his legacy, the Victoria Arts Council worked with Arsenal Pulp Press, Ricepaper Magazine, LiterAsian Festival and the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop to translate Wong-Chu's poem "Monsoon" from Chinatown Ghosts into a permanent lightbox sign in Victoria's famed Fan Tan Alley. This double-sided sign, with the poem in English on one side and in Chinese on the other, was produced as the first iteration of the Victoria Arts Council's Poetry in Public campaign (installed October 2019), working with translators Jan Walls and May Yan-Mountain.

In 2021, a Google Doodle honoured Jim Wong-Chu on the 72nd anniversary of his birth.

Books Chinatown Ghosts (1986); reissued by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2018.

Anthologies Many-Mouthed Birds: Contemporary Writing by Chinese Canadians (1991) Swallowing Clouds: An Anthology of Chinese-Canadian Poetry (1999) Strike the Wok: A New Chinese-Canadian Anthology(2003) AlliterAsian: Twenty Years of Ricepaper Magazine (2015)

List of awards Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013) Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, Department of Canadian Heritage Canada Post Silver Postmark Award Media Human Rights Award of B'nai Brith Canada (1980)