Jim Wong-Chu facts for kids

Jim Wong-Chu (朱藹信; January 28, 1949 – July 11, 2017) was a Canadian activist, poet, author, and historian. He was a celebrated pioneer in Canadian literature. Jim Wong-Chu was known for his work in creating groups that helped share Asian arts and culture in Canada. He also helped edit several books that featured.

Early Life and Identity

Jim Wong-Chu was born in Hong Kong on January 28, 1949. When he was four years old, in 1953, he moved to Canada. He came as a "paper son" to live with his aunt and uncle in British Columbia. A "paper son" meant his identity papers were not real. This was a way for some Chinese immigrants to enter Canada when immigration rules were very strict.

When he was seven, Jim learned that his aunt was not his birth mother. This news made him feel very confused and sad. He felt like he didn't truly belong. It took him many years to understand his real identity. He later said that this secret made him feel like he was "a fake." He felt like he wasn't really part of the world around him.

Education and Career

Jim Wong-Chu studied at the Vancouver School of Art from 1975 to 1981. He focused on photography and design. During this time, he wrote about culture for a radio show called "Pender Guy."

From 1985 to 1987, he studied creative writing at the University of British Columbia. His writings from these classes became his first book of poetry, Chinatown Ghosts. Jim Wong-Chu also worked as a mail carrier for Canada Post starting in 1975. He continued this job until he retired in 2013.

Promoting Asian Canadian Literature

In the 1970s, Jim Wong-Chu became very interested in using writing to explore what it meant to be a Canadian of Asian heritage. He was one of the first authors of Asian descent, along with Sky Lee and Paul Yee. They questioned why there were so few Canadian writers of Asian descent, even though Asian people had lived in Canada for a long time.

These writers started to experiment with different kinds of stories. They formed informal writing groups to encourage other Asian Canadians to write. They also helped each other send their stories to publishers. Jim Wong-Chu's book Chinatown Ghosts (published in 1986) was one of the first poetry books by an Asian Canadian writer.

One of Jim Wong-Chu's big projects was at the University of British Columbia library. He looked through many books and journals. His goal was to find and list all Asian Canadian writers and their works from the past 10 to 20 years. He helped put these writings into a collection of Asian Canadian literature. Jim Wong-Chu and his co-editor, Bennett Lee, chose 20 of the best works. They published them in a book called Many Mouthed Birds. One story in this book was by Wayson Choy, who later made it into his famous book, The Jade Peony.

In 1996, Jim Wong-Chu helped start the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop (ACWW). This group aimed to support Asian-Canadian writers. Many of these writers had not been able to get their work published before. Jim Wong-Chu said he started the group because he felt frustrated in his own writing classes. Other students didn't understand his family's struggles. So, he wanted to create a safe place where Asian writers felt understood.

The ACWW first offered writing workshops. Later, it helped writers prepare their manuscripts to find a publisher. The group also raised money for the Emerging Writer Award. Winners of this award include Rita Wong. Soon after, ACWW started a newsletter called Ricepaper. This newsletter grew into a literary magazine. It published many Asian Canadian writers on topics about culture and identity.

In 2013, Jim Wong-Chu started the first Asian writers festival in North America.

Death and Legacy

Jim Wong-Chu had a stroke in March 2017. He passed away on July 11, 2017.

After his death in 2017, the Emerging Writer Award was renamed the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writer Award. This was done to honor his important work and help for Canadian writers of Asian descent.

To remember him, the Victoria Arts Council worked with other groups. They translated Jim Wong-Chu's poem "Monsoon" from Chinatown Ghosts. This poem was put on a permanent lighted sign in Victoria's famous Fan Tan Alley. The sign has the poem in English on one side and Chinese on the other. It was installed in October 2019.

In 2021, a Google Doodle honored Jim Wong-Chu on what would have been his 72nd birthday.

Books by Jim Wong-Chu

• Chinatown Ghosts (1986); reissued in 2018.

Anthologies Edited by Jim Wong-Chu

• 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)

Awards and Recognition

• Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013)
• Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
• Canada Post Silver Postmark Award
• Media Human Rights Award of B'nai Brith Canada (1980)