Wayson Choy (崔維新

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: Cuī Wéixīn;

Jyutping The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme, also known as Jyutping, is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed in 1993 by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK). The name ''Jyutping'' (itself the Jyutping ro ...

: Ceoi1 Wai4-san1) (April 20, 1939 – April 28, 2019) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

novelist. Publishing two novels and two memoirs in his lifetime, he is considered one of the most important pioneers of

Asian Canadian Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to the continent of Asia. Canadians with Asian ancestry comprise both the largest and fastest-growing group in Canada, after European Canadians, forming approximat ...

literature in Canada, and as an important figure in

LGBT literature LGBTQ literature may refer to: * Lesbian literature * Gay literature * Bisexual literature * Transgender literature * Intersex literature * Or any other literature featuring the LGBTQ community By country * LGBTQ literature in Argentina * ...

as one of Canada's first openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

writers of colour to achieve widespread mainstream success.

Personal life and education

Choy, whose birth name was Choy Way Sun, was born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

on April 20, 1939 and was adopted by parents Toy and Lilly. A

Chinese Canadian Chinese Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Chinese people, Chinese ancestry, which includes both naturalized Chinese immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese. They comprise a subgroup of East Asian Canadians which is a further subgroup of ...

, he spent his childhood in the city's

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

. He graduated from Gladstone Secondary School and went on to attend the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, where he studied

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

. He was the first Chinese-Canadian student accepted into the program. He learned later in life that he had been adopted, which formed part of the basis for his memoir '' Paper Shadows''. In 2001, Choy suffered an

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

attack, which led to him being placed in a medically induced

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

for 11 days during which he also suffered

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

."'Being human is worth something'; Wayson Choy reflects on life - and brushes with death". ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', May 16, 2009. He remained in hospital for four months to recuperate and recover with physiotherapy. In 2005, he had a second heart attack, and underwent quadruple bypass surgery."Trailblazing Vancouver-born author Wayson Choy dies"
. ''

The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...

'', April 28, 2019. In 2010,

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

presented Choy with an

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

Doctorate of Literature.

Career

Choy published a number of short stories while studying creative writing at the

, with one of his stories appearing in the annual ''

Best American Short Stories ''The Best American Short Stories'' is a yearly anthology that's part of '' The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the ''BASS'' has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of th ...

'' anthology, but after graduating he devoted himself primarily to teaching, resuming writing only later in life. Choy moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1962, where he taught English at Burnhamthorpe Collegiate (1966–1967), then at

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, rebranded as Humber Polytechnic since 2024, is a public Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has three mai ...

from 1967 to 2004. He continued to teach at the Humber School for Writers, and served as president of the Cahoots Theatre Company. Choy published his first novel, '' The Jade Peony'' in 1995. It won the

Trillium Book Award The Trillium Book Award ( or ''Prix Trillium'') is an annual literary award presented to writers in Ontario, Canada. It is administered by Ontario Creates, a Crown agency (Ontario), Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, which is overseen by ...

and the City of Vancouver Book Award. In 2010, it was selected as one of five books for the CBC's annual ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Fre ...

'' competition, where it was defended by physician

Samantha Nutt Samantha Joan Nutt (born October 1969) is a Canadian physician and philanthropist who is the founder and president of War Child Canada. She has more than sixteen years of experience working in war zones. Her 2011 book ''Damned Nations: Greed, Gu ...

."Crash course in CanLit; Canada Reads will mean a lot more to you if you've read the books". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'', February 27, 2010. His first memoir, '' Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood,'' was published in 1999. Written about his childhood within the

community in Vancouver, the book explores both his discovery that he was adopted and his process of coming to terms with being gay. It won the

Edna Staebler Award The Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction is an annual literary award recognizing the previous year's best creative nonfiction book with a "Canadian locale and/or significance" that is a Canadian writer's "first or second published book ...

for

Creative Non-Fiction Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts ...

,"Wilfrid Laurier University announces that Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood has won the 2000 Edna Staebler Award". ''

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'', October 12, 2000. and was shortlisted for the

Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a non-fiction book written in English. Since 1987 it is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Litera ...

at the

1999 Governor General's Awards The winners of the 1999 Governor General's Literary Awards were announced by Jean-Louis Roux, chairman, and Shirley Thomson, director of the Canada Council for the Arts, at a press conference held on November 16 at the National Library of Canada. E ...

."Governor-General's award nominees". ''

'', October 20, 1999. His second novel, '' All That Matters'', was published in 2004

Michael Redhill Michael Redhill (born 12 June 1966) is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

'', October 16, 2004. and was nominated for the

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...

. ''All That Matters'' won Choy's second Trillium Book Award in 2004. In 2005, he was named a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

."Governor-general announces 82 new appointments to the Order of Canada". ''

'', August 31, 2005. In 2009 Choy published '' Not Yet: A Memoir of Living and Almost Dying'', his second and final memoir about dealing with the life-threatening health challenges. In 2015, he received the George Woodcock Award, the lifetime achievement award for writers from British Columbia presented by the

Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada () is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young (Canadian playwright), David Young; the W ...

and the

Vancouver Public Library Vancouver Public Library (VPL) is the public library system for the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2023, VPL had more than 4.6 million visits with patrons borrowing nearly 10.4 million items including: books, ebooks, CDs, DVDs, video gam ...

. Three recently published monographs have featured chapters on Choy's publications up to ''Not Yet''; these are: John Z. Ming Chen's ''The Influence of Daoism on Asian-Canadian Writers'' (Mellen, 2008), John Z. Ming Chen and Wei Li's ''A Study of Canadian Social Realist Literature: Neo-Marxist, Confucian, and Daoist Approaches'' (Inner Mongolia University Press, 2011), John Z. Ming Chen and Yuhua Ji's ''Canadian-Daoist Poetics, Ethics, and Aesthetics'' (Springer, 2015).

Awards and honours

Choy was named a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2005. In 2015, he received the George Woodcock Award, a lifetime achievement award for writers from British Columbia presented by the

and the

. Three years later, the City of Vancouver recognized him with their Civic Merit Award. In 1999, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' named '' Paper Shadows'' among the year's noteworthy books. In 2010, '' The Jade Peony'' was selected as one of five books for the CBC's annual ''

'' competition, where it was defended by physician

, founder of War Child. In 2012, Project Bookmark Canada presented two plaques in Vancouver's Chinatown with excepts from ''The Jade Peony'' written in both English and Mandarin.

Publications

Novels

*'' The Jade Peony'' – 1995 *'' All That Matters'' – 2004

Memoirs

*'' Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood'' – 1999 *'' Not Yet: A Memoir of Living and Almost Dying'' – 2009

References

External links

Records of Wayson Choy are held by Simon Fraser University's Special Collections and Rare Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choy, Wayson 1939 births 2019 deaths 21st-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian male novelists 20th-century Canadian memoirists Canadian people of Chinese descent Canadian writers of Asian descent Canadian gay writers Harbourfront Festival Prize winners Academic staff of Humber College Gay memoirists Canadian LGBTQ novelists Members of the Order of Canada Place of death missing University of British Columbia alumni Novelists from Vancouver Novelists from Toronto Gay novelists 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people 21st-century Canadian memoirists