Lit-wise, Hong Kong and Singapore
are both busy at the moment. The Hong Kong International Literary Festival started on Monday, October 26, and runs
through until November 8. Meanwhile, The Singapore Writers Festival starts
tomorrow, October 30, and also runs until November 8. (The two Festivals often overlap; when last
year I asked why, I was told it enabled authors travelling long distances from
the West to visit both Hong Kong, and Singapore.)
Today, Phillipa Milne, Programme
Manager, Hong Kong International Literary Festival, answers questions. Tomorrow, it will be the turn of Yeow Kai
Chai, Festival Director, Singapore Writers Festival.
So: over to Phillipa…
There are very many literary
festivals around the world. What makes Hong
Kong’s special?
Hong Kong is an incredibly fast-paced and dynamic city – the Literary
Festival gives people the opportunity to take an hour or two out of their busy
lifestyles and engage in some exciting talks and debates from world-class
speakers. We are proud of the calibre and range of writers on offer and each
year we welcome fantastic headliners to Hong Kong. This autumn we’re thrilled
to have Dame Margaret Drabble, Professor A. C.
Grayling and Ken Hom all participating.
Audiences can enjoy talks in really special and unusual venues too. We
have events in spaces across the city, including The Helena May, a declared
monument of Hong Kong built over 100 years ago, and the Hong Kong Museum of
Medical Sciences which contributed to research of the bubonic plague outbreak
in the early 1900s.
We also run a schools programme alongside our public programme. Every
year our visiting writers meet and talk with local students. Reaching young
people is an integral part of our aim and we have been building on this
consistently over the years.
Why do you think authors renowned
in the West are willing to visit you?
Hong Kong is rich with culture and the influence of the British Empire
means it is permeated with its unique blend of legacy where East meets West. Our
culinary arts are rich in diversity and offerings. It still operate as a gateway to the
cultural, political and economic pulse of mainland China. We would think that authors are always on the
lookout to broaden their reach toward Hong Kong, which is very often thought of
as the most cosmopolitan and open-minded city within Asia. Our readership here is bilingual, if not
multilingual; in this digital age Hong Kongers are very much up-to-date with
developments on all fronts so in a sense if a book is simultaneously released
across time zones, we would be the first ones to talk about any resultant buzz.
Do you intend your programme to
act as a bridge between the literature of the China, and that of the West? If
so, how does this year’s programme reflect that intention?
Absolutely. Hong Kong boasts a truly energetic and progressive writing
scene and each year we continue to provide a platform for local writers. This
year we have several events which feature conversations between local and
overseas writers. This includes a discussion on experimental fiction between New
Zealander Anna Smaill, whose debut novel The
Chimes was longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize, and Hong Kong writer of
Stone Bride Madrigals, Nicolette
Wong. We will also have an interactive panel discussion on poetry with British
poet Luke Kennard and Hong Kong-based writers Tammy Ho and Sonia Wong.
Do you intend to be a showcase
for Asian literature, other than Chinese literature? If so, the same question as before, how does
the programme reflect that intention?
A focus on literature from the wider region has always played an important
role in our programming. In previous years we’ve been lucky enough to host
celebrated Asian writers such as Chang Rae Lee, Ma Jian, Tash Aw and Amitav
Ghosh. This year we’re delighted to present a talk from Haresh Sharma, one of
Singapore’s most produced playwrights. In the last week Haresh has been the
recipient of the Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s highest honour in the arts.
He’ll be talking about the hallmarks of his writing journey and the balance
between arts and activism.
Does the Festival have a theme
this year? If so, what is it, and why
was it chosen? If not, why did you
decide not to have a theme?
The Festival has several strands running throughout the programme this
year. One of them is Short Works, Big
Ideas. Short fiction and poetry are a focal aspect of Hong Kong’s literary
landscape and to celebrate this we have several talks focussing on shorts. This
includes a keynote lecture from 2014 Pen Literary Award Winner and author of
short story collection Cowboys and
Indians, Nina McConigley.
Another theme to look out for is identity and immigration, a topic
which regularly fills newspaper pages worldwide, from the migration crisis in Europe to the race row in the US. We’re looking forward to talks from cultural
critic, and author of The N Word,
Jabari Asim, and British-born Chinese PP
Wong, whose Bailey’s nominated novel The
Life of a Banana deals with cultural conflicts in a moving and hopeful way.
Festival-goers will also be able to participate in several talks on the
urbanisation of China. Author of In
Manchuria: A Village Called Wasteland,
Michael Meyer will be talking about the three years he spent in the
rice-farming community of Wasteland and the tremendous change it’s undergoing
during times of growth. Similarly, David Bandurski, editor of China Media Project, spent nearly ten
years putting together his brilliant work of non-fiction on China’s journey
towards urbanisation, Dragons in Diamond
Village.
Is your programme entirely in
English? If so, why, in a city where
Cantonese and Mandarin are both widely spoken?
If not, can you give details?
This year we’re excited to have Chinese author Xu Zechen talk about his
critically acclaimed novel Running
Through Beijing. This will be held in Mandarin and English. Earlier this
year we held an event with popular local poet and teacher Nicholas Wong on his
collection Crevasse in Cantonese and English.
We plan to build on this over the next five years and our long-term
goal is to hold a completely bilingual Festival.
Are you featuring many Chinese
works in translation? What about translations from other
Asian languages?
Those writers I mentioned above, namely, Xu Zechen and Nicholas Wong. Dorothy Tse will also be taking part in an
event with Hong Kong-based Collier Nogues. Dorothy is one of Hong Kong’s most
acclaimed young writers. So Black, a
short story collection, won the Hong Kong Biennial Award for Chinese Literature
and A Dictionary of Two Cities won
the 2013 Hong Kong Book Prize. Last year we welcomed Chinese author Chan
Koonchung, whose dystopian novel The Fat
Years was translated into English in 2011, to the Festival.
Not only do we continue to showcase Asian writing in translation, but
also writing from further afield. This year, Festival-goers will have the
chance to catch young and exciting writer Adrien Bosc – Adrien will be talking
about his wonderful book Constellation,
originally written in French and soon to be translated in to English and Chinese.
In 2013, we focussed on Nordic noir literature and featured several writers in
translation including Åke Edwardson.
What do you think about the
dominance of English in world book markets?
It is a fact that English is the most widely used language commercially. We are also bearers of a legacy where Hong
Kong matured as an entrepôt and much later developed as an international finance
centre due to its colonial heritage.
What interests us as an organisation is our ability to provide a
platform for the dynamic changes that any literary output necessarily undergoes
since English, like Chinese, continues to be influenced by ideas, idioms and
cultural norms that cross boundaries daily.
Which events are you personally
most looking forward to? Which authors do you expect to be crowd-pullers?
Of course our headliners’ events.
Dame Margaret Drabble is one of the world’s most celebrated writers and I’m incredibly
excited by the prospect of gaining insight into a career that has spanned over
50 years. A. C. Grayling’s talk on happiness is an event I also encourage
everybody to join!
I love fantasy, and am really
looking forward to Lev Grossman’s talk. His Magicians
trilogy is brilliant and, even if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend
coming along if you’re a Harry Potter,
Narnia or His Dark Materials fan.
I’m also looking forward to hearing
from Australian writer Benjamin Law. His work of non-fiction Gaysia is a fascinating account of his
journey discovering the different LGBT scenes Asian cities have to offer. His
stories are hilarious, moving and eye-opening all at once.
What message do you send to potential
Festival-goers?
I would always encourage people to try something new in both content
and genre. Come along to a talk from somebody whose work you’re not familiar
with: you never know what you might discover!
