Racism in #CanLit: Barriers in Publishing & the Need for Safe Spaces
As a young Chinese Canadian woman, writer, editor, and occasional translator, I was one of the witnesses to a racist incident at a Vancouver book sale in January, which continues to affect me months later. After staying relatively silent about this on public social media, I finally posted a public statement on Facebook and Twitter last week to raise awareness about the challenges faced by Chinese Canadians, people of color, and women in #CanLit and publishing, which has been compiled here. I want to call for everyone to create safe spaces for all marginalized writers and intervene when you witness racism.
The incident:
At a warehouse book sale co-hosted by two local bookstore owners, the wonderful Patricia Massy of Massy Books, and B, I witnessed B, an elderly white man, making racist comments about Chinese poets and the Chinese language in front of a staff member at Massy Books and a local literary series organizer who worked with B.
B complained that at a local multilingual reading series, World Poetry, a Chinese poet read in Chinese for ten minutes. He did a very mocking and offensive imitation of the poetry reading, saying words like “Ching Chang Chong” loudly. B did not stop until finally, Patricia Massy intervened, upon seeing I was upset and leaving the book sale.
I found out later B is an online bookstore owner, a retired library studies professor, a local literary events organizer, and a current and past board or committee member of several literary, publishing, or library organizations. B is a gatekeeper in the literary and publishing community.
His disrespectful words reflect the larger prejudice and barriers faced by Chinese Canadians, writers of color, and women in publishing. His actions came across as mockery and disrespect for the writing and work of all Chinese Canadian and Chinese writers.
The Aftermath:
My editorial team at Ricepaper Magazine had to pull out of a planned event with the local literary organizer who was speaking with B at the book sale. I had to talk with friends at Room Magazine after discovering that B had attended an issue launch that I co-hosted prior to the incident and might attend future events.
In the months since, multiple literary groups and writers have contacted B for a public apology. B offered an apology to World Poetry’s organizer and to me, but denies ever making fun of Chinese poets or the language. It’s clear after 3 months that he won’t take responsibility. I continue to struggle with feeling unsafe at literary events and spaces in Vancouver.
I’m grateful for support from allies at World Poetry, Room, Ricepaper, and the Asian Canadian Writer’s Workshop, as well as the help and advice of writers like Shazia Hafiz from Canadian Women in Literary Arts, Elaine, Jonina Kirton, Nancy Lee, Jen Sookfong Lee, Tom Cho, Jane Eaton Hamilton, and others who spoke to me. Thank you to all my friends who stood beside me while I struggled to deal with the aftermath of this.
I want to call for everyone in the literary community to think about ways to make all spaces safer for Chinese Canadians and all marginalized groups. Please intervene when you witness racism. Stop these types of incidents from ever happening again.
Here are some specific things you can do to support:
1. Have an explicit no-tolerance for discrimination and harassment policy for all events and spaces. Post it clearly at the event and in the programming space.
2.Make space for Chinese Canadian writers, BIPOC writers, and other marginalized groups. Center their voices. Feature them at events. Make sure they are heard.
3. Learn about how to be a good anti-racist bystander. When I witnessed racism, only Patricia from Massy Books stepped in. No one else did.
4. Make sure staff and organizers at events and spaces are aware that they need to intervene if they witness something. Have a plan because things will very likely happen. Consult people about this plan and be a better bystander.
5. There needs to be education, awareness, and recognition that OTHER LITERARY TRADITIONS exist outside of white mainstream #CanLit. Many great Chinese writers live in Canada and write in Chinese and/or English. Their work needs to be recognized.
6. Mocking Chinese poets and the language comes from ignorance and reflects a larger inability to appreciate other literary traditions, languages, and cultures. Go out and read some books by Chinese Canadians and Chinese writers (they are not the same by the way). Support translators.
7. Editors, when you read and choose submissions, consider literary traditions outside of “typical” #CanLit that you may be familiar with. Publish work influenced by a range of literary traditions. Publish translations. Don’t reject work just because it’s not what you are used to.
8. Gatekeepers and members of the Canadian literary community, please don’t only watch out for racism in public, but also behind closed doors. It scares me to think what kind of racist comments might be uttered behind closed doors after witnessing it at a book sale. Systematic changes are needed at every level.
Finally, a pre-edited version of my statement was shared previously on Twitter. You can find it and the resulting conversations here. Thank you for reading.
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