ROOTS:
VOICES OF
HONG KONG
LAM Sam-wai 林三維 is a novelist. She holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degrees from the University of Hong Kong Department of Comparative Literature. Her first novel, White Dirt 《白漬》, published in 2016, tells a story of the collapse of a regular middle-class family in Hong Kong. In White Dirt, she uncovered poignantly what is hidden beneath the everyday, and explored the conflicts between two generations. She currently works as an editor at City Magazine 《號外》.
Jason Y. NG is the bestselling author of HONG KONG State of Mind (2010) and No City for Slow Men (2013). His latest work, Umbrellas in Bloom (2016), is the first book in English to chronicle the Umbrella Movement and the last installment of a Hong Kong trilogy that tracks the city's post-colonial development. As a columnist, Ng contributes to the South China Morning Post, EJ Insight, and Hong Kong Free Press. He is also a full-time lawyer and an adjunct associate professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong. In 2016, Ng was elected President of PEN Hong Kong... Full bio.
CHAN Chi Tak 陳智德 (Pen name: Chan Mie 陳滅) is an Associate Professor at the Department of Literature and Cultural Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong as well as a poet and scholar on Hong Kong literature. Dr Chan was born in Hong Kong, received his B.A. from Taiwan's Tunghai University and his Ph.D. from Lingnan University, Hong Kong. He was named the Artist of the Year (Arts Criticism) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2014. He joined the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 2012. He is actively engaged in literary creation and publication. Full bio.
Wawa (also published as LO Mei Wa) is a Hong Kong poet. She received degrees in Philosophy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Universiteit Leiden. Some of her work can be found in Guernica Daily, Hawai‘i Review, Apogee Journal, and the anthology Quixotica: Poems East of La Mancha. Her collaborative work with artists has been featured in various art exhibits, and in a Radiophrenia Glasgow broadcast. Her book, Pei Pei the Monkey King, which is set in contemporary Hong Kong, was published by Tinfish Press in 2016. She currently resides in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.
LEUNG Wing Tai 梁永泰 has published ten books in Chinese, the most recent one being Soul of a City: Montreal and Canadian Chinese《滿地楓華：一座城市的靈魂》in 2015. His books cover a variety of subjects, from faith to commentaries on media technology, emigrant culture, modern parenting, and more. Other than writing, he is also known for various audio visual projects, such as Generation 21: Young Spirits of Asia《亞太新人類》and Gen (Root)《根》. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Cinema-Television from University of Southern California, and a Master's degree in Theology from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Full bio.
Matthew CHENG Ching-hang 鄭政恆 is a poet, nonfiction writer, and editor. He has published two poetry collections, The First Book of Recollection 《記憶前書》, and The Second Book of Recollection 《記憶後書》. He is also the editor of several anthologies of Hong Kong literature. His writings are published in many local newspapers and magazines, like Fleurs des lettres and Ming Pao Daily. He received the Hong Kong Arts Development Award for Best Artist (Arts Criticism) in 2013, and is currently the Review Editor of Voice and Verse Poetry Magazine.
Nicholas WONG is a poet. He published two books of poems, Cities of Sameness (2012) and Crevasse (2016), in which the latter has won him a LAMBDA award in the category of “Gay Poetry”. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he received his MFA from the City University of Hong Kong and is now a teacher of creative writing.
Prudence HO is now studying in the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University. She is currently (2016-2017) an exchange student in Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine, and will be graduating in 2018. Her main focuses are working on paper and collecting found objects. She is interested in ufology, mythology, religion, and science in a broad way but particularly space missions.
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Tang Siu Wa 鄧小樺 is a poet and essayist from Hong Kong. She published two poetry collections, A Bottle Unmoved 《不曾移動瓶子》and The Opposite of Sounds 《眾音的反面》; two collections of essays, A Motley of Banalities 《斑駁日常》and Just Like Nothing Happens 《若無其事》; and a collection of interviews Asking Directions from the People 《問道於民》. She is the founding editor of Fleurs des lettres, a literary magazine, and a teacher of creative writing at different local institutions. She is also the organizer of the annual Free Space Festival in Hong Kong, and currently runs the Hong Kong Literature House.
Virginia NG Suk-yin 伍淑賢 is a fiction writer and essayist. Her stories are often about the lives of her generation in Hong Kong. She published a collection of short stories People from the Mountain《山上來的人》in 2014, and her collection of essays Night Follows Day 《夜以繼日》 is forthcoming. Her works, in both Chinese and English translations have been widely anthologized.
Writers' and artists' names are listed in alphabetical order.
Sonia CHENG is a Hong Kong-raised artist who works in a variety of media. She is currently pursuing her Dual Bachelor's Degrees in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, majoring in Find Art in Studio, and Visual and Critical Studies. She learns something new every day while enjoying the humid-free Chicago breeze and exploring her own transnational narrative.
Tammy HO Lai-Ming is a Hong Kong-born poet, editor, translator and academic. She is the founding co-editor of the first Hong Kong-based online literary journal, Cha, and an editor of the academic journal, Hong Kong Studies. She is also an assistant professor at Hong Kong Baptist University where she teaches poetics, fiction, and modern drama. Her first poetry collection is Hula Hooping (Chameleon, 2015) and in 2016, she was awarded the Young Artist Award in Literary Arts by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
Photo credit: Sha'ianne Molas Lawas