Musings
I’m currently reading Trinh T Minh-Ha for my doctorate. She writes lyrically about the tensions of being a woman writer of colour, and how one is read and burdened with guilt about the community one comes from. There is a burden of representation that is projected onto writers of colour which is something I wish to speak against, we are many voiced. I’m also inspired by the idea of a “minor literature” proposed by Kafka which is political writing in a dominant tongue- ie writing in English from a politicised position within the mainstream. Nowadays this is the position that I am writing from. Interrogating my own position as a Vietnamese-Australian university educated woman I find interesting. When I wrote “Vixen” I was naive about what would be projected onto me as a result. These literary thinkers liberate me from the representation trap, and politicise my public responses.
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about 2 years ago
I was reading TTMH earlier this month when trying to find references for something I’m writing for my MA on the same issue. I think the question will keep recurring as long as there are so few texts out there by people who have been labelled “Asian-Australian”. My background is quite possibly very different from yours, but because our ancestors shared a continent we are now the same.
I think the more people who identify as/are labelled Asian write, the less burden there will be…I think it’s a big step that “Asians” have been separated from the bigger “Multicultural” genre…..
There is such a focus on representation on you because you were one of the first Asian-Australian novelists. I remember an Asian friend of mine (not Vietnamese) – who doesn’t usually read – told me about your book. They saw it in the shops and bought it because you are Asian.
Then of course there’s Ishiguro who doesn’t write about Asian people, but what he has to say in interviews about “ethnic communities” is really interesting and the fact he doesn’t teach his daughter Japanese. Having said that being “international” was his step into the world of literature.
I’ve just spent the past couple of weeks thinking about this and at the end of it think that the more the merrier. A bit like Jewish-Americans. They don’t avoid talking about Jewish identity, even in popular fiction such as “The Devil Wears Prada” but there’s no burden.
Also, Anglophone-Indian writers (diasporic or otherwise) have less of a burden now because there are so many books out there and the groundwork has been laid. I also considered the idea of audience.
Working through these issues freed me up a bit to write whatever I felt like writing – and Trinh T Minh-ha was a useful starting point for me too (though I am not Vietnamese).
Also what you wrote about writing in the dominant tongue (or what Kafka said) is an interesting point. Have you ever wondered how different (if at all) your writing would be if you wrote in Vietnamese?
I follow your blog with interest
scp .
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about 2 years ago
Reading both your musings Hoa, and also scp’s reply, I would interpret this as you thinking that a distinct and separate identity exists for Asian-Australian writers at this time. At what stage does the contribution from Asian-Australian writers become considered just part of the mix of what defines Australian literary culture, in other words the identity of Australian literature transforms in response to those contributions? This is a question that I am pondering as part of an undergraduate paper that I am writing. I’d be interested to hear anyone’s thoughts on this.
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about 2 years ago
Greg my comment would be “Not yet”. Asian-Australian writers have yet to be regarded as a part of mainstream Australian literary culture in the singular. Maybe another way of thinking about this is Australia has literary identities in the plural and is heterogenous. If you look at the example of Christos Tsiolkas he is an author who is not seen as Greek-Australian and his work is considered part of the Australian literary culture. Asian-Australian writing is still viewed as hyphenated and hybrid and subject to scrutiny in a way that writers like Winton. Malouf and Carey are not (ie questions of representation and authenticity).
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