Cultural Storytellers: A chat with Chris Tse

In my last blog I asserted my belief that culture is created through the recording of stories and the making of art.  Not a surprising sentiment for a writer, of course! But still, as someone who draws her inspiration in part from exploring ‘culture’ and its many loadings, I’m always curious about others who have done the same. So for my next few blogs I’m going to talk to other writers who are, by accident or design, helping to define new cultures through their writing.

First up – a friend of mine, Chris Tse, who last week was announced as the winner of the NZ Chinese Association Short Story competition.  No small feat, as the judging is tough and the winner will have the honour of being published in the Listener. His story, At Two Speeds is a fastpaced, drolly humorous story about what happens when two cousins – one from China, one local-born Chinese – head out for a night on the town in Wellington.

Chris is one of those restlessly creative people who plays in many genres – poetry, scriptwriting, acting, theatre, review and now fiction. I managed to pin him down for a few questions before he rushed off on his next project.  

Renee: What gave you the idea for your story?

Chris: I've got cousins that were born in Canada. Like me they were raised to ‘fit in’ with Western society but still retain some of their Chineseness. They speak fluent English, Chinese and French, which fascinated me.  And I was caught by the thought that it would only have taken one decision on my parents' part to have made my life very different - they could have decided to stay in Hong Kong instead of returning to NZ.  

So I wanted to write something that contrasted between two cousins (siblings would have been too close a connection) and how we sometimes allow our surroundings to define us.

Renee: Do you think the idea of "universal citizens" fits our current generation?

Chris: In a way, yes. I think that this generation has seen the benefits of not being anchored to "home". It's the direction that the world is moving in, towards something more encompassing.

Like most people say if you dig below the surface you'll find that all cultures/communities have more in common that most would admit, and it's this realisation that is opening up the world to any/everyone.

Renee: So even though your story references 'kiwi' culture, and comes at it from a 'Kiwi Asian’ perspective, it fits with a more global culture?

Chris: Yes. Despite the parents' attempts to share their idea of what represents NZ (sheep shows, Maori culture, nature), the visiting cousin just wants to go out and drink, which is something that can be done anywhere - I guess you could argue then that that makes it ‘global culture’.

Renee: How important then is literature in defining culture?

Chris: Extremely.  I've been trying to learn some Hungarian for my upcoming overseas trip. Because there's no other language quite like it, it's very resistant to translation. A lot of their literary heritage is unknown to English speakers, which seems a shame considering their rich history.

Literature will always survive and grow.  And while each country/time period may have their own literary histories everything feeds back into a global culture, sign posts from the past, present and future.

Renee: So here's the big political question, one that's close to both our work... do you think we should be developing a literary voice that's uniquely Kiwi Asian, and is there such a thing anyway?

Chris: I think a Kiwi Asian voice would be self-defeating, like painting yourself into a corner.

Part of me thinks that, yes, as Chinese New Zealanders we need to tell our stories because no one else will, but that doesn't mean we need a ‘Kiwi Asian’ voice to do it in. Why can't it just be a ‘Kiwi’ voice?  We need more unison and less labels.

Renee: Is it easy to be pigeonholed?

Chris: Yes, but it's something we just need to get over and embrace, to use it to our advantage.

Renee: Do you think labels can also be used to advantage?

Chris: Yeah. They're there so people can find their way into the unknown/unfamiliar. As a writer/artist you may find yourself wanting to shake off those labels, but in a way you can use them to emphasise what you are/aren't - use them to break their expectations.

Renee: What new things are you trying with your work?

Chris: Because I've been focusing on prose for the last few months it's almost been like learning to use words all over again. I'm fascinated by the process that prose writers go through. As for new things I've finally decided what my next poetry project will be and I'm coming up with new restrictions to impose on myself this time round. I tend to let myself make things up as I go along, so this time I'm going to stick to some rules, set some challenges.

Renee: What drives your writing?

Chris: Lots of things, though I'd say the most prominent would be the need to tell stories, particularly other people's. Plus writing is the starting point for all of my creative outlets - poetry, film, music...

I like that I may start writing what I think is a poem but it might evolve into a scene for a play or a song, exploring the great unknown through the creative process.

Renee: How do you choose which genre to tell a particular story with?  Or do you let it choose itself??

Chris:  I think the genre emerges as I write. With At Two Speeds I deliberately set out to write something tongue in cheek and light-hearted. But otherwise I tend to let the story go where it wants to!

Renee:  I often have the problem that people assume my work is autobiographical.  Do you get the same problem and how do you deal with it?

Chris: Yes, and I don't think there's really a way around it without adding a disclaimer to everything you do. It's most notable when I'm using Chinese themes or characters - people just assume it's all true, when usually it isn't. I don't get that problem when I'm writing from the point of view of - say - a 6 year old Caucasian boy, even if that character has more in common with me than it does my Asian characters. This is why I'm experimenting with writing from different perspectives and using multiple voices in an attempt to create a distance between the reader and the author.

Renee:  I agree - there's something about being assumed to be the ‘voice’ of a minority culture when in fact all you are trying to do is be a good writer. I’m getting that you try and escape expectation a lot of the time?

Chris: Constantly, though in the last few years I've realised that the expectation is a product of my own anxieties in forging an identity as a writer. I've found that non-Asian readers have a genuine interest in stories from our culture, but they don't necessarily expect those stories from us.

Renee: What's your favourite genre?

Chris: Tough question - like choosing a favourite child. I'm going to say poetry. Even though I was writing scripts and songs long before poetry it was the area where I found my creative feet. The economy of it is what appeals most to me, the ability to create a world or convey a multitude of emotions with just a few words/lines/fragments.

Renee: Do you find yourself going back to the same themes, or finding new ones?

Chris: At this stage in my life and writing career (term used loosely) I'm probably going to find myself returning a lot to themes of identity and family - there's still so much to explore. But I'm constantly looking for new things to tackle, and I have some ideas already - I've just got to find a way to approach them.