The previous writer-in-resident had warned me that the Historic Joy Kogawa House (JKH) was haunted. A neighbour down the street felt the same way. Another WIR had thought the basement was creepy.
Like many subterranean spaces, JKH’s was a tad creepy. But the only ghosts are figurative as sixty artists along with the legendary writer Joy Kogawa have clearly left a creative vibe in this piece of living history.
My forty-five day resident there would be unlike any other residency experience. I had already gone to two others within the last 13 months (the funky castle La Napoule in France and Norton Island, an island off the Maine coast). After all, there’s nothing quite like Vancouver for the food, the outdoor playgrounds, and it being the epicentre of Asian art and literature in Canada (sorry, Toronto).
JKH’s residency was self-directed and largely autonomous. It was free but I was responsible for all expenses while there (some residencies offer bursaries, honorariums and are fully-funded). My partner and I had the House all to ourselves, a rarity among residencies—a huge bonus. The House itself may be the only restored remnant of the 22,000 Japanese Canadians who in 1942 lost everything in a shameful period of Canadian history. The Japanese-Canadians were interned in concentration camp-like settings until 1946. It was Joy’s childhood home for six years. So the tragedies as well as Joy’s resilience and accomplishments leave an indelible creative and psychological impact on all writers in residence.
My writing goals were to do a final pass on book four before handing it off to my editor, and to work on book five. But I also had to maintain the house and offer at least one event to augment other scheduled programming such as Ujjal Dosanjh’s book event, a poetry recital, and a weekly writing group. My other residencies allowed me to bury myself in my writing space and just come out for meals and socials. They were hugely productive from a word count perspective.
However, there are other ways to measure success as a writer and as a writer in residence. I said yes to every social and literary event and opportunity. I ate better than just about anywhere I’ve ever been. And more importantly, I sought out and embraced the various writing communities (who in turn hugged me back) and had a mountain of fun expanding my rolodex. To me, this was most gratifying and rewarding. It’s also a measure of success over and above work counts, sales and likes. As such, I’m completely hooked, and hope to do one a year, whether they are haunted or not.
Wayne Ng was born in downtown Toronto to Chinese immigrants who fed him a steady diet of bitter melons and kung fu movies. Ng was a social worker in Ottawa for thirty years. Now he lives to write, travel, eat and play, preferably all at the same time. Author of LETTERS FROM JOHNNY (winner of the 2022 best novella by Crime Writers of Canada, short-listed for the Ottawa Book Award), THE FAMILY CODE (short-listed for the Guernica Prize, 2021), JOHNNY DELIVERS (2024). He recently completed artist residencies at Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver, La Napoule in France, and Norton Island in Maine.
Connect with Wayne at WayneNgWrites.com