Observations from a Floating City: On Xi Xi and Yam Gong

Drawing on their recent practice-based research, Dr. Dorothy Tse and Mr. James Shea (HKBU) will deliver a joint seminar on two prominent Hong Kong writers, Xi Xi (1937-2022) and Yam Gong (1949- ), in relation to historical changes in Hong Kong. Texts for discussion include Xi Xi’s fictional works, such as her novel Merry Building and short story “Marvels of a Floating City,” and Yam Gong’s poetry from Moving a Stone: Selected Poems of Yam Gong (Zephyr Press, 2022). Known for her engagement with world literature and playful writing style that encompasses “eclectic references to literature, cinema, art, architecture and fairy tales,” (New York Times), Xi Xi is the only Hong Kong author to win the biennial Newman Prize for Chinese Literature. Similarly, the contemporary poet Yam Gong is highly regarded for his allusive wordplay, including references to American folk songs, Danish fairy tales, classical Chinese poetry, German theater, Greek mythology, French opera, and South American fiction. This seminar will focus on the writers’ shared interest in grassroots experiences and critical moments in Hong Kong history through the prisms of experimental language and unorthodox perspectives on everyday life.

With attention to the authors’ perspectival shifts, the seminar will explore how Xi Xi and Yam Gong’s works can offer alternative ways of seeing Hong Kong from the margins that remain relevant today.