Colin Cheong
- Colin Cheong is the author
of The Stolen Child (1989), Poets, Priests and Prostitutes
(1990), Life Cycle of Homo Sapiens, Male ( 1992), seventeen
(1996), Void Decks and Other Empty Places (1996), Tangerine
(1997), The Man in the Cupboard (1999). The others are corporate
histories written for clients.
After conducting a full house Short Story Workshop on 3 May 2003 at The
Substation for the likes of me, Colin Cheong had kindly consented to this
e-interview, the results of which is as follows:
-
- Tangerine
- You won the Singapore Literature Prize
in 1996 for Tangerine. How did you set out to write this successful novel?
- [Colin Cheong]:
- I'd collected a lot of
material on a trip to Vietnam in 1993 and over the years, had been thinking
of a way to approach the story and to see what its point could be. When the
SLP competition came up, I began work on the story concept and wrote the
book in about two and a half weeks. But the gestation period was about three
years.
It seems to me that your description of
Vietnam in Tangerine is highly accurate. What kind of reactions did you have
from readers -- Vietnamese or traveller acquainted with Vietnam?
[Colin Cheong]:
It is accurate. Every
description of every place or event is from my own experience and records of
my trip. No one has ever questioned me about the accuracy - partly because few
people have done a tour of Vietnam in the same way.
At the close of this novel, you wrote:
"Then he (Nick) took a fruit (tangerine) from his bag, peeled it, broke it and
offered half to her. She was surprised but smiled again and accepted the
fruit. He smiled, she smiled, and he knew that in that moment, it was all that
mattered." For the benefit of potential readers, could you please tell why
that moment which you have shown could mean so much too for humanity.
[Colin Cheong]:
The central theme of the
book is isolation/connection. Nick goes on the trip to re-connect with his
friends and thru his journey relearns how to connect again with a larger group
- just people in general. He learns again to empathise and feel for and with
people, signified in that last scene. The larger things in life we might not
be able to do anything about, but that one relationship with anybody at any
moment in time is in truth all you do have because what is past is gone and
what is to come is not true yet.
-
- Your Journey As A Writer
- When and how did
you start off with this writing business?
- [Colin Cheong]:
- When I was seven and
writing simple compositions and drawing pictures in exercise books my mother
bought me.
- What are the things
that have played a part to help you in your writing?
[Colin Cheong]:
- I read a lot - of
anything! I also have many interests which are good starting points for
ideas etc. Also, writing is the cheapest of all the arts to start in!
- How has your dedication as a writer
complemented your career thus far? And/or vice versa?
- [Colin Cheong]:
- I wasn't very
hardworking in school, so I excelled only in the 'easy' subjects that were
language based - english, lit, geog, history. These helped shaped my career
choices - journalism and education. And of course, since I practice writing in
these professions, my writing was also helped.
-
- What satisfies you the most as a writer,
besides being the author of eleven-over* books?
- * Please fill me in on this
- [Colin Cheong]:
- The Stolen Child (1989),
Poets, Priests and Prostitutes (1990), Life Cycle of Homo Sapiens, Male (
1992), seventeen (1996), Void Decks and Other Empty Places (1996), Tangerine
(1997), The Man in the Cupboard (1999).
-
- The others are corporate
histories written for clients. Some are available from NLB.
-
- Writing was cathartic
and it gave me a way to express myself and create something of beauty and
value. It also won me a measure of fame and paid well, because as a teacher
and journalist, I basically earn a pretty good living from writing.
-
- What is your motivation(s) for writing?
- [Colin Cheong]:
- Initially, fun. Then
recognition. Then money. Now, just to express an opinion. Writing is generally
a very useful skill and I write for all kinds of reasons.
-
- Which one of your works has garnered the
most responses from your readers? Please elaborate.
- [Colin Cheong]:
- The Stolen Child and The
Man in the Cupboard. Many readers empathise with the character, Wings, from
Stolen Child. And many just want to know about the ending of Man in the
Cupboard (as you saw for yourself!)
-
- The Writer's Place In Singapore
- Aside from journalists, whose writings
are read daily and widely by a huge following of Singaporeans, how important
is the role (and what is the contribution) of a local short story writer or a
novelist in our pragmatic and materialistic country?
- [Colin Cheong]:
- One does not turn to
fiction or poetry for a take on a current issue. The publishing timeline does
not allow for timely publication of creative works that are responses to
current affairs. However, for long term issues, artists can bring the message
home a lot better. But I think right now, most artists or artistic groups have
their own agendas and it's mostly to draw attention to themselves, so i think
they take some positions merely to draw attention to themselves and not the
issue at hand. So it's not just about a pragmatic and materialistic country
not bothering with what artists have to say. You do need to be relevant to
your audience. Just because they don't share your views doesn't mean they are
pragmatic or materialistic. Artists can be stupid too.
-
- From what I understand, a good number of
established Singaporean writers have ended up in the academia or hailed from
there. What do you think need to be done for Singapore fiction to really make
it internationally so as to sustain the writer to write in a full-time
capacity?
- [Colin Cheong]:
- Why should anything be
done for Singapore fiction? What needs to be done is for writers to just find
the time to write and work on their craft and send their manuscripts to
publishers with worldwide distribution networks. They just need to compete
with everybody else on that level.
-
- Most writers around the
world, unless they are like Stephen King, do not make a comfortable living
from writing. And they are not supported by state funds. And why should the
NAC (a govt sponsored body) provide funds to artists or groups who only seek
to criticise them or their policies and generally undermine and subvert what
is generally deemed socially acceptable? For real street cred, an artist
should not be in receipt of state backing!
-
- Remember that the artist
feeds the soul of a society but that society is not obliged to feed his body.
Too bad.
-
- Are we facing a battle to keep English
literature in our schools?
- [Colin Cheong]:
- Hm. Who decides what is
'English' literature? Academics out of touch with reality? Englishmen with a
vested interest in maintaining a sense of cultural superiority?
-
- Literature is about the
use of language as a medium of expression. Personally, I think it would be
good to simply take away the subject's single subject status and integrate it
with the English language programme.
-
- On Being A Writer
- How would you define a successful
fiction writer?
- [Colin Cheong]:
- Different kinds of
success. You succeed if you manage to entertain. If you can show people
something important. If you can make them think. If you can have them keep
looking out for your work because it connects with them. If you can take the
complexities of the world and give them a 'flesh and blood' relevance through
the fiction. It helps too if you can also make a lot of money from it. Awards
are irrelevant.
-
- In what ways is fiction writing
different from journalism?
- [Colin Cheong]:
- Well, one is supposed to
be true!
-
- In fiction, you create.
This is primary. In journalism, you investigate. Journalism is not about
writing per se.
-
- Judging from the good turnout of working
adults at a short story writing workshop conducted by you on 3 May 2003 in
conjunction with the NAC-SPH Golden Point Award 2003, do you know think there
is ground for mooting a mentoring scheme for them (as with what has been done
for teenagers)?
- [Colin Cheong]:
- The NAC does have a
mentoring scheme for adults.
-
- If you are addressing a group of
aspiring writers now, what is the one vital message you would convey to them?
- [Colin Cheong]:
- Stand up and live before
you sit down to write (Thoreau, I think). Then write honestly in a voice that
is yours. Write regularly. Make time for it. Read a lot (no limits). Think a
lot. Dream a lot. Then just have the guts to do it, never mind what anybody
else says about you, your writing, or your dream of being a writer. And
remember that in the act of writing, you are a writer and no one can take that
away from you.
-
-
- Thank you.
*** THE END ***
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