In March, the Hong Kong Writers Circle (HKWC) launched
Hong Kong Gothic, the tenth of its
annual anthologies of members’ writing. Edmund Price, the lead editor, gives
more details.
Hong Kong Gothic features the work of twenty-two local and expatriate writers, from
first-time contributors through MFA graduates to published authors. As with all
HKWC anthologies, all the stories are either set in
Hong Kong or involve predominantly Hong Kong-related characters.
Each HKWC anthology is united around a common theme,
in this case the Gothic literary genre. Past anthologies have ranged from ghost
stories, to the goings-on at a fictional hotel, to a retelling of
ancient myths and legends. The Gothic genre was chosen in part for its
freshness and in part because several members expressed a desire to write about
the supernatural.
Although the genre
might seem better suited to ruined castles on wind-swept European moors than to
Asia’s self-proclaimed World City, in fact Hong Kong proved more than capable
of rising to the challenge of portraying the darker side of human nature and
desires. In particular, in the final stories, vengeance and justice proved popular
themes.
There were several
murders, in the fashionable, gentrifying district of Sheung Wan, on the hiking
trails of the New Territories, or in the sweltering heat of the 1967 riots. Avenging
spirits of the mountains or woods terrified a Balinese wife and a
Chinese-American father. An old doll stood as witness to the murder of a child.
Chinese religious holidays were celebrated, including the Hungry Ghosts Festival
and the less well-known Waking of the Insects Festival, in which people may
employ a villain-beater to punish someone that has done them wrong. There were
also some quiet but powerful stories of the righting of private wrongs: a wife
beaten by her husband, an old man forced out of his small bakery by a wealthy
landlord and a woman protesting at the changes and commercialisation of the
city.
Deciding which stories to include in an anthology can sometimes
be difficult. Partly this is a matter of space and partly, particularly for a
group of predominantly amateur writers, there is the need to balance giving new
writers exposure with maintaining a certain level of quality. For Hong Kong Gothic, the editors wanted, if
at all possible, to include every contributor’s story. In the end, this was achieved,
although several stories required additional editing, something the
contributors supported very constructively. The effort was worthwhile as the
book received positive reviews. Time Out described it as ‘a
compelling read’ and the South China
Morning Post called it ‘entertaining’ and ‘fine holiday reading’ that
‘lifted several writers to their true potential.’
It would be unfair to
pick out specific stories when each was so different, but the collection
overall was a pleasure to put together. Indeed, the editors, who are all
volunteers and who change every year, made a small story of their own by
grouping the submissions into themes of comeuppance, mystery, uncertainty and closure and heading
each of these: a door slams, a stair creaks, a casement sunders and the candle
snuffs.
The HKWC was set up
in 1991 by a number of the city’s literary luminaries including Nury Vittachi,
author of the Feng Shui Detective series
of novels. It currently has about eighty members and runs critique groups,
workshops, social evenings and other activities. It takes its role to
encourage, support, and promote creative writing in Hong Kong very seriously and
its anthologies are a key part of this. Not only are their stories anchored
locally, but the layout and printing are done locally as well. In addition,
starting three years ago, local artists are commissioned to produce customised
cover art for the books. For Hong Kong
Gothic, this was a stark image created by Michel Guy of a moonlit Hong Kong
dominated by a local landmark, a skyscraper in the financial district, rendered
as a Gothic cathedral spire.
