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Yee Kam-Sein | 
My family set roots in Canada when my grandfather
emigrated from southern China to work on the railway.
I hold a degree in History from
University of British Columbia where I majored in Canadian Studies.
I also spent some time studying at l'Université de Laval
and Langara College (Nursing). I have worked in Canada and Malaysia
on health related projects. I currently work for a clinical research
project for the University of Oxford. I am married and have two
children. Writing poetry is my only deep vice.
My writing has been published
in Fireweed Feminist Quarterly; Swallowing Clouds: An Anthology
of Chinese-Canadian poetry (2000); Strike the Wok: An Anthology
of Contemporary Chinese Canadian Fiction (2003); Banana Magazine;
Jasmine Magazine and The Province. I have also served on several
editorial boards and arts cultural boards.
My deepest gratitude for Jim-Wong Chu's and the Asian Canadian
Writers' Workshop's (ACWW) continued support for Asian Canadian
writing.
Yee Kam-Sein | Poem
Yee Kam-Sein
| Quotes
What it means to be Asian
Canadian
Canada is like that old lady
who sells vegetables in a stall in Chinatown, where people rush
by. Sometimes she gets off her bamboo chair and is infinitely
patient while people hastily decide. We forget that China is an
old land whose identity is mature. We are still in process of
forming our identity as Canadians. It makes the next question
more interesting: What does it mean to be Asian-Canadian?
What it currently means to be
an Asian-Canadian is constantly evolving. Trying to define it
is like trying to describe your reflection in swirling water:
interesting only as a point in time exercise. When I was young,
being asked "what are you?" was a daily occurrence.
"What are you?" usually meant, are you Chinese? The
question would come from both Asians and Non Asians alike. When
they asked, "Are you from China?" what they were really
asking was, "what is your place in Canadian society?"
Depending on your answer, their reaction was either one of deep
shame, or acceptance, but rarely indifference. Being Asian meant
something to everyone. Not wanting to answer the question was
considered an affront, and it took a lifetime to obviate the need
to do so. Canada has certainly changed since the 1970s for the
better. I think the question of what it means to be an Asian Canadian
is still there, but not in a way that encompasses shame, racism,
or self-hatred. As the Asian Canadian identity transcends and
transforms itself, the question does too. In a few decades, I
experienced first-hand the growth of an Asian Canadian cultural
heritage. I feel the answer will be fresh and new, and for a question
that was so deeply painful as a child, it is amusing to find that
I am now delighted to find out what the answer is...even if it
takes a lifetime. I'm no longer in a hurry. I take my time buying
vegetables.
Cultural Identity and Influence
on Writing
Asian Canadian means to be
modern and ancient at the same time.
When I first began to write,
I heard a brief story about a famous architect who went on a journey
and stood amidst the ruins of an ancient site. At that moment,
he understood what he wanted to create. He wanted to create modern
buildings that gave one the feeling of being in an ancient place.
I also realized that this is what I wished to bring to my writing.
Could I write stories and poems that were modern yet brought us
to a place that was both ancient and sacred? I believe we have
within us the ability to connect with ourselves, others and the
past if the medium has heart. This is my guiding principle in
my writing. In everything that I write, I want to connect to that
ancient heart.
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