Tonight is the night I get to see my contributions in print for the book: Eating Stories A Chinese-Canadian and Aboriginal Potluck.

Brandy will be on CBC Radio Friday morning with Rick Cluff, Morning Edition, at about 7:50AM.

Also some hot news from Henry.  Jerry Kwok has done a wonderful job with the 8 min. teaser film on the workshop. It's downloadable at http://www.instrcc.ubc.ca/CCHS/CCHS_workshop.wmv .  

We are having an author's book launch tonight at the Rhizome Cafe on Broadway, before the official book launch at the Vancouver Museum Sunday Nov. 25th at the Vancouver Museum.

Brandy Lien-Worrall, our workshop leader and anthology editor, will be on CBC Radio Friday morning with Rick Cluff, Morning Edition, at about 7:50AM.

Also some hot news from Henry.  Jerry Kwok has done a wonderful job with the 8 min. teaser film on the workshop. It's downloadable at http://www.instrcc.ubc.ca/CCHS/CCHS_workshop.wmv .  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  info@cchsbc.ca

http://www.cchsbc.ca

Meals and Memories Come Alive in New Collection of Chinese Canadian and Aboriginal Food and Family Stories

Groundbreaking work captures authors’ personal stories of family and community

VANCOUVER – The Chinese Canadian Historical Society (CCHS) is pleased to announce the publication of Eating Stories: A Chinese Canadian and Aboriginal Potluck, edited by Brandy Liên Worrall and with Foreword by Margaret Gallagher.

Following the success of the first workshop and the resulting book publication, Finding Memories, Tracing Routes (English and bilingual English-Chinese editions), CCHS held a second writing workshop with the theme of “Food and Family”, which had nearly tripled in size.  Twenty-three participants of Chinese Canadian or Aboriginal backgrounds researched, discussed, and wrote their memories of family gatherings, home cooking, restaurant outings, and other stories cooked up by the smells, tastes, sounds, sights, and textures that bring families and communities together.  Together with their stories, 37 family recipes and over 170 images complete the collection.  Additional contributors include Imogene Lim, Lisa Moore, Janice Wong, and Henry Yu.

George McWhirter, Vancouver’s Poet Laureate, says of this groundbreaking collection: “I want one of those meals and to be in one of those families.  If I can’t be that in actuality, these stories make me a guest of all, complete with recipes for me to try out on my own, after.  These are more than literate tellings of family food rituals and recipes; they are elegantly and pungently related. . .In the process, these pieces become evocative literature and unforgettable history.”

“This collection is amazing in terms of the scope of experiences in these Canadian communities, from the 1930s all the way to present day,” states editor and workshop facilitator Brandy Liên Worrall.  “Reading these stories is just like sitting in a Chinatown café eating apple tarts in the 1960s or going to a barbecue at the reservation, catching salmon and having a good time. This is really history you can eat.”

Writers include Jacquie Adams, Jennifer Chan, Shirley Chan, Allan Cho, Grace Chow, Lilly Chow, Betty Ho, George Jung, Jackie Lee-Son, Roy Mah, Gordy Mark, Amy Perrault, Dan Seto, Bob Sung, Hayne Wai, Evelyn Wong, Larry Wong, Todd Wong, Harley A. Wylie, May Yan-Mountain, Candace Yip, Gail Yip, and Ken Yip.  The Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC would like to acknowledge the support from the Provincial Capital Commission for the participation of two First Nations authors in the writing workshop.

An “authors reception” will be held at Rhizome Café (317 East Broadway) on Thursday, November 22, 2007, at 7:00 PM.  This intimate event will have a short presentation and author readings.  Media interest in this event, including requests for interviews with the authors, should be directed to Nancy Fong, nancy.wy.fong@gmail.com.  Media attendance to this event is by RSVP only.

The “Eating Stories: A Chinese Canadian and Aboriginal Potluck” book launch, hosted by CBC’s Margaret Gallagher, will be held at the Vancouver Museum on Sunday, November 25, 2007, at 4:00 PM.  Authors will read from the book, as well as answer questions from the audience.  In addition, New Voices: Chinese Canadian Narratives of Post-1967 Diaspora, a post-secondary student-initiated anthology of literary and artistic works by Chinese Canadians living in the Lower Mainland, will be also launched that day. This book is now available at http://www.newvoicesproject.org/ .

Copies of Eating Stories can be purchased at the authors reception and the launch.  For more information, bulk and educational orders, and press kits, email nancy.wy.fong@gmail.com.  Copies may also be purchased online at http://www.lulu.com/cchsbc.  Proceeds go toward the “Edgar Wickberg Scholarship for Chinese Canadian History.”

ABOUT the CHINESE CANADIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

The Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia (CCHSBC) is a broadly based membership society with educational goals.  Our main objective is to bring out the untold history of ethnic Chinese within the history of British Columbia.  We achieve this through sustained efforts at document preservation, research, family and oral history promotion, public education programmes, an active website, and many other initiatives.

MEDIA CONTACT-ENGLISH AND CHINESE [interviews & press kits]: nancy.wy.fong@gmail.com

CCHS is pleased to welcome everyone to the book launch for Eating Stories: A Chinese Canadian and Aboriginal Potluck, edited by Brandy Liên Worrall and with Foreword by Margaret Gallagher. Following the success of the first workshop and the resulting book publication, Finding Memories, Tracing Routes (English and bilingual English-Chinese editions), CCHS held a second writing workshop with the theme of "Food and Family."

Twenty-three participants of Chinese Canadian or Aboriginal backgrounds researched, discussed, and wrote their memories of family gatherings, home cooking, restaurant outings, and other stories cooked up by the smells, tastes, sounds, sights, and textures that bring families and communities together. In addition to their stories, there are 37 recipes and over 170 images. Writers include Jacquie Adams, Jennifer Chan, Shirley Chan, Allan Cho, Grace Chow, Lilly Chow, Betty Ho, George Jung, Jackie Lee-Son, Roy Mah, Gordy Mark, Amy Perrault, Dan Seto, Bob Sung, Hayne Wai, Evelyn Wong, Larry Wong, Todd Wong, Harley A. Wylie, May Yan-Mountain, Candace Yip, Gail Yip, and Ken Yip. Additional contributors include Imogene Lim, Lisa Moore, Janice Wong, and Henry Yu.  

Please join us for the official launch of this unique book and meet the authors!