Wayson Choy

Laurel Ryan (University of Louisiana at Lafayette)

Ed. by Karis Shearer, University of British Columbia
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.1.2: Canadian Writing and Culture (Anglophone): The Twentieth Century and beyond, 1900-present.
Vol. editors: Sarah Henzi (Simon Fraser University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Glen Nichols (Mount Allison University), Wendy Roy (University of Saskatchewan), Denis Salter (McGill University), Karis Shearer (University of British Columbia)

Dates

Born 20 Apr 1939
Died 27 Apr 2019
Activity 1961-ongoing

Places

Born in Canada
Active in Canada

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Story-writer
Teacher/ Professor

Resources

Choy's Works

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Wayson Choy was a Canadian novelist, educator, and human-rights activist. He wrote two novels and two memoirs; taught English and creative writing at various institutions, including Humber College, for more than forty years; and was a Member of the Order of Canada.

Officially, Wayson Choy was born on April 20, 1939, in Vancouver, to Nellie Hop Wah and Yip Doy Choy. However, in order to evade Canada’s racially exclusive immigration laws, including first a head tax and later a ban on new Chinese immigrants, many Chinese-Canadian families resorted to falsified documents, and Choy’s family was no different. Nellie Hop Wah and Yip Doy Choy – really named Lilly and Toy Choy – adopted a three-week-old baby boy and had a midwife “verify” his birth on May 16, 1939. Choy’s biological

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1876 words

Citation: Ryan, Laurel. "Wayson Choy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 April 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5280, accessed 24 November 2024.]