Vancouver Writer Jim Wong-Chu Dies

JIM WONG-CHU | IMAGE: NIKKI CELIS.

Jim Wong-Chu, writer and leader in the Asian-Canadian community, died early this week. He suffered a severe stroke early in 2017.

Wong-Chu was born in 1949 and immigrated from Hong Kong to Canada in 1953. Among his many accomplishments, he co-founded the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop as well as Ricepaper. He was also instrumental in establishing the Asian Canadian Performing Arts Resource Festival and literASIAN.

His written works include a book of poetry, Chinatown Ghosts, published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 1986 and 1991's Many Mouthed Birds, an anthology co-authored with Bennett Lee. He received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013. 

For more on Jim Wong-Chu and his innumerable contributions to his communities, please see this recent obituary in The Georgia Straight, as well as this piece by Ricepaper.