by Gita Passi~

On Thursday October 13th, I attended a live hour-long presentation and reading from contemporary novelist and essayist Xu Xi, presented by the Penn State English Department Creative Writing Program as part of the Rolling Reading Series.

Before the presentation began, Xi displayed an image of Hong Kong as it was when she lived there as a child. She opened by speaking about the changes that the city has gone through since then, and more recent changes within the past two years. The audience viewed images of her 1950’s childhood apartment in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST,) and observed how the area has been modernized over time.

She tied this precursor to the first reading of the evening, “When Your City Vanishes,” which is a collection of creative nonfiction readings about Hong Kong’s past and future. Following this, she read an excerpt from her Hong Kong fiction work “Lightning,” which was about a grandmother’s reaction to her granddaughter’s blossoming love life in relation to her own romantic experiences.

The evening was concluded with a Q&A session where audience members asked a variety of questions, ranging from the languages Xi speaks as a transnational writer, to the advice about being a writer while also having a day job.

Xi provided tips in response to a question about how to deal with the unreliability of memory and its relationship with imagination in nonfiction writing, specifically regarding her work Dear Hong Kong. Xi explained that fact checking memories from childhood with family members and lifelong friends would fill in significant gaps; she recalled her second sister keeping photos of her parents, and her rebellious Aunt Pristine who provided information about Indonesian life and Xi’s mother’s family.

Another student sought advice on how to avoid slipping away from the present moment when writing about the past in creative nonfiction. Xi suggested finding a voice of experience and innocence and braiding them together. She explained that it was important to ask ourselves why we remember some memories, but not others. Memories that we remember clearly are usually related to something happening in our present-day life; this is where we can draw and maintain a connection to the present while discussing the past.

More information about Xu Xi, her works, and upcoming live events can be viewed on her website.

Gita Passi is a Penn State student majoring in Digital Arts and Media Design with a Photography minor. She is currently enrolled in ENGL 50: Intro to Creative Writing, where she was introduced to Xu Xi’s work. During the creative nonfiction unit, the class read an excerpt from “Interruptions” (2016), a collection of essays in response to images by photographer David Clarke.