A Candid Conversation On Multiculturalism, Writing, And The Evolution Of A Literary Voice
Xu Xi discusses her multicultural influences, the creation of her iconic character Gordon Ashberry, and her reflections on Hong Kong, offering wisdom on writing and identity.
XU XI aa name synonymous with literary brilliance and transnational storytelling, graces the pages of Reader’s House Magazine with her profound insights and captivating narratives. As an Indonesian-Chinese native of Hong Kong and a naturalised U.S. citizen, Xu Xi’s life and work are a testament to the complexities of identity, migration, and belonging. With sixteen books to her name, including novels, essays, and memoirs, she has carved a unique space in the literary world, blending her multicultural experiences with a sharp, observant voice that resonates across borders.
In this interview, Xu Xi delves into the influences of her multicultural background on her writing, offering a glimpse into the themes and characters that populate her work. From the evolution of her persistent fictional character, Gordon Ashberry, to her reflections on Hong Kong’s transformation, she provides a rich tapestry of thought that is both personal and universal. Her journey as a writer, educator, and transnational figure is a compelling narrative in itself, one that underscores the power of storytelling to bridge divides and illuminate shared human experiences.
Xu Xi’s wisdom extends beyond her craft, offering invaluable advice to emerging authors navigating the intricate landscapes of identity and belonging. Her words are a reminder that writing is not merely an act of creation but a journey of discovery—one that demands authenticity, courage, and an unwavering commitment to the stories that matter most.
Join us as we explore the mind of a literary trailblazer whose work continues to inspire and challenge readers around the globe.
How has your multicultural background and transnational identity influenced the themes and characters in your writing?
I think about the limits of monoculturalism and how that affects human behavior. While I like to create characters I know and understand best, i.e. people who think and function in more than one language or culture, it is the monocultural perspective that influences my work in terms of the obtuseness, misunderstandings or conflicts that occur when mono-culturals encounter multi-culturals.
What was the inspiration behind your most persistent fictional character, Gordon Ashberry, and how has he evolved across multiple novels?
When I was a kid, I used to lie awake at night and make up stories about all these international people, including Americans. At his core, Gordie was the manifestation of what “America” meant, from the time I was a child, long before he became “Gordon Ashberry.” When I first invented him as an actual fictional character, it was in Hong Kong Rose where he was a minor character, son of a Flying Tigers pilot who is a friend of the protagonist’s father. He evolved further in The Unwalled City, as the half-brother of Gail Szeto whom his father sires with a dance hall hostess in Hong Kong; Gail was one of the four main characters in this novel set during the 1997 return of Hong Kong to China. Gail, being a tortured, emotionally repressed soul, got her own novel in Habit of a Foreign Sky that addresses, among other things, her acceptance of her half-American self; previously she wanted desperately to be a “real Chinese”; obviously Gordie had to become a much more real character in that book. Then it was time to stop writing women in favor of a male protagonist, and voila, Gordie was there. That Man in Our Lives was in certain ways my anthem to America, the country I “adopted” as an immigrant. I infused Gordie with everything I loved about America – jazz, democracy, individual freedom, the expansiveness and possibilities of an American life, privilege, plus all that annoyed me –racism and sexism that persist despite progressive cultural possibilities, the bubble that is the “American dream.” How do you come to embrace and accept a new identity with which to face the world? By writing it into a novel, ergo Gordon Haddon Ashberry, my invented American, who lived (and suffered) a life I never had.
How do you navigate between fiction and nonfiction in your writing, and do you approach them differently?
Very differently. I usually know what an essay is about by the time I write it and as a rule, I turn out nonfiction faster. While I tend to have some idea what a novel will encompass when I first start, novels take anywhere from four up to as much as nine years to complete (e.g.: That Man in Our Lives). Short stories vary – they can come in a flash (as little as a day, “Blackjack” and “Rage”) or take 20 years (a record – “Anon.” published 2009, completed a year or two earlier, first drafted in 1985). In nonfiction, I write what I know must not be fictionalized (e.g.: the story of my mother’s Alzheimer’s in “Mum and Me” from my collection This Fish is Fowl), whereas fiction is, well, all the elephants in rooms that simply won’t disappear.
Given your experience establishing international MFA programmes, what do you think is the most valuable aspect of a writing education?
Time to live, think, read, dream as a writer among the like-minded, so that for a short while, you can actually just be a writer, regardless of life.
As someone who has written extensively about Hong Kong, how do you feel about the city’s rapid transformation in recent years?
I still don’t know. I couldn’t go back for 5 years, thanks to the draconian Covid lockdown, partly because I’d given up a homebase in 2018 after Mum died. It was odd, returning in 2024 to see that nothing and everything had changed.
What challenges have you faced as a writer working across different cultures, and how do you overcome them?
Publishing, but that’s the challenge for anyone who doesn’t publish a successful “it book” in the literary centers of the world. My first books were “it books” in Hong Kong, and I was a sort of “it girl” author there but that’s very far from the centers of Anglophone publishing. But having a literary center, however small, grounded me, made me understand that you don’t need a Booker prize or be a NY Times bestseller to be a real writer. Writing is never the problem, the business of writing is.
What advice would you give to emerging authors looking to explore themes of identity, migration, and belonging in their work?
Write what really matters, to, as F. Scott once advised, sell your heart. Discover your language, genre and form. Forget publishing, the critics, fame, money, “literary” vs. commercial. Just write, and then attend to the business of publishing. Don’t second guess the market, write for you, to silence the elephants in your rooms. Write to answer the questions in your head that refuse to be silent. And write what you love to read, or have never read, so that you can add to or begin that literary tradition.
