Canadian Gothic: An interview with Mary E. Choo Part One

/Q: Mary, tell me how you got started as a writer -- what was the first thing you had accepted for publication? /

MC: I first started composing rhymes, orally, when I was about four or five. As a child I wrote and illustrated my own novels -- often in lurid detail. I won a prize -- a ticket to the Ice Capades-- for a rehash of "Cinderella", when I was ten. The first thing I had accepted for publication was a poem, "Nocturne" (for the literary magazine Mamashee) in 1983.

/Q: What drew you to fantastic//speculative literature --as opposed to mainstream? /

MC: I find the medium more flexible. The writer can create her own situation as opposed to being confined by established conventions. There's also opportunity, particularly in fantasy, to embellish a situation with the use of imaginative language, to expand horizons while incorporating aspects of the "real" world.

/Q: Recently, you've been writing and publishing horror and dark fantasy. What led you in that direction -- and where do you find your inspiration? /

MC: Horror and dark fantasy seemed to come naturally. In a way, it's a means of using elaborate metaphor to exorcise personal demons. I come from what could be described as a rather Gothic background. Much of that nuance has worked its way into my plots and characters, though in a greatly altered state. I try to write from compassion, to explore the motivation of my characters and aim for perspective.

/Q: There's a dream-like, almost hallucinatory quality to much of your work. Are you influenced by dreams?

MC: I dream a good deal. The dreams are generally complex and riddled with bizarre symbolism -- the antlered man is a recurring figure. Many dreams are a catalyst for poems such as "Dreamwalker" or "A Tale for Pandora", and from there they often find their way into short stories. And I do dream in colour.

/Q: You're married to a Southeast Asian, and you've travelled and worked  abroad. Your writing is enriched with many cultural (and cross-cultural) references, both actual and created. How has your exposure to other
cultures influenced your work and helped you to shape your characters?

MC: I've co-existed with the Southeast Asian//Chinese culture for a number of years. I'm frequently exposed not only to my husband's dialect and customs, but to the traditions of the Chinese community as a whole. I've also studied French and Spanish, and in a very limited way, Egyptian hieroglyphs -- this when I was living in London, and working at the British Museum. It goes without saying that travel and living in another country enriches the mind and spirit. All this has given me a strong sense that there are things outside my own experience, and has shown me how customs both unite and separate people. There are  intrinsic, subtle meanings and connotations in every culture that are lost in translation. For instance, much of the significance of an Asian ritual like the traditional Lion Dance might escape a westerner. In the trilogy I'm currently writing, I've been influenced by all of the above. I've endeavoured to build detailed, convincing societies, and to incorporate some idea of the challenges of intercultural marriage into the main relationship.

Several members of my family have had training in various Asian disciplines, and I've observed a lot from sitting through countless competitions. One family member studied under the masters in Japan. He's also a successful competitor and qualified instructor, and now works in film and TV. This has provided some insight into action scenes and how to construct them. I'm most interested in the discipline aspect, and the ways in which --externally and internally -- the arts make you strong.



(to be continued)