Writing in Difficult Times 困頓之書：A Bilingual Essay Anthology 雙語文集

Writing has always been a difficult subject to talk about, let alone writing an honest account about how one’s creative process is complicated by global lockdown and personal hardships. In Writing in Difficult Times, eleven young promising writers from Hong Kong wallow in some of their perhaps most confusing and troubling moments in life, and share their struggles. How do writers committed to crafted language maintain a dialogue with themselves? How does the dense urban living space affect creative outputs and thoughts? How do writers reflect on and evaluate gender roles, motherhood, and time? What roles does memory play in writing, if memory’s own language is not allowed to communicate? Each personal essay in this collection is available in both Chinese and English, hoping to build a timely and genuine connection with its readers, regardless of location and cultural background. Each word is a courageous sharing that makes a significant contribution to bilingual Hong Kong literary writings today.



寫作總是難以言說的事，更遑論誠實地書寫因為全球封關而變得更為複雜的個人難關。在《困頓之書》裏，十一位香港作家以文字述說當下，分享他們的種種掙扎：在這個全球共同面對的苦痛時刻­­裏，作家們如果雕鏤文字來和自己保持通話？高度密集的城市生活空間又如何影響他們的創作與思緒？他們又如何反思性別角色、母性與時間？本書的每篇文字均以中、英雙語呈現，希望能夠跨越文化和語言的限制，與讀者建立真誠的溝通。書內每一字一句，均是一次勇敢的分享，試圖以雙語的香港文學，回應全球狀態。

Editors | 編輯

Nicholas Wong is the author of Crevasse (Kaya Press), winner of the 28th Lambda Literary Award in Gay Poetry. Wong has contributed writings to Manchester International Festival and 'One Hand Clapping,' an exhibition at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. His latest poetry collection, Besiege Me, was published by Noemi Press in 2021.

 

黃裕邦，香港詩人，現任教於香港教育大學。2016年憑 Crevasse（《天裂》2015）奪得第28屆 Lambda Literary Awards 的男同志詩歌組(Gay Poetry)獎項，是首位香港人獲得此殊榮。2018年推出中譯版《天裂》，並曾為 Manchester International Festival 及紐約 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum 展覽項目作誇界創作。最新英文詩集為 Besiege Me (Noemi Press, 2021).

 

Li Mei Ting is a local critic, researcher, and teaches at tertiary institutes in Hong Kong. Her research interests include Hong Kong culture, literature and films, gender studies, and archival studies. She has worked as an editor for Fleurs des lettres, and published widely locally and in Taiwan. She is the recipient of the 2018 Hong Kong Arts Development Council Young Artist Award (Art Criticism).

 

李薇婷，香港評論人，研究者，現兼教於不同大專院校。研究興趣為香港文化、文學與電影、性別研究及檔案研究。曾任《字花》編輯，作品散見港台文藝刊物。2018年獲香港藝術發展局藝術評論新秀獎。

 

 

Translators | 翻譯

Mary King Bradley, Kate Costello, Ernest Ip | 白逸晴、婁可語、葉梓誦

 

1 Take Care of Yourself (Spoken to a Teochew Rhythm) 嘰嘰咕嘰嘰（自己顧自己）

Yin Lo ｜ 盧妤

 

2 Dialogue and Affairs 對話與不倫

Page Fung Bak Kui ｜ 沐羽

 

3 Side Notes 旁注

Pamela Wong ｜ 潘禾

 

4 To Fall 墜落

Cheung Yan Yi ｜ 張欣怡

 

5 Survival and Cowardice 倖存且怯懦

Leung Lee Chi ｜ 梁莉姿

 

6 A Transition Period and Phoenix Oolong Tea 過渡時期，鳳凰單欉

Tang Siu Wa ｜ 鄧小樺

 

7 A Clock for Seeing 用於觀看的時鐘

Collier Nogues ｜ 盧嘉莉

 

8 The Narrow Road of Suffering 苦的窄路

Wong Ho Wai, Tomaz ｜ 黃可偉

 

9 Mothers 母親們

Ysabelle Cheung ｜ 張依婷

 

10 Liminal 閾限

Karen Cheung ｜ 張嘉倫

 

11 Snake Eyes of Burmese Jade 緬甸翡翠的蛇眼睛

Lee Yat Hong, Angus ｜ 李日康