Be Happy, Even if not All the Time
Sean Wai Keung
April 21, 2021
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Sean Wai Keung does poetry/performance/food. Which one comes first? Is there any background story linked to each of your passions?
Poetry comes first for me and I think it always will. The performance and food aspects are just different forms for delivering poetry. I’ve always been fascinated by the English language and I’ve spent most of my life feeling like I’m not that good at communicating or connecting directly with people, so for me poetry is a way to communicate and connect but under my own rules and in my own space and time. That can include the page or the stage, or even a dining table or a plate, but it’s all still communicating and connecting at the end of the day. |
Photo: courtesy of the artists |
“sikfan glaschu” is your first full length collection of poetry coming out this month. What can you tell us about it? What are the main themes throughout this book?
It’s a collection that uses the names of restaurants here in Glasgow as starting points for poetry about migration, identity, relationships and family.
I moved here from England five or six years ago now and so it’s also about my experiences of the city, too, and what living here has taught me or untaught me.
It was also entirely written during the pandemic, so naturally there is some exploration of things like isolation and distance.
Who taught you how to cook? What’s your favorite dish to cook?
Lots of people taught me to cook. My family, especially my Mum, taught me the basics and I have great memories of being a kid and washing rice or rubbing marinade into fatty slices of belly pork. But I’m also always keen to pick up and research new things too. I enjoy reading about forgotten recipes and I’m especially fascinated by local foods and specialities, doubly so if they have interesting migratory stories behind them. Haggis pakora is not uncommon in Glasgow, for instance, due to the long history of migration here from South Asia, but it’s also a struggle to find it out in the city.
My personal favourite thing to cook is a multi-dish banquet style meal. What those dishes actually are doesn’t matter so much but if it’s a banquet of some kind then that means it’s a group celebration and my favourite thing about cooking is the sharing of food with other people. When it comes to cooking for myself I tend to find most things boring actually.
Where are your favorite places to perform? Do you have plans for any new live or virtual performances?
I was lucky enough to perform once in the ruins of the Jerma Palace Hotel in Marsaskala, Malta, and in terms of setting, it’s still my favourite place. I tend to prefer smaller audiences and rooms as it feels more direct that way, but at this stage it’s been so long since I last performed live! This last year the setting has entirely been online from my flat.
I have a few things planned in the near future, both online and (hopefully) live around Scotland. The best way to keep updated on that is through my social media or by signing up to my email newsletter.
It’s a collection that uses the names of restaurants here in Glasgow as starting points for poetry about migration, identity, relationships and family.
I moved here from England five or six years ago now and so it’s also about my experiences of the city, too, and what living here has taught me or untaught me.
It was also entirely written during the pandemic, so naturally there is some exploration of things like isolation and distance.
Who taught you how to cook? What’s your favorite dish to cook?
Lots of people taught me to cook. My family, especially my Mum, taught me the basics and I have great memories of being a kid and washing rice or rubbing marinade into fatty slices of belly pork. But I’m also always keen to pick up and research new things too. I enjoy reading about forgotten recipes and I’m especially fascinated by local foods and specialities, doubly so if they have interesting migratory stories behind them. Haggis pakora is not uncommon in Glasgow, for instance, due to the long history of migration here from South Asia, but it’s also a struggle to find it out in the city.
My personal favourite thing to cook is a multi-dish banquet style meal. What those dishes actually are doesn’t matter so much but if it’s a banquet of some kind then that means it’s a group celebration and my favourite thing about cooking is the sharing of food with other people. When it comes to cooking for myself I tend to find most things boring actually.
Where are your favorite places to perform? Do you have plans for any new live or virtual performances?
I was lucky enough to perform once in the ruins of the Jerma Palace Hotel in Marsaskala, Malta, and in terms of setting, it’s still my favourite place. I tend to prefer smaller audiences and rooms as it feels more direct that way, but at this stage it’s been so long since I last performed live! This last year the setting has entirely been online from my flat.
I have a few things planned in the near future, both online and (hopefully) live around Scotland. The best way to keep updated on that is through my social media or by signing up to my email newsletter.
* * *
chinatown
by Sean Wai Keung
this place was built by migrants
therefore it is ours
they came from the gàidhealtachd
they came from the ghalltachd
sometimes i wonder what my 公公 would have thought
had he been given the chance to visit
he had lived in other cities built by migrants
hongkong – liverpool – bradford –
i like to think that if he had been given the chance
he would have liked it
but who can know for sure
when he first arrived in the uk i dont know
what glaschu would have been like
chinatown here opened in 1992
the year after i was born
i moved here three
years after he died
this place was built by migrants
and we have been eating here ever since
therefore it is ours
they came from the gàidhealtachd
they came from the ghalltachd
sometimes i wonder what my 公公 would have thought
had he been given the chance to visit
he had lived in other cities built by migrants
hongkong – liverpool – bradford –
i like to think that if he had been given the chance
he would have liked it
but who can know for sure
when he first arrived in the uk i dont know
what glaschu would have been like
chinatown here opened in 1992
the year after i was born
i moved here three
years after he died
this place was built by migrants
and we have been eating here ever since
* * *
What is the funniest thing you’ve heard lately while waiting in line in the supermarket?
A man on the phone: “Aye, I’m just picking up some essentials right now”. Contents of man’s basket: exclusively sweets and candy.
If there was anything good that became apparent to you during this painful pandemic, what was it?
Being able to perform and link in with events and audiences worldwide. While nothing will replace the live experience I think the emphasis on accessibility that digital platforms provide is amazing.
I’ve been able to attend events in the U.S., and see poets read in Hong Kong and India. Similarly, the fact that people with physical access needs, or even other priorities such as childcare or shift work, have been more able to access literature events thanks to them being online has been an excellent thing.
How have you adjusted to ensure that your creative work remains a priority no matter what?
I read a lot and do my best to support other creatives as they inspire me to keep going and to want to try to maintain my creativity.
You have a pamphlet titled be happy. We have an ongoing campaign titled #BeatTheBlues on ways to prioritize mental health. What do you recommend to #BeatTheBlues and be happy?
Allow yourself to not ‘be happy’ all the time. That’s too much pressure. Take some time away from it all if you can. And if you can’t, and you’re still struggling, then actively plan to take some time off at some point in the future. Set aside one day where you either specifically aren’t allowed to plan anything non-relaxing, or where you ask someone to take on your responsibilities, if possible. Every human body needs a break now and then from the pressure of having to do things all the time, as well as the pressure to ‘be happy’.
What makes your community special? How do you contribute to it through your artistic and creative activities?
I’m proud to have been part of many communities and to also meet new communities all the time. I’m currently working on a project looking at recipe-sharing in my local geographical community and I feel so lucky to be able to do that.
I also then get to take part in online readings where I perform alongside writers from whole other cities and countries, and being part of that larger poetry/literature community too is amazing. I’m also grateful to be a member of the greater global ESEA (East and South East Asian) community and to be the descendant of migrants from Hong Kong, as that’s another way I can connect with people, too.
Lately I’ve been focusing many of my projects around highlighting issues from within ESEA diaspora communities and to be able to do that is a privilege, even if it does hurt to hear about some of those issues.
Before we say goodbye for now, can you share with us your favorite literary or culinary discovery?
As part of my Many Voices Many Kitchens interview series for Bella Caledonia last year I got to make and eat kushari for the first time and it was absolutely divine.
You can buy sikfan glaschu here
A man on the phone: “Aye, I’m just picking up some essentials right now”. Contents of man’s basket: exclusively sweets and candy.
If there was anything good that became apparent to you during this painful pandemic, what was it?
Being able to perform and link in with events and audiences worldwide. While nothing will replace the live experience I think the emphasis on accessibility that digital platforms provide is amazing.
I’ve been able to attend events in the U.S., and see poets read in Hong Kong and India. Similarly, the fact that people with physical access needs, or even other priorities such as childcare or shift work, have been more able to access literature events thanks to them being online has been an excellent thing.
How have you adjusted to ensure that your creative work remains a priority no matter what?
I read a lot and do my best to support other creatives as they inspire me to keep going and to want to try to maintain my creativity.
You have a pamphlet titled be happy. We have an ongoing campaign titled #BeatTheBlues on ways to prioritize mental health. What do you recommend to #BeatTheBlues and be happy?
Allow yourself to not ‘be happy’ all the time. That’s too much pressure. Take some time away from it all if you can. And if you can’t, and you’re still struggling, then actively plan to take some time off at some point in the future. Set aside one day where you either specifically aren’t allowed to plan anything non-relaxing, or where you ask someone to take on your responsibilities, if possible. Every human body needs a break now and then from the pressure of having to do things all the time, as well as the pressure to ‘be happy’.
What makes your community special? How do you contribute to it through your artistic and creative activities?
I’m proud to have been part of many communities and to also meet new communities all the time. I’m currently working on a project looking at recipe-sharing in my local geographical community and I feel so lucky to be able to do that.
I also then get to take part in online readings where I perform alongside writers from whole other cities and countries, and being part of that larger poetry/literature community too is amazing. I’m also grateful to be a member of the greater global ESEA (East and South East Asian) community and to be the descendant of migrants from Hong Kong, as that’s another way I can connect with people, too.
Lately I’ve been focusing many of my projects around highlighting issues from within ESEA diaspora communities and to be able to do that is a privilege, even if it does hurt to hear about some of those issues.
Before we say goodbye for now, can you share with us your favorite literary or culinary discovery?
As part of my Many Voices Many Kitchens interview series for Bella Caledonia last year I got to make and eat kushari for the first time and it was absolutely divine.
You can buy sikfan glaschu here