|
Paul Yee |
 |
|
Paul Yee |
|
Paul Yee was born in Spalding, Saskatchewan on October 1, 1956. At the age of two, Yee and family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he grew up and went to university. His career has been diverse. Along with writing, Yee has worked for both the archives of Vancouver and Ontario. In 1996 Yee won the Governor General's Award for his story Ghost Train.
The desire to become a writer was something that developed during the time Yee spent at university, along with an awakening awareness of his Chinese culture and heritage. As a child he was an avid reader but thought little about writing. Studying literature in university he learned "how powerful the printed word" is. At the same time, he began to rediscover his Chinese heritage. He began to volunteer in Vancouver's Chinatown and to speak Chinese again. The love of literature and the personal importance of his cultural heritage are both important in Yee's work where he weaves the history and culture of Chinese-Canadians into his stories. His desire is to write about the largely untold, early history of Chinese-Canadians has inspired Yee to provide Chinese-Canadians with a sense of their culture, history and heritage through his books. He is especially concerned for those who live outside Chinese communities. Raised by his Aunt Lillian, Yee admits she was a great source of inspiration. "She was born in Vancouver in 1895 and lived through some very dark times in Canadian history. However she, was always proud to be Chinese."
Paul Yee's first children's book was Teach Me To Fly, Skyfighter! James Lormier wanted to publish a children's book set in Vancouver's Chinatown and written by someone from the community for his Adventures in Canada series. Yee's volunteer work made him visible in the community and he had also published some short stories which made him the ideal candidate. Lormier approached him about the idea and Yee accepted the offer.
Time and success as a writer has not made writing any easier for Paul Yee. Each project he begins has its own unique difficulties that must be solved. Yee is a writer who takes his craft very seriously. He starts from outlines and notes written in longhand. After he has fleshed the idea out with pen and paper, Yee enters his work into his computer. He plans a chapter-to-chapter outline, with each chapter summed up in about 3-4 paragraphs. As well, he spends a great deal of time fine-tuning and editing his writing. He has, he has said "learned more from his editors than from anyone or anything else."
Click here to view Paul's bibliography and a list of other awards he has won.
Click here to view a list of articles and links on Paul Yee and Ghost Train