Ke Xu Lan stands in front of her article at Northwest Asian Weekly office
People often wonder, how does the Northwest Asian Weekly and its sister paper, the Seattle Chinese Post, keep on surviving after nearly three decades?
On May 28, more than 30 Chinese writers for the Chinese Post met at the Northwest Asian Weekly’s office. Some have retired, others are professionals. They all have one common desire — to write. Their love for words propelled them to start a study group in Chinese literature in 1997. They came to our features editor, Nancy Chang, and asked if we would like to publish some of their articles.
Since then, their writings have been consistently published in the Chinese Post.
And they never ask for compensation. It is their way of giving back to the community. Some of them have become lifelong friends.
Over the years, their writing has changed. Very little is about literature. Now, they write about real life experiences. We encourage them to write about the immigrant perspectives in travel, education, politics, health, arts, recreation, history, and other complicated subjects.
We meet only once every other year. When we meet, we chat for hours, like we’re old friends. We learn about each other through words of love, courage, wisdom, and sometimes, silliness.
One such remarkable woman is a cancer patient. She came with her head wrapped in a red hat. She is undergoing chemotherapy. There were only smiles on her face, despite the agony she suffers from the chemo. There was no bitterness in her voice or the words, “Why me?” Instead, she praised her doctors and nurses for the care she has received.
“It’s not easy for me to go through chemo. It’s the worst thing I have ever experienced in my life,” she said. “Why not make their job easier? When the nurses see me happy, they are happy to care for me, too.”
Thank you for being a Chinese Post writer. ♦
Closely listen to an Inception dvd made before the January 8th Tucson shooting, especially during the dialogue, “Do It.”