Feature Friday - Gillian Sze
Name
Gillian Sze
Pronouns
She/Her
Bio
Gillian Sze a poet and children's writer. She is the recipient of the Pat Lowther Memorial Award for her poetry and essay collection, Quiet Night Think, and the QWF’s A. M. Klein Poetry Prize for her latest book, An Orange, A Syllable. Her books for children have been shortlisted for the Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards, and CBC Kids Read. Gillian’s work has also been translated into Slovenian, French, Italian, Turkish, Hebrew, Spanish, and Greek. She teaches creative writing and Canadian literature at Concordia University.
Instagram
@gilliansze
Website
www.gilliansze.com
Where in Montreal are you located?
NDG
What do you love about that neighborhood?
I love that I'm tucked away from main roads, so I get to be surrounded by trees and the sounds of birds, while still having quick access to public transit. It makes navigating and escaping the city very convenient.
What’s your favourite art space in Montreal and why?
This might be unsurprising, but I'd say it's Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. I can never get tired of it. The permanent collection alone is impressive. I also have a soft spot for the space. I wrote a lot of my MA thesis there so I have these ongoing relationships with certain pieces that I see time and time again.
Describe your art in your own words.
Slow. Attentive.
What drew you to writing?
My mother has a memory of my reading a dictionary in the car during a road trip. I loved that dictionary. It had a worn yellow cover and contained pictures. The dictionary was made for children, of course, but already I had a love for sound and meaning.
What have you been working on recently?
I recently finished up final touches on a picture book called Ah Ma's Home. It comes out this fall with Groundwood Books and is illustrated by Leah Hong. That book was a long time coming! The first draft was written in 2019. I was waiting in the car for my mother while she popped into a Chinese grocery store. My own Ah Ma was unwell, and I was moved to write something that celebrated the tender connection between grandmother and grandchild. I wrote so many versions of this story and they all fell short. I finally landed on something three years later and was over the moon when editor Karen Li at Groundwood scooped it up. Karen is also Chinese-Canadian, so to be working with an editor and illustrator with the same understanding and cultural background—what a dream.
How would you describe your voice?
Curious. Observant.
Where do you find your inspiration?
My children. Books. Art. The seasons. The past. Small talk. The light through my kitchen door in the morning. The sky outside the kids' room in the evening.
Describe your writing process.
Accretive. Meandering. Associative.
Who are some of your favorite writers?
My answer to this question changes all the time. Anne Carson. Mary Oliver. Madeleine Thien. William Carlos Williams. Shel Silverstein. Mary Ruefle. Adam Rex. Sara O'Leary. Kyo Maclear. Sadiqa de Meijer.
What do you love about Montreal's literary scene?
I love its history, its presence on walls and in public art. I like how easily people move from community to community (in language or genre). I like how you can always find someone who loves language as much as you do.
