Date: February 9, 2016 | Category: News
Author: Rachel Montour
Editors Note: This is part three of a four-part series exploring the work of multilingual authors in Montreal who choose to write in English. Why do these individuals choose English, and how have their own linguistic backgrounds and the bilingual context of Montreal shaped this choice and their work? Strathy literary intern and English graduate student Rachel Montour, herself a bilingual Montrealer, interviewed four young writers on this topic. The focus of her third piece is Philippe Shane To. (Click here for Part 1: Patra Dounoukor Reiser and Part 2: John Henry Rumsby.)
Philippe Shane To writes experimental short stories, but is currently working on a 鈥渟eries of novels that balance elements of the supernatural and the family saga鈥. He has a particular fondness for 鈥渟peculative criticism and its effects on our understanding of the world鈥. Speculative criticism 鈥渂uild[s] fiction or theoretical texts off of extrapolations from observations on a certain topic, as opposed to hard grounded facts鈥. He notes Margaret Atwood and Arthur C. Clarke鈥檚 鈥渇uturistic universes鈥 as effective examples. Philippe鈥檚 works include Meta elements and incorporate theoretical reflections, in an attempt to question the 鈥渓imits of genre鈥, thus seeking to explore 鈥渢he effects of suspension of disbelief鈥. His aesthetic and narrative choices are primarily influenced by 鈥渇eminist theory (past and present), ideas of hysteria, gender bending, as well as techniques aimed at dismantling patriarchal and Eurocentric structures鈥. 鈥淢y stories tend to introduce female protagonists questioning their place in the world鈥, he observes.
Philippe鈥檚 decision to write in English is more a matter of circumstance than identification. He writes:
I have always had more of a penchant for English novels. Though I am bilingual, reading and writing in English has always come more naturally to me. I find that my vocabulary in English tends to flow with greater ease and feels more personal than it does when I attempt to write in French.
Consequently, English becomes associated with self-expression. In truth, Philippe admits to 鈥渇inding it easier to express myself鈥 in English.
His fluency in French and English, instigated 鈥渁lmost simultaneously鈥 in his childhood, has naturalized a bilingual identity which is mirrored in his works of fiction. 鈥淔rench influences and modifies my way of writing [鈥. My English is clearly Anglo-Quebecois in that my cultural references are informed by my French heritage鈥, he explains.
Being a French/English Montrealer, I am constantly made to face questions of identity (the divisive nature of our French/English Quebec culture), and am often pushed to question what 鈥淓nglish鈥 really means to me. It is almost as though being a Quebecois and writing in English becomes unintentionally political. Though I do it only as a personal, creative choice, there is always the inevitable feeling that you are betraying a part of yourself. I believe the characters and atmosphere my writing express can鈥檛 help but give a sense of that struggle.
Philippe鈥檚 conscious narrative choices, such as setting and characterization, are inseparable from his personal linguistic background.
The latter also influences his works through the use of borrowings which serve to integrate other languages to the one chosen for the main composition. Indeed, he states 鈥淚 like incorporating French words into my work mainly to name locations鈥 in the aim to avoid translations which would not 鈥渇eel right鈥. In addition to locations, based on his own experiences and in order 鈥渢o give a particular Quebecois feel to a character鈥, Philippe often chooses to include dialogues that 鈥渟witch back and forth between French and English鈥.
He claims having applied similar decisions to his 鈥淕erman characters [with] their use of Deutsch鈥, made evident in the following passage:
Some might find it odd, or inappropriate of me to end with Eingang.
I myself am still not fully certain I understand its multiple meanings. From the little I do comprehend, it can be understood as 鈥榚ntrance鈥 or 鈥榳ay in鈥 which may seem more appropriate for an opening, an introduction as opposed to a conclusion, but the truth of the matter is that our narrative鈥攎ine, yours, the family鈥檚鈥攊s far from over. It is, in many ways only the first chapter in a long series of narratives retelling the life of our relatives.
I am confident that here, at the Estate, our narratives will flow liberally. I am no longer afraid of the Geister of our past. Whether they are real or mere figments of our deranged minds, I feel that they and I will finally find peace.
(Work in progress, Untitled)
Philippe chose this excerpt to exemplify the predominance of language in his works. The passage offers a conclusion to a larger work in which a daughter deals with her mother's death. Her copping is rendered precarious when linguistic barriers hinder the protagonist鈥檚 understanding of 鈥渉er mother's old diary entries, haunted by real and metaphorical ghosts from her mother's past鈥. The girl鈥檚 鈥渕other never taught her the German of her personal past鈥. 鈥淭his language becomes almost alien in nature for the daughter, one filled with slangs and abbreviations that German 101 couldn't teach her鈥, he explains. Philippe鈥檚 creative process reveals linguistic considerations as he explores the predicament of 鈥渃oming to terms with the linguistic baggage that comes from generational and linguistic barriers鈥.
When asked to reflect on his own challenges regarding the choice of writing in English in Quebec, and their effects on his creative process, Philippe, like his protagonist, concedes to a feeling of 鈥減artial betrayal鈥 due to the existence of linguistic barriers. He explains this claim with such acknowledgment: 鈥淭hough I am fully supported by my family, I am well aware that those members that are less comfortable in English will have difficulty reading my work鈥. To this complication in exposure, he adds, regarding the publishing process: 鈥淚 may be forced to find representation outside of Quebec to draw adequate interest in my work. Though I do not see this as a negative thing, it may or may not penalize my acceptance into certain publishing circles鈥. In Quebec, as an effort to preserve the French language, some publishers are not only specialized according to genre or audience, but to language of composition as well. Philippe Shane To leaves this interview suggesting that this form of specialized publishing is an unfavorable reality for English writers in Quebec.