SBS Vietnamese had the chance to interview Stephen Pham about his passion for writing.
When did you start the career of a professional writer? How many articles or stories have you published?
I started writing in 2012. I've had stories and essays in publications such as Sydney Review of Books, Meanjin, Griffith Review, Overlands, The Lifted Brow, and SBS Life.
What’s your writing style? What are your objectives in your writings?
I write fiction and essays. I aim to entertain and provoke questions of how imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy affects people across Western Sydney and Australia.
Does your family encourage you to become a writer? Does your identity/Vietnamese background contribute anything to your writing? Do you face any difficulty to become a writer?
No, my family doesn't encourage me to become a writer. My family is working class and the undervaluing of writing favours those from middle-class or better backgrounds. I do face a lot of difficulties on my journey to become a writer. And my Vietnamese background does contribute to my writing.
What do you think about opportunity for Australian-Vietnamese/Vietnamese writers in Australia?
While literary industries make efforts to include people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (including Vietnamese-Australians), they are still rife with White supremacy. This is because the White people in positions of power—whether they be editors or producers—greatly underestimate their subconscious biases. Vietnamese-Australian writers should be aware that they may be exploited, even if they may appear to benefit from such opportunities.
What make you to be invited to this festival? What are you going to do in this festival?
I have developed my career as a writer over the last six years as an original member of SWEATSHOP Writers' Collective and it appears to be paying off. I was on the panel Rising in the West: Writing from Sydney's Heart on 28 April alongside Omar Sakr and Rawah Arja discussing writing from and about Western Sydney. I will also be on the panel Owning Your Story at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre on 6 May alongside Shirley Le, Winnie Dunn, Evelyn Araluen, Omar Sakr, and Monikka Eliah to discuss writing.
What do you expect from the Writers’ festival?
I will be attending The Return of the Big Black Thing, the launch of the anthology of writing from SWEATSHOP Writers' Collective. The anthology showcases writing from emerging and established writers across Western Sydney, and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with readings by Omar Sakr, Peter Polites, Monikka Eliah, and Amanda Yeo.
