Day 6 Session (July 7, 2006)

• Posted by: chantal
• On: 07/07/2006 14:43:22
• In: Uncategorised

Marty Chan is a playwright, radio writer, television story editor, and young adult author who was raised in the small town of Morinville (not to be confused with "Moron"ville as Marty put it). 

Saying a loud "HELLO" to Alberta students:

Marty kicked off the session by telling Washington that he was quite tired because his two new black and white cats, Buddy and Max, keep him up at night.  While Max is busy stealing Marty's belongings, stinky Buddy farts when under stress and insists on using Marty's neck as a pillow. Marty asked the Washington audience to help him name his new picture book documenting the unique and quirky behaviours of Max and Buddy. 

Marty explained that growing up as the only Chinese kid in small town Alberta presented many challenges, but it also gave impetus to his many creative stories.  Marty recounted how his mother's questionable taste in clothing, such as the neon green corduroy pants she forced him to wear, led to his ridicule and sabotaged his efforts to garner the positive attention of Trina, a secret childhood crush.  Marty was convinced that a pair of blue jeans would be his ticket to normalcy, but his mom insisted that only bad boys wore blue jeans. 

Marty also talked about how his family settled in Morinville because it reminded them of their rural hometown in China.  Marty's mother left homeland China during the time of the Cultural Revolution, when the Red Guard decided to "re-educate" landowners.  To escape the impending torture of the Red Guard, Marty's grandfather scraped together his life savings to sneak the family to Hong Kong.  However, Marty's grandmother was forced to stay behind because the family did not have sufficient funds to rescue all four members.  She suffered through years of torture and strife before finally dying at the hands of the Red Guard.  Marty expressed his appreciation for his grandmother's sacrifice and noted that a lot of immigrants in Canada (and in the United States) have suffered from persecution. 

Living near the graveyard in Morinville while growing up petrified Marty, to the point where he convinced himself that the resident graveyard ghouls would come and capture him.  To ensure his safety, Marty set up a first line of defense in his bedroom window consisting of a Batman figurine, Mr. Potato Head, and Stretch Armstrong.  With the help of his vivid imagination, Marty translated his experience into the children's book, "The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul" from which Marty read an excerpt. 

Marty facilitated a contest with the Washington audience and those who answered his questions correctly received a signed copy of his book, "The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul".   Marty was also asked to name his favourite food (elephant ears), what he wanted to be when he grew up (a couch potato) and why he didn't have more than two cats!