Capturing the Little Moments—with Qin Sun Stubis
Interview by Gabriela V. Everett
This week Mulberry has the great joy of sharing an interview with the talented Qin Sun Stubis. Stubis discusses her start as a writer, her short fiction piece “Abe’s Garden,” and the importance of family and friends in her work.
What made you want to start writing?
I majored in English and English literature back in Shanghai, China in the early 1980s. Since then, I have always been drawn to literature, initially more as a reader than a writer. Because English is not my native language, I hesitated to use it. It was not until I lost my parents in China two decades ago that I knew it was time for me to write down their epic life stories for my children. Since they don’t speak Chinese, I was compelled to write in English. Once I became more comfortable with writing, I realized that I had so much more to write about. My thoughts, feelings, and ideas started to pour out of me. For the last fifteen years, I’ve worked on my writing as a columnist for The Santa Monica Star, where I have my own monthly platform called “Reflections from the East." Most recently, I started to write poems, essays and fantastical tales, allowing me to unleash the creative energy within me.
What inspired your piece “Abe’s Garden?” What made you want to tell this story?
I like to make friends everywhere, from the dentist office to the grocery store. One day, I saw my cashier friend, Ted, attending a young woman in front of me. She wanted to take money out of a debit card and was rejected. Looking at her disappointed face, Ted took out a five-dollar bill from his own wallet and gave it to her. “Not much, but I hope it’ll help,” he said. “You can give it back to me when you want. You know where to find me.” I was moved. Cashiers work very hard and don’t make much, and yet, without a second thought, Ted helped a young woman who seemed to be financially a lot more well-off than himself. Two weeks later, I met Ted at the checkout. “Did that young lady give you the money back?” I asked. “No,” he answered casually. It is people like Ted that have inspired me to write “Abe’s Garden.” I want to open readers’ eyes to see all the “not-so-obvious” people around them in their everyday lives: cashiers, cabdrivers, deliverymen, or the lady who washes their hair in the salon. They do so much more for us than we ever realize.
In your piece, we do not see Abe again after his removal on a stretcher. What does Abe's absence mean for the people in the neighborhood? Do you think people only recognize importance when the object of such is taken from their life?
I do believe that it is human nature to take people and things around us for granted—things and people that we always have become part of our “security blanket” and make our lives predictable. We rely on their steady presence for our own comfort and confidence. But we don’t often think about and appreciate them until we lose them. It is the loss of Abe that made people realize the “hole” he has left in their lives.
The theme of community and connection is such an integral part of your story. What inspired this idea of telling such a tale focused on community?
Chinese cultural emphasizes the importance of family and those around you. Some of my best friends are my neighbors. They remain friends even if you or they move away. You can never be lonely if your community is your family. Your family can be far away but your community is always there.
Are you working on anything you would like to share? Where can our readers find more of your work?
Right now, I’m working on a number of light, serious and humorous short stories, a series of original Chinese Tall Tales inspired by ancient Asian themes, and a collection of short essays I’m tentatively titling “Between Wind and Rain” (“风来雨去”), which are bits and pieces of my memories about growing up in China and weathering the “winds” of revolution as well as the “rain” of hardships in life.
Most excitingly, my historical memoir, “Once Our Lives,” will soon be published by Guernica World Editions. "Once Our Lives" is the true story of four generations of Chinese women and how their lives were threatened by powerful and cruel ancient traditions, historic upheavals, and a man whose fate—cursed by an ancient superstition—dramatically altered their destinies. The book takes the reader on an exotic journey filled with luxurious banquets, lost jewels, babies sold in opium dens, kidnappings by pirates, and a desperate flight from death in the desert—seen through the eyes of a man for whom the truth would spell disaster and a lonely, beautiful girl with three identities.
You can read “Abe’s Garden” right here and if you’re interested, you can learn more about me at: www.qinsunstubis.com and find samples of my work in the following links:
A Lesson from Lotuses (Grand Magazine)
The Art of Living: Creating a Successful Past (The Santa Monica Star)
Qin Sun Stubis is a Chinese-American writer living in the Washington, D.C. area. A newspaper columnist for the Santa Monica Star, she writes poems, essays, short stories, and original Chinese tall tales inspired by traditional Asian themes. Her works have most recently appeared in Paper Dragon, the other side of hope, and Mulberry Literary. Her historical memoir, "Once Our Lives," is being published by Guernica World Editions.