Authors’ debate challenges and advantages of ‘writing Macau’

Jenny Lao-Phillips (left), Marco Lobo, Rui Rocha and Tereza Sena

Writing Macau,” a talk featuring three authors that have depicted Macau or related topics in their works, be they a newspaper column, a romance or poem, was held last week.

Jenny Lao-Phillips, Marco Lobo and Rui Rocha were the three guests of a panel included in the Macau Literary Festival, Script Road, which addressed questions regarding Macau’s identity and the differences that arise in the authors’ relationships with the territory.

Commenting on the challenges and advantages involved with writing about Macau, Lao- Phillips said, “I like the fact that people are very close and I always say to my friends [that] Macau is a very good place to find stories. […] Macau is a very good place to start writing.”

Lao-Phillips mentioned her column “Made in Macao,” published every fortnight by Macau Daily Times, where she addresses aspects of local culture as well as traditions and tales that pass verbally from one generation to another.

She noted that in most of the stories she addresses, she’s “not really sure if they are true or not, and sometimes there are different versions to explain a same event.” This convergence or divergence of facts and/or interpretations stems from part of the “beauty” of doing work that comes “directly from [the] Macau people.”

Beside her column, Lao-Phillips – Macau-born Chinese with Spanish roots – has also published a book of poetry as well as another work about “The Legend of The Chinese Zodiac.”

Fellow guest Marco Lobo comes from a background comprising Macau, Hong Kong, East Timor and Portugal, among others. He noted that one of the biggest challenges for him, as a writer of historical fiction, “[is trying] to create some logic on the story and on the characters. Sometimes when we confront the historical archives, they don’t make much sense.”

He noted that most of the time there are historical gaps and missing information, and that on other occasions, stories are told in a very “exaggerated” way.

“We need to research well and put some dose of reality into that,” he said, noting that characters need to operate with profound logic, lest readers find the story ridiculous and lose interest.

Another project he is considering is a novelization of the history of the Lobo family, an influential family in Macau and Hong Kong with a significant legacy and enduring presence in local business. However, he added, “it won’t be easy, you know. Families have many secrets and independently of what you write, there is also someone that gets annoyed with that.” 

Rui Rocha, born in Portugual with a Macanese mother, has a long-standing relationship with Macau, which has grown over the decades since he moved to Macau and started work.

By his own admission, one “needs time to understand” Macau, as the reality is not obvious at first glance. Relations need to be studied and built with time and constant observation is required, a method that he said he used to understand Macau better.

Uncertainty over festival’s future

THE SEVENTH edition Macau Literary Festival ended yesterday amidst doubts over the continuation of the event. This year’s event was marred by the controversial last minute cancelation of the presence of three authors, among them Jung Chang, author of a Mao biography. Festival director Ricardo Pinto told TDM yesterday that next year the festival could go ahead in a smaller version and only with private sponsors. Another possibility is not to do it at all and there is also the possibility of keeping the government sponsorship. “That support would be welcome if certain rules, related with autonomy and the possibility of making the next edition without these incidents, occur” Pinto said.