Wayson Choy was a Canadian novelist, educator, and human-rights activist. He wrote two novels and two memoirs; taught English and creative writing at various institutions, including Humber College, for more than forty years; and was a Member of the Order of Canada.

Officially, Wayson Choy was born on April 20, 1939, in Vancouver, to Nellie Hop Wah and Yip Doy Choy. However, in order to evade Canada’s racially exclusive immigration laws, including first a head tax and later a ban on new Chinese immigrants, many Chinese-Canadian families resorted to falsified documents, and Choy’s family was no different. Nellie Hop Wah and Yip Doy Choy – really named Lilly and Toy Choy – adopted a three-week-old baby boy and had a midwife “verify” his birth on May 16, 1939. Choy’s biological

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Citation: Ryan, Laurel. "Wayson Choy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 April 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5280, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5280 Wayson Choy 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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