Jane Park
In conversation with Sumaiya Matin
Sunday, October 18 | 2 PM
Forsyth Hall, Downtown Library | $10
Inheritance:
After her father’s death, Anne Kim returns to the prairies and discovers a hidden family history rooted in North Korea. Reading the letters her father never sent, Anne is drawn back to her childhood in rural Alberta, where her immigrant parents struggled to build a new life. As memories of family conflict and a devastating tragedy resurface, Anne must confront her long buried guilt.
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About Jane Park
Jane Park is a second-generation Korean Canadian writer. She is a MacDowell Fellow, and was a participant in the Banff Centre’s Writing Studio, and Diaspora Dialogues. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta, lived in New York City for over a decade, and now lives in Calgary, Alberta. Currently, she is pursuing an MFA at the University of British Columbia. Inheritance is her debut novel.
Inheritance
A Korean Canadian woman returns to the prairies, where she revisits her childhood and confronts her haunting guilt.
Anne Kim is a New York lawyer whose success is built on forgetting the past. When her father dies and she returns to Edmonton for the funeral, she is shocked to discover that he was from North Korea and that he left his brother behind.
As Anne reads the undelivered letters her father wrote to his brother about life in Canada, she is transported back to her childhood during the 1980s and 90s. She recalls the struggles her parents faced as immigrants who ran a grocery store in a rural prairie town. Anne and her brother, Charles, felt the weight of their father’s expectations: whereas Anne was driven to excel and became an overachiever, Charles rebelled, determined to pursue his own dreams. His rebellion created a rift that culminated in a devastating act, irrevocably shattering the family and leaving Anne overwhelmed by inescapable guilt.
Inheritance explores the immigrant experience, the sacrifices made by both parents and children, and the way trauma is transferred to the next generation. As Anne completes her journey to the past, she emerges to finally define life on her own terms.
Sumaiya Matin wears many hats as a writer, social worker, educator and public policy professional. She holds a Master of Social Work and is currently working toward her Master of Fine Arts (in Creative Writing) at the University of British Columbia. She is the author of the literary memoir The Shaytan Bride and a children’s picture book titled Parsa’s Pithas. She lives in amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton).
