Pride of Place: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department reflect on a place in Hong Kong. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Pet Sounds” series.] [Revisit the “Headspace” series.] [Revisit the “Ongoing” series.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] . Pride entails variations of a shared exclusivity. It emerges as one observes…
Category: William Ng
Pet Sounds: William Ng
Pet Sounds: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department reflect on a piece of music or song. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Headspace” series.] [Revisit the “Ongoing” series.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] Caprice ‘When you breathe into this instrument, darling, you’re not just giving it life – you’re giving it…
“Routine Application” by William Ng
The printer, sheet after sheet, roars off another batch of applicants in the Pre-Interview Processing zone. For the first time a full-screen dialogue box pops up on the screen of his laptop – COLLECT FORMS. He floats down the grey-carpeted corridor past the cubicles of others, retrieves his ream of ivory-coloured forms, and retreats to…
Headspace: William Ng
Headspace: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department write about a place or space they go to write, read, study or create. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Ongoing” series.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] The arrival of my double-decker bus affords its own simple pleasure on my daily commute. I scan…
“And Then Follow Through” by William Ng and John Wakefield
Drinking coffee in Amsterdam before heading to Antwerp to present a paper on Sociopragmatics William: What led you to the pursuit of further studies in Cantonese and Sociopragmatics? John: In comparison to most white, native English-speaking immigrants, I have assimilated linguistically and culturally to an unusual degree. That being the case, I have tried to…
“How A Ceiling Fan Rotates” by William Ng
I sat at the back of a classroom With twenty lads in a warm and humid afternoon. My mentor taught his English before the board, Writing cursive with his chalk. I caught a certain breeze of calm, Gazing at a buzzing ceiling fan Its metal blades revolving around a milky white and pivotal round. It…
Ongoing Moments: William Ng
Ongoing Moments: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department respond to a photograph of their choice. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] . “Gold Diggers Receiving Letter from Home” (circa 1860), attrib.William Strutt. Oil on canvas, 91.5 x 72.3 cm. Psst, can you feel his longing for a return?…
“Urban Youth” by William Ng
. It was inspiring for me to attend the English Department seminar “Urban Youth, Language and Literacy Development in the Digital and Global Environments” [abstract] delivered by Dr. Myrrh Domingo from the Institute of Education, University College London on Monday 26th January 2015. Recently, the image of me approaching the classroom of my future students has…
Department of English, Hong Kong Baptist University 