Hypertext Magazine asked Vincent Chu, author of the debut story collection Like a Champion, “What question do you wish you’d been asked about your work?”
WHY LIKE A CHAMPION?
Champion is one of those great words. It means so many different things to different people. When you read it, a lot of clear visuals come to mind. People have asked me if this is a collection about sports or wrestling or boxing. The answer is no, not really. There are a few stories set in these worlds, but most of the stories in Like a Champion have nothing to do with sports. In fact, they deal with characters who are the opposite of competitive athletes. They are underdogs, longshots, outcasts, loners, ordinary people trying to triumph within ordinary settings far from a stadium or squared circle – office cubicles, classrooms, cruise ships, text and email inboxes, bathrooms, or in the title story, a failing neighborhood toy shop.
People usually tell you to play/act/perform, etc. like a champion when you’re obviously not a champion. Nobody needs to tell Lebron James to play like a champion. He is one. These common words of encouragement are also not so much telling someone to be a champion, but rather, in this particular moment in time, for these next few minutes, during this tiny window of opportunity, be champion-like. And there’s something really beautiful and hopeful about that. By definition, it’s impossible for all of us to be champions, but for a select few important moments in life, we can be like champions.
What defines a champion is different for everyone too, of course. Like a Champion celebrates the various small victories, everyday triumphs that we can all relate to perhaps more than winning the Super Bowl. Overcoming an obstacle or opponent, no matter how real or perceived, is what being a champion is about. But to be clear, these aren’t all happy stories that end victoriously with everyone raising the protagonist on their shoulders and singing Kumbaya. There’s a lot of sadness, failure and defeat in these stories, but they are always hopeful. This, more or less, is why I chose the title Like a Champion. I kind of feel like having a bowl of Wheaties now.
Pick up a copy of Like A Champion (713 Books) at your favorite local bookstore or order it HERE.