The wonder years

Lasting legacy
The Hong Kong Poetry Festival Foundation has put together its own program, comprising five online and offline events, in honor of Xi Xi. Ho, together with Feeley, is preparing a special feature for Cha, titled Xi Xi: Can We Say. Writers are invited to submit creative pieces and personal reflections in response to Xi Xi's works. New Xi Xi-inspired pieces will continue to appear on the journal's website on a rolling basis until the end of June.

Feeley's fondest memories of Xi Xi have to do with the latter's capacity for childlike wonder. Once they were at the University of Oklahoma, where Xi Xi was to receive the Newman Prize. The writer was so excited to see squirrels on campus, she stopped to watch them play. "She loved toys, and even wrote a column about them for Ming Pao. Her essays about toys were later collected into a book," Feeley notes. She had gifted Xi Xi a pair of Amish cloth dolls.

Left devastated by the unexpected passing of her mother in 2021, Feeley was touched when Xi Xi sent over two of her handmade teddy bears to her.

Xi Xi's legacy will live on as fans continue to share their love and passion for her work. Wong reveals that a new volume containing some of Xi Xi's hitherto un-anthologized works is due out soon. She believes as long as Xi Xi's works continue to get adapted for the stage and discussed in reading groups, the writer will continue to hold a place in the hearts of the book lovers of Hong Kong.