Vincent Ternida: Filipino-Canadian Author Explores Complex Narratives in "The Seven Muses of Harry Salcedo
Meet Vincent Ternida, the talented Filipino-Canadian author of "The Seven Muses of Harry Salcedo." His works have been featured in esteemed publications such as The Polyglot, Voice and Verse Poetry Magazine, and PR&TA Journal. Vincent's short story "Acacia" is a notable inclusion in "Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino-Canadian Writing," published by Cormorant Books. Residing in Vancouver, Vincent continues to captivate readers with his complex narratives. In our exclusive interview, we delve into his literary journey and his reflections on "The Seven Muses of Harry Salcedo."
Migration and the search for identity are central themes in your book, The Seven Muses of Harry Salcedo. How do you think Harry's journey reflects the broader experience of Asian Canadians?
The Seven Muses of Harry Salcedo in essence is a mid-life coming of age story from a diasporic perspective. I’ve tried to ground it in reality where the overall journey doesn’t exactly focus on the big changes that happen with people, in fact many of the changes would happen off the page, where hopefully Harry will learn from his many mistakes and grow (or not) later in his life.
As a 1.5 generation third culture kid, migration and the search for identity are messy concepts that affect us differently, especially when these concepts occur after your formative years. Asian-Canadians with my experience may feel somewhat of an arrested development grasping the Canadian experience and their uniquely Canadian identity may either be a mask that they code switch into to survive in their new reality or a second skin that they’ve forgotten to remove and launder through years of wearing it.
It becomes a complicated dance where they negotiate through the social mores of a country and how much of their heritage they willingly accept or reject in the process. One example is that one of Harry’s muses tell him in an intimate moment of how much he has acclimated into his whiteness. Another moment is when Harry returns to Manila after ten years of continuous residence in Vancouver, that he feels like a “tourist in his place of birth”. I feel that this experience isn’t uniquely mine or Harry’s, but really an unspoken condition many go through that embrace the Canadian Experience.
Harry goes through this coming of age of not only literally “growing up”, but also maturing into the synthesis of his identity of being both Filipino and Canadian. His decisions where he ultimately ends up is still ironically in a state of journeying. Did he grow up or did he remain the same? These are the questions Asian-Canadians ask themselves consciously or unconsciously on a regular basis especially for those who have integrated too well into their adopted country’s culture.
Vancouver and Toronto are almost characters in themselves in your book. How did you use these settings to enhance the story, and what do these cities represent to Harry?
Vancouver and Toronto represent the twin ironies in Harry’s life. Familiarity definitely breeds contempt as Harry has grown too familiar with Vancouver and longs for the possibility of a new life in Toronto. Ironically Harry and the readers never venture into Toronto even if the entire story endlessly has him vacillating in moving there (but never really doing it) to the point that characters that know him intimately mock him for it. It just proves that no matter how well someone’s life is elevated, there’s always something that they perceive as a better place, full of opportunity.
The Seven of Muses of Harry Salcedo is also ironically a love letter to Vancouver during 2015-2018. The city went through much transition seen subtly through the changes in little things such as the transit system, the unpredictable weather, and its diverse populace. Harry, being self-centered, notices these changes but continues to treat the place openly with contempt. It is akin to a marriage devoid of passion, Harry puts up with Vancouver because he’s too scared to venture off to Toronto, a city he unconsciously feels unworthy to move to and Manila is as alien to him as Toronto is, but the difference is that he has alienated the city of his birth.
In his many monologues, Harry used to love Vancouver and we could see that with the many characters, most notably Julie, who also have grown weary of the place. She saw Vancouver as somewhat of a magical place full of possibility as a young woman, but as she matured, it lost its magic and she lived vicariously through her unnamed lovers. We can see that rekindled passion whenever Harry leaves or is about to leave Vancouver, like a codependent relationship that has an endless push and pull effect.
What book in the Canadian literary canon do you think is a must-read? And why?
It’s difficult to take a work and make it a blanket recommendation to represent the Asian-Canadian diaspora. If I had to pick three:
Banana Boys by Terry Wong is a work that is a Gen X Toronto version of what Seven Muses represents for the Millenial West Coast zeitgeist it’s based on. Bitingly funny, authentic, and the voice of an Asian Generation, it’s definitely a book that I can recommend to the next generation.
How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavhongsa is a poetic, biting, and eye-opening collection of short stories that tells the immigrant experience from a whole perspective of Canada. I like how the setting is ambiguous and with the exception of somewhere in Ontario (given away by Coffee Time), it tells timeless stories of the immigrants, which is beautiful, frustrating, devastating, and ultimately hopeful.
Reuniting With Strangers by Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio is definitely a masterclass in the interconnected short story telling several disparate stories that are connected by family, Canada, and Monolith. Just like How to Pronounce Knife, it brings that Filipino-Canadian perspective center stage and tells the definitive immigrant story.