Writing has always been a difficult subject to talk about, let alone writing an honest account about how one’s creative process is complicated by global lockdown and personal hardships. In Writing in Difficult Times, eleven young promising writers from Hong Kong wallow in some of their perhaps most confusing and troubling moments in life, and share their struggles. How do writers committed to crafted language maintain a dialogue with themselves? How does the dense urban living space affect creative outputs and thoughts? How do writers reflect on and evaluate gender roles, motherhood, and time? What roles does memory play in writing, if memory’s own language is not allowed to communicate? Each personal essay in this collection is available in both Chinese and English, hoping to build a timely and genuine connection with its readers, regardless of location and cultural background. Each word is a courageous sharing that makes a significant contribution to bilingual Hong Kong literary writings today.



寫作總是難以言說的事，更遑論誠實地書寫因為全球封關而變得更為複雜的個人難關。在《困頓之書》裏，十一位香港作家以文字述說當下，分享他們的種種掙扎：在這個全球共同面對的苦痛時刻­­裏，作家們如果雕鏤文字來和自己保持通話？高度密集的城市生活空間又如何影響他們的創作與思緒？他們又如何反思性別角色、母性與時間？本書的每篇文字均以中、英雙語呈現，希望能夠跨越文化和語言的限制，與讀者建立真誠的溝通。書內每一字一句，均是一次勇敢的分享，試圖以雙語的香港文學，回應全球狀態。