Yesterday, Columbia International College was honoured to welcome Canadian author and medical doctor, Dr. Vincent Lam.
Dr. Lam spent the day speaking with Columbia students currently enrolled inWriter’s Craft and ENG4U courses. He spoke of his childhood growing up in the Chinese expatriate community in Vietnam, his early writing career, his artistic inspirations, and balancing his life as a doctor and author.
When speaking to the Writer’s Craft class, Dr. Lam gave the aspiring writers a few of key pieces of advice such as “reading is a necessity to writing,” and “write about something you care about.” He also made an interesting comparison between medicine and writing; “with medicine, you’re dealing with a story. Patients want you to understand their story and have an ending for them.” Dr. Lam further expressed his difficulty in choosing between medicine and writing and believes that each profession compliments the other and helps him be a “useful member of society.”
Before concluding his visit, Dr. Lam met with the members of Columbia’s student newspaper, the Columbia Chronicle, and gave them an exclusive interview.
Guest Author Series
Dr. Lam was the fourth author to participate in the English department’s guest author series which began in 2006. The series gives students the opportunity to connect to the literary works their studying and develop a better understanding of the content. Previous authors included Nino Ricci, Wayson Choy, and Lawrence Hill. Click here to learn more about Dr. Vincent Lam.
Columbia would like to thank Dr. Vincent Lam for his visit and presentation and Ms. Pivniceru for organizing another successful guest author event.