New “Conversations from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop” Featured on Big Ten Network

"Conversations from the Iowa Writers' Workshop," a series produced by the University of Iowa Center for Media Production, features new interviews on the Big Ten Network this year, with award-winning writers associated with the creative writing program at Iowa.

New programs include workshop alumna Yiyun Li, author of A Thousand Years of Good Prayers and The Vagrants, as well as Pulitzer Prize winner Marilynne Robinson.

Watch >> Yiyun Li
Watch >> Marilynne Robinson

The program is hosted by Writers' Workshop graduate and International Writing Program staff member Kecia Lynn. The full programing is available on the Center for Media website which has an archive of all previous UI programs. It is also available on the University of Iowa's YouTube site.

March 08, 2010

Tarek Eltayeb: Kommunikation in Echtzeit

Freitag, März 5, 11 a.m. CST

Die Writing University Website hat am Freitag, 5.3. zwischen 11 -12.Uhr (CST) zu einem Echtzeit-Chat mit dem IWP Alumnus Tarek Eltayeb eingeladen.

Der Gespraech wurde durchgehend im Englisch und Detsch gehalten; die nachfolgende Abschrift wird ins Englisch und Arabisch uebersetzt.

Deutsch: Lesen Sie die Kommunikation in Echtzeit

________________________________________

Ashur Etwebi, Tripoli, Libya: Als Sohn von Sudanesischen Eltern, im Aegypten geboren und in Oesterreich lebend, man wurde annehmen dass Du nicht zu viel von Nationalitaet als Identitetskategorie haltest. Welche von den drei Nationalitaeten is deine Haupt-referenz--oder viellecht gar keine?

Tarek Eltayeb: Es gibt für mich keine verschiedenen Identitäten, sondern eine Identität mit Vielfalt, in der sich immer wieder etwas ändern kann, etwas dazu kommen oder wegfallen kann. Für mich ist das wie ein ständiger Prozess, nichts Starres und Fertiges, sondern immer wieder Veränderbares. Identität birgt ein historisches und kulturelles Erbe in sich, aber keine Nationalflaggen oder Staatsnamen.

Es ist für mich wie mit den Sprachen - wenn man eine neue Sprache lernt, verliert man die andere nicht, sondern lernt etwas dazu.

Ich wurde in Kairo als Kind sudanesischer Eltern geboren, lebte 25 Jahre in Ägypten und lebe nun seit eben so langer Zeit in Österreich. Wie sollte ich hier eine Grenze zwischen diesen Orten ziehen, die mich alle geprägt und geformt haben, wie sollte ich einen davon vergessen oder auslöschen.
________________________________________

Yasser Abdel-latif, Egypt -- Canada: LieberTarek--Zahlst Du dich zwischen Aegyptischen, oder Sudanesischen, oder gar Arabischen Schriftstellern in der Europaeischen Diaspora?

Tarek Eltayeb: Nein, ich möchte mich nur als Schriftsteller ohne bestimmte Zuschreibung zu einem bestimmten Land sehen. Natürlich, was die Sprache betrifft, in der ich schreibe, so ist diese Arabisch, meine Muttersprache und natürlich hat mich das Leben in Ägypten geprägt, so wie auch die Tatsache, dass ich sudanesische Wurzeln habe, und mittlerweile 25 Jahre in Wien lebe.

Die Sprache ist wohl ein Kriterium für Zugehörigkeit, doch eine Zuordnung ist für mich selbst unmöglich - ich habe in Ägypten meine arabischen Bücher publiziert und viele AutorInnen im arabischen Raum als Freunde und Kollegen, und dasselbe gilt für hier, ich habe hier meine Bücher in Übersetzung herausgebracht, mit anderen KollegInnen Lesungen gemacht, wurde schon öfter als österreichischer Autor eingeladen usw.

Ich habe kein Problem, wenn mich die Anderen zu einem bestimmten Land zuordnen, aber ich selbst kann das nicht.

Als Autor in der Diaspora sehe ich mich gar nicht - ich lebe 25 Jahre in Europa und kehre auch immer wieder nach Ägypten zurück, habe ständigen Kontakt und Verbindung.
________________________________________

Nora, Iowa City: Wie verschieden ist Dein Arbeits/Denksprozess wenn Du im Deutsch und im Arabisch schreibst? Gibt es einen Unterschied zwischen den zwei Schreib-Stimmen, sozusagen?

Tarek Eltayeb: Eigentlich schreibe ich literarische Texte bisher immer in meiner Muttersprache Arabisch. Doch zweifellos haben sich die beiden Sprachen mittlerweile in meinem Kopf aneinander gewöhnt und beeinflussen sich auch gegenseitig.

Ich liebe die deutsche Sprache, die meinen Alltag prägt und sogar schon meine Träume erobert hat, aber das Werkzeug meines Schreibens ist Arabisch geblieben, denn meine Augen, Gedanken und Buchstaben beharren darauf, von rechts nach links zu wandern.
________________________________________

Douglas, North Liberty: Es scheint mir dass Du von ein Par Jahren bei der IWP in Iowa warst. Wie hat es Dir hier gefallen?

Tarek Eltayeb: Mein Aufenthalt in Iowa im Rahmen des IWP war für mich in vieler Hinsicht eine sehr gute Erfahrung: zuerst einmal die Begegnung mit einer literarischen Familie, vielen AutorInnen aus verschiedenen Kontinenten mit unterschiedlichen Sprachen, das war eine außergewöhnliche Erfahrung für mich. Ich habe viel durch den ständigen Austausch mit den Anderen, die gemeinsamen Projekte, die Möglichkeit, bei Lesungen und Präsentationen den Anderen zuhören zu können, gelernt.

Das Leben in einer kleinen Universitätsstadt wie Iowa City mit seinem schönen Campus war für mich völlig neu und ganz anders wie die bisherigen Städte, in denen ich gelebt habe.

Es war für mich sehr positiv, wenn auch manchmal anstrengend, über den relativ langen Zeitraum von drei Monaten gezwungen zu sein, fast ausschließlich in einer Fremdsprache, in diesem Fall Englisch, zu sprechen. Besonders spannend waren für mich auch die Übersetzungsprojekte mit Menschen, die Englisch als Muttersprache hatten, aber kein Arabisch konnten, und mit ihnen einige meiner Texte aus dem Arabischen ins Englische zu übersetzen, durch mich als Vermittler, der versucht hat, über die englische Sprache meine Gedichte verständlich zu machen - ein Experiment.

Es gab eine ganze Reihe von kulturellen und literarischen Veranstaltungen und Besuche in Chicago, in SF, in Washington, Connecticut und New York und besonders die beiden Veranstaltungen an der Northwestern University und an der Georgetown U waren für mich sehr spannend.

Es war für mich eine sehr wertvolle Zeit, in der Freundschaften geschlossen wurden, in der es zu einem Austausch mit anderen AutorInnen kommen konnte, und vor allem auch, in der ich viel Ruhe hatte, ungestört literarisch zu arbeiten. So ist es mir gelungen, einen Gedichtband fertig zu stellen und die Idee für einen Roman zu einem Großteil umzusetzen (Wake Up in Iowa).
________________________________________

Elizabeth, Iowa City: Hallo Tarek--

Wiewar es mit dem Between-the-Lines Programm zusammenarbeiten? Hat es Dir gefallen mit ganz jungen Schriftstellern zu arbeiten?

Tarek Eltayeb: Ich war im Vorfeld zu BTL sehr gespannt auf diese beiden Wochen, da es auch für mich eine ganz neue Erfahrung werden sollte. Es hat mir sehr großen Spass und Freude gemacht, mit diesen jungen, begabten und so unterschiedlichen Menschen zwei Wochen zu arbeiten. Ich hatte mir schon immer eine Begegnung dieser Art gewünscht, und es war für mich eine große Herausforderung. Ich habe sehr gerne mit dieser Gruppe gearbeitet und auch viel von den jungen AutorInnen gelernt und mitgenommen, mich sehr an ihrer Kreativität und ihrem Enthusiasmus erfreut.
________________________________________

Erin, IC IA: Wass ist deine tagliche Arbeitsroutine? Wann ( im Lauf des Tages) schreibst Du am besten ?

Tarek Eltayeb: Ich habe immer ein kleines Notizbuch bei mir und schreibe alles auf, was mir einfällt - manchmal nur Gedanken oder etwas, das ich beobachtet habe, manchmal auch ein Gedicht oder ein Gerüst dafür. Wenn sich dann vieles in diesem Büchlein gesammelt hat, die Ideen konkreter geworden sind, dann beginne ich meistens sehr intensiv zu arbeiten.

Ich habe keine fixen Tageszeiten, allerdings schreibe ich gerne nachts, wenn es ganz ruhig geworden ist.
________________________________________

Ashur Etwebi, Tripoli, Libya: Do schreibst im einem breitem literaerischem Spektrum, Poesie, Geschichen und Romane. Im welchem von diesen Gattungen fuhlst Du dich am besten?

Tarek Eltayeb: Schreiben ist für mich wie ein Strom, der durch verschiedene Landschaften fließt - von Bergen herab, durch Täler, Ebenen, Wälder, Steppen, durch kalte oder warme Regionen - doch sein Wasser bleibt immer dasselbe.

Zuerst ist da eine Idee in meinem Kopf - sie bestimmt eigentlich, in welcher Form ich sie zu Papier bringe.

Die Idee ist mein Rohstoff, aus dem ich Poesie oder Prosa mache, je nachdem, was mir beim Schreiben leichter fällt, wie die Idee für mich am besten auszudrücken und zu verarbeiten ist. Ich könnte also nicht wirklich sagen, womit ich mich am besten fühle.
________________________________________

Ashur Etwebi, Tripoli, Libya: In einem von deinen Essaen hast Du gesagt dass du den Sudanesischen Schriftstellern Altyeb Saleh (der die Einleitung zu einer von deinen Geschicgtsammlungen verfasste) als einen (kurz) Geschists- und nicht als einen Roman-Author sehst. Warum denktest Du so, und bist Du noch immer von diesem Ansicht?

Tarek Eltayeb: Das scheint ein Missverständnis zu sein, was ich damals sagen wollte, ist, dass ich Eltayeb Saleh für einen großartigen Schriftsteller halte und seine Begabung vor allem auch im Verfassen von Kurzgeschichten sehe, da ich denke, dass diese von vielen nicht die nötige Beachtung und Aufmerksamkeit erhalten haben.
________________________________________

March 05, 2010

Fedosy Santaella and Roberto Echeto Live Discussion

Friday, Feb. 5 at 2:00 p.m. CST

The Writing University website hosted a live discussion with Fedosy Santaella, a participant in the IWP (International Writing Program), and Roberto Echeto, at 2:00 (CST). This is the first conversion to take place entirely in Spanish. This is a transcript of the English version. For more information, visit their websites:
Fedosy Santaella | Roberto Echeto

Special thanks to our Live Discussion translator, Sara Gilmore. Sara is a translator from the Spanish, currently completing an MFA at the University of Iowa. She also is one of the co-editors of eXchanges journal of literary translation, (http://exchanges.uiowa.edu/exocity/). Currently, she’s working on translating the poetry of Antonio Gamoneda and Blanca Andreu.

________________________________________

Miriam, Venezuela: Greetings! Thanks for answering my previous questions. How might we recognize “Venezuelan literature” today? Is Gustavo Valle, for example, part of ‘Venezuelan literature’? How does it differ from other literatures? Is there anything in particular that sets it apart?

Roberto Echeto: The truth is I don’t know how to distinguish Venezuelan literatures from other literatures. I think it’s as extensive, diverse, and full of good, bad, and mediocre works as that of any other country. Perhaps the only way in which it differs is the specific way the language is used, but I’m not sure that’s enough to characterize it one way or another. At least in my case I don’t like to talk about a “Venezuelan literature”. That I’m Venezuelan doesn’t mean I have to limit myself to Venezuelan issues or not engage in issues from any other continent or any other planet.

Yes. Gustavo Valle is part of what we call (for lack of a better name) Venezuelan literature. Even though he’s lived in Spain and now lives in Argentina, he hasn’t lost the vocabulary or Venezuelan rhythms, the manner in which we use Spanish.

Fedosy Santaella: Miriam, I don’t think that a “Venezuelan” literature exists. It’s all just literature. We (still can) read books from all over the world, we see movies from all over (we can still do this too), we go online (still able to), we live in a global, virtual world. Is a Venezuelan or Columbian or Argentinean literature possible in this context? Perhaps chronicles for news and even literature no longer exist for local things? Certainly Gustavo Valle writes literature, and in my opinion, really good literature. But don’t listen to me, my taste is my taste, and some people might think it’s not the best. That said, I’d still recommend Gustavo. I hope my recommendation isn’t harmful to him. Hahaha.

________________________________________

Doris, Rodesia del Sur: My question concerns the wonderful poetic tradition in Venezuela, and whether this tradition establishes any sort of bridge with contemporary narrative. Also, do young people from Venezuela read poetry? Thanks.

Fedosy Santaella: I read poetry, especially if the authors are Venezuelan. I’m fascinated by Elenora Requena, Cecilia Ortiz, Milton Quero, Ramón Palomares, Eleazar León, who is a giant among giants… In my opinion the union between poetry and narrative is fundamental. Every time I feel stuck with a narrative, I read poetry and it recharges me. Poetry unlocks the words.

Roberto Echeto: Again, I can’t speak for all my contemporaries, but I suppose most do read a lot of Venezuelan poetry. Especially José Antonio Ramos Sucre, Vicente Gerbasi, Fernando Paz Castillo, Antonia Palacios, Eugenio Montejo, Rafael Cadenas, Armando Rojas Guardia, Eleazar León, Hanni Ossot, Yolanda Pantin and so many more. Reading poetry is vital for a narrator. There are tones, rhythms and cadences in it which, in general, don’t exist in prose. To this we can add that good poetry offers narrative a constant renovation of language, a re-semantization of words.

________________________________________

Elena Broszkowski, Caracas, Venezuela: Fedosy, ¿Could you tell us a little about the Los Hermanos Chang website and what you’re trying to do with it? I have the impression that it’s very appreciated among Venezuelan writers and its humor is so unique. Regards, I love that you and Roberto are doing this discussion.

Fedosy Santaella: Hi Elena:

Los Hermanos Chang [The Chang Brothers] (http://www.hermanoschang.blogspot.com) is a literary magazine-blog (or perhaps its focus is literary humor, or who knows what) that’s been online four years already. The magazine comes out every two months, the work is solicited, and it was created by José Urriola and I, who also serve as the editors. But we also count on the fundamental support of Roberto Echeto, as well as collaborators like Enrique Enriquez, Carlos Zerpa y Joaquín Ortega among others. The magazine always has a theme, usually each issue is about a business. We’ve had a funeral home, an events agency, a mariachi office, a nuclear plant, etc. We editors get in touch with the collaborator by mail and we don’t say anything except what the business is, and from there the collaborator is free to do what they like. Freedom is fundamental for our magazine. The freedom to create original and juicy texts, but always of quality. Oh, I almost forgot, the Chang brothers are two Chinese gangsters who live in Venezuela, and one day they got in touch with us (José Urriola and me) and made us their front men. That’s why we’re always starting up businesses. They launder their money in these businesses (the Chang brothers trade bearded women and lethal weapons like chopsticks with poisonous steel points). Venezuelan writers like Armando José Sequera, María Celina Nuñez, Jacqueline Goldberg, Edda Armas, Israel Centeno, Oscar Marcano, Salvador Fleján, Rodrigo Blanco, Adriana Bertorelli, Eloi Yague have collaborated with Hermanos Chang, as well as many others who I apologize to for not naming here. With luck, Hermanos Chang has become a point of reference for online Venezuelan literature; we think some people may have been tortured just to make them say nice things about it. Because, as far as we’re concerned, this fame doesn’t have another explanation. By the way, in the last issue, the Chang Brothers made several members of IWP participate in their project. So, we had a magnificent international issue that we’re so grateful to all our friends for who were at Iowa last year.

________________________________________

Sandra, Caracas, Venezuela: I’d appreciate it if you’d elaborate on the fact that writing isn’t only writing but also the act of re-reading, erasing, re-writing, until one finds what they really want to say. Is this process absolutely necessary? And, if so, is it directed only toward perfecting form or is does it also explore content? Roberto Echeto: Writing shouldn’t be called “writing”. It should be called “re-writing” and its most precious tools should be the eraser and the drawer. The eraser to erase and the drawer to store something for awhile that was written with naïve illusion.

This process isn’t only necessary: it’s THE PROCESS (in capital letters).

You re-read, erase, re-write, erase, and re-write in order to perfect the form and so that content comes to light with absolute clarity. In writing, form and content are so united that it’s almost impossible to determine where one ends and the other begins.

Yes. Writing exhausts and hurts.

________________________________________

Effie, Israel, Tel-Aviv: You write in three different geners (Children books, Short stories and Novels) - Is there any relationships between the three? And if there is, what each genre is covering that the other can not? Is it a matter of 3 different mentalities? Ways of expressions that you practice as a writer?

Fedosy Santaella: My dear Effie. A thousand greetings. Listen, I believe there’s a certain unity in all the elements because they all pass through my hands. That is to say, if you revise my children’s stories, my short stories, and my novels, you’ll see that several constants run throughout: humor, playfulness, games with language. Nevertheless, with children’s literature I’m able to play more, and without a doubt, must think a little more about my readers. That said, I do think children’s literature exists, and that it’s possible to write and study it beyond commercial interests.

Roberto Echeto: Even though it seems this question is for Fedosy, I’d like to offer my point of view. I write stories, novels, essays, articles, scripts for radio…. The only relationship I find between everything I write is an immense need to communicate with others. Perhaps a person develops “various mentalities”: one to write stories, articles, scripts…Nonetheless, I think that all of them are united by a common imagination and set of similar concerns.

________________________________________

Whitney, Chicago, IL: Have you adjusted to a life of being seen once more as a below-average dancer?

Fedosy Santaella: I don’t know how to dance, Whitney. But there in Iowa, the few times I did, I was a star. There’s a saying that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. But I’m a terrible dancer, seriously.

Roberto Echeto: Hahahahaa. If it’s possible, I’m a worse dancer than Fedosy. I didn’t dance even at my wedding.

________________________________________

Juan Carlos Herrera Mujica, Iowa City (Department of Spanish): The University of Iowa's Spanish and Portuguese Department has taken firm steps in the development of a future MFA in Spanish Creative Writing.

As professors of Creative Writing in Venezuela. ¿How crucial do you think is the development of this program in Spanish for the the university that historically founded the concept of the writers workshop? and ¿How do you think this will after the future of writers workshops in the United States and for US-Latino writers?

Saludos,
Juan Carlos Herrera Mujica

Fedosy Santaella: Juan Carlos, I think answering that might require a greater understanding of the situation of literary workshops in the U.S. However, I understand that every year there’s more demand for Spanish language learning, and that every year there’s more Hispanics living in the U.S. I do think that every effort that contributes to bringing attention to Latin American writers in the U.S. is important. So, if the MFA focuses part of its efforts on bringing to light literature from these parts, well then, that seems wonderful.

Roberto Echeto: Yes. I think an MFA in creative writing would positively affect American/Latino writers who wanted and were able to do it. A language is a universe, a tradition and a way of seeing the world and interacting with it. Everything that enriches life, stimulates cultural exchange, fosters respect among people, and helps them make their way in life should be supported.

________________________________________

Gustavo, Buenos Aires, Arg.: Fedosy, Roberto, my question is:
What is being written about today in Venezuela, and what hasn’t been written about yet, or what hasn’t been wanted (or able) to be written? Thanks!

Fedosy Santaella: As long as writers are more honest and freer, they’ll write whatever appeals to them. It’s important to be a little careful with the repetition of repetition of repetition. To not get swept up trends, to not feel like we must enter the canon of those who want to tell us what to like. As long as we’re honest, as I said before, we’ll write whatever we truly like. There’s not enough horror novels, for example. And don’t try to tell me that horror isn’t literature.

Roberto Echeto: In Venezuela, they’re making really good literature. A lot of essays about our political and social future are being written. Novels, stories, and lots of poetry are being written. The subject matter is really varied, just like anywhere else. There are love stories, erotica, detective stories, political thrillers, historic novels… There’s a desire to analyze our problems through writing.
To say this is new would be silly. What is relatively new, for the momentum it’s gained over the last seven or eight years, is related to publishing. A lot of books have been published, book stores opened; a lot of reading groups, analysis groups, and workshops have surfaced, giving our country’s literature a breath of fresh air that wasn’t so common before.
I don’t think there are limits (at least visible ones) for what can be written and published.

________________________________________

Ashur Etwebi, Tripoli, Libya: To both writers:

Living in a country where the tone of revolutionary slogans is high, does this make your language recede to themes where it can invent its own body with a sophisticated and at the same time undamaged texture?

Fedosy Santaella: I’m not sure I understood the question very well. But I would like to say that an author isn’t obligated to get tied up in political issues in their writing. If they do, that’s fine, but the important thing here is the story being told and the writing. My last novel has a strong political component, but it goes beyond the national. Let’s say that I tried to make the gaze more Latin American, more universal, if that’s possible. However, I think that no matter how much you try to distance yourself from current issues, your writing will always reflect your existential situation. In some way the present is reflected. In the violence, for example, or the character’s neuroses. They’ll always be something there. Just distancing yourself from reality says something about it. You’re reacting against something you don’t like, and that’s already a reflection or response to reality.

Roberto Echeto: That’s right. There’s nothing worse than becoming an echo of a language that’s dirty, frayed, and full of hate.

________________________________________

Roberto Ampuero, Iowa City, US: There is no doubt that the current political and economic situation in Venezuela is fueling tensions between Venezuelans. Usually narrative is close related to political events. My question: do you and your colleagues include the current political situation of Venezuela in recent works, or do you feel you and your colleagues need a certain historical distance (or prefer allegories) to represent in your/their fiction the current political situation of your country?

Thanks very much,
Roberto

Roberto Echeto: I can’t speak for my colleagues, but, as a reader of many of them, I can say that in a good part of their narrative they’ve preferred to create a distance with respect to the political, economic, and social situation of our country. And yes, in contemporary Venezuelan narratives there’s a little of everything: allegories, stories that tell of other times and places, fantasy, humoristic, pornographic stories… In literature there’s more than one way to portray the facts. In my case I can say that I take elements from the environment around me (for example the absurd and the violent) and I try to give them back to this reality in the form of stories full of humor and cold anger.

Fedosy Santaella: Hello Roberto. I think, just as Roberto said, that most of our colleagues have distanced themselves from politics in their literature. And if they deal with it, they talk about it indirectly. Why? I don’t have any idea. I think maybe it’s a Latin American tendency, or even a global one. I also think, Roberto, that this whole political and economic process in Venezuela is so complex, so overwhelming, and so recent (even though more than ten years has gone by, we’re still not sure where we’re going) that we haven’t been able to assimilate what’s happening. Literature, in that sense, is slow. However, politics and its thought, its analysis is very present in the essay, in the article, that is to say, in journalism. My novel “Las peripecias inéditas de Teofilus Jones”, has a strong political element, but in my case, I wrote a satire with a lot of science fiction of chaos or dystopia. Satire and science fiction allow me a distance that helped me to feel good while I wrote. To have fun, let’s say. But at the same time that I had fun, I was able to talk about the reality of the continent. I’m not sure if I’m explaining myself. If I tried to write a novel about the current political situation of Venezuela, I wouldn’t be able to. I don’t know, I try to think about it and I get bored. I haven’t been able to find the fun side of the stupidity of the present. On the other hand, when I modify it, when I project it to other places, when I put in imagination and humor, then it starts to get fun. And once again, if I don’t have fun while I’m writing, then it doesn’t make sense to write.

________________________________________

Miriam, Venezuela: When trying to find a balance between the word and the story: How do you achieve it? Is this balance imperative? What makes you search for it, what signs appear? Or does it emerge naturally? In this respect, do you have a strategy you could reveal to us?

* Could you show us a few ideas or images that define the concept or notion of “Venezuelan Literature” today?

Roberto Echeto: When trying to find a balance between the word and the story: How do you achieve it?

Sometimes the balance comes on its own because the story shows you how to tell it. Sometimes the balance doesn’t emerge on its own and you have to juggle on a tightrope made of words and more words.

Is this balance imperative?

Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn’t. It all depends on the effect you’re looking for. If you write fantasy, for example, it’s not a bad idea to use an extensive vocabulary to talk about the details. In those kinds of stories, being very careful when describing realistic elements allows the narrator to be convincing when it comes time to show supernatural elements. In this case, the balance between word and story plays to the reader, their surprise and their fright.

Maybe you want to write a fantasy story in which the real elements (like, for example: the carpets, lamps, character’s clothing) aren’t as detailed as the supernatural manifestions. It’s another way of tackling the same matter and will probably produce a different effect in the reader. It’s in the writer’s hands to decide what to do.

What makes you search for it, what signs appear?

Sometimes you look for this balance because the relationship between the words and the story should be evident. Sometimes you just go with the flow.

In this respect, do you have a strategy you could reveal to us?

My strategy is the same as everyone else’s: write, read what I wrote, erase, re-write, re-read, erase again… Have a beer, read once again, cross out, erase, rewrite until I find the tone that best goes with the effect I’d like to cause in readers.

Could you show us a few ideas or images that define the concept or notion of “Venezuelan Literature” today?

Basically, Venezuelan literature is good, like so many other literatures in so many other countries. However, I don’t think it’s right to put into the same sack the work of people who are so different, so diverse, with so many different interests. There’s a little of everything. There are short stories, novels, plays, poetry. There are love stories, detective stories, historical stories, erotica, humor, drama…For several years now a lot is being written, and publishing has taken off in a way that has filled us with an optimism that might be somewhat exaggerated, but, without a doubt, is different and greater than in past decades.

Maybe our historical circumstances (full of excesses and the absurd) has awakened something that was asleep inside us.

Fedosy Santaella: This is a search I’m always engaged in. Stories are very important to me, I like telling stories. But if I focus only on the story, then I suppose I’d be nothing more than a joke-teller. The word, language is fundamental. I think that every story project should also be a language project. I can’t tell the story of the Duke of Rocanegras (I’m talking about my novel) with the same language that you tell “Las peripecias inéditas de Teofilus” (my last novel). The story of Rocanegras happens in the past and furthermore Rocanegras is a far-fetched character, we could even say a Mannerist character. To write this novel I used language in line with the historical setting and the character. Then, to write the novel of Teofilus, which a dystopia, I used language that was more direct, less formal, but baroque in its constructions. So, the balance for me is in thinking a lot about how to get the story and language on the same plane of signification.

________________________________________

Ana Merino, Iowa City, IA: A hug from the city of ice and corn…
This question is for both of you.
What’s the situation of the comic in Venezuela?

On one hand in terms of domestic production and on the other, in terms of strong influences from Anglo and Hispanic countries…European countries…What do the young people you meet read? Local production, Manga, superheroes…alternative. And you? What comics have marked you and why?

Well, since there’s a lot of questions here, please answer the ones you like best. Thanks so much!!!
Ana

Fedosy Santaella: Hi, Ana:
It’s a pleasure to receive your questions. Warm memories from my stay at Iowa connect me to you, your students, Félix, and the fantastic Halloween party we had at your house. But let’s get to it. The situation of comic production is that it’s all handcrafted. That is to say, there’s no comic industry. I know that some time ago there was a magazine called Zuplemento. I also understand that soon they’ll be a comic exposition at the Universidad Metropolitana. I know there’s lots of young people who are very invested. But in terms of market, the truth is it’s really poor. In the 80s there was a certain fever. Fierro arrived, the famous magazine from Argentina, and so did El Víbora, from Spain. Some bookstores carried material by Manara, especially. Things were going well, but something happened. It become difficult and expensive to carry magazines, and the trend lost ground, or was limited to Graphic Design Institutes. Wow, now that I’m thinking about it what’s happening here in Venezuela is like the Middle Ages. The comic, like culture, hid itself in Graphic-Design-Academies-Monasteries. I hope someday they’ll come out, and contribute to the Great Comic Renaissance in Venezuela. It’s sad to think one is living a dark Middle Age in their country, don’t you think?

As far as influences. American comics have been very present in recent years. There’s no denying that movies like Sin City have been a powerful promoter of the comic. In fact, I’ve seen Sin City books in respectable bookstores and, in addition, other Frank Miller works. Of course Manga has a place. We also enjoyed Dragon Ball and all its variations here for a long time. The cable channel Animax has also been a good influence. Obviously there are hardcore groups of Animé and Manga fans. Anything related to Akira and films like Ghost in the Shell is well-known. Batman is here, of course, it also makes it to a few bookstores. Still, I repeat, I think most people still consider the comic to be something of lesser importance. There’s a long way to go before Alan Moore or Frank Miller are understood as great artists and that their works are true works of art.

We could talk about this for quite awhile. But I’ll close by saying that I was marked by “El Incal” de Moebius and Jodorowski, “Batman” by Miller, Alan Moore, all those morbid things I read in El Víbora, and of course, Milo Manara.

________________________________________

March 04, 2010

Live Discussion with Tarek Eltayeb, March 5, 11am

Lesen Sie das Archiv: Lesen Sie die Kommunikation in Echtzeit

Read the Live Discussion archive (German)

Die Writing University Website hat am Freitag, 5.3. zwischen 11 -12.Uhr (CST) zu einem Echtzeit-Chat mit dem IWP Alumnus Tarek Eltayeb eingeladen. Der Gespraech wurde durchgehend im Englisch und Detsch gehalten; die nachfolgende Abschrift wird ins Englisch und Arabisch uebersetzt.
________________________________________

The Writing University website hosted an online chat with International Writing Program alum Tarek Eltayeb today. The discussion took place entirely in German on Friday, March 5 at 11:00 AM (Central Time). Transcripts in English and Arabic will follow the chat session, available in our Live Discussion archives:
Live Discussion archive

Tarek Eltayeb (novelist, fiction writer, poet, playwright; Austria) was born in Cairo to Sudanese parents and educated in Austria. He has published five collections of poems, most recently Bacd Az-Zann [‘Certain Suspicions’] (2007), two novels Bayt An-Nakhil [‘The Palm House’] (2006), and Mudun Bila Nakhil [‘Cities Without Palms’] (1992), two short story collections, and a play El-Asanser [‘The Elevator’], (1992). His writings have been translated into several languages, including English. His awards include the Elias Cannetti Fellowship from the City of Vienna and three Major Project Fellowships for Literature.

Mr. Eltayeb attended the International Writing Program residency in fall 2008 courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. In 2009, he returned to Iowa to teach creative writing at the IWP summer high school enrichment program for Middle East/Muslim world students, Between the Lines. He will teach again at Between the Lines in summer 2010.

March 03, 2010

2010 Iowa Summer Writing Festival Now Accepting Registrations

The Iowa Summer Writing Festival at the University of Iowa is now accepting registrations for its 2010 sessions. Weeklong and weekend workshops including fiction, poetry, nonfiction and playwriting will run from June 13 through July 30. In all, more than 150 noncredit workshops will be held. Visit the Iowa Summer Writing Festival website for a full list of sessions and biographic sketches of the faculty.

A brochure is now available by mail, or registration forms may be printed from http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/iswfest/html/registration/Registration_Form.html Registrants may sign up for only one workshop per session, but they may register for as many sessions as they wish. Payment is required at the time of registration.

The Iowa Summer Writing Festival, based at the world's premier academic center for creative writing for more than two decades, is designed to benefit writers at all levels of experience and achievement. In small groups -- festival classes include no more than a dozen participants -- adult writers of all ages from throughout the country share, read and discuss their work under the leadership of accomplished writer/educators. The atmosphere is constructive and supportive.

March 01, 2010
Fiction | Poetry | Nonfiction | Dramatic Writing | Journalism | Translation | Summer Writing Festival

Yasser Abdel-Latif Live Discussion

Fri., Feb. 26 at 2:00 p.m. CST

The Writing University website hosted an online chat with International Writing Program alum Yasser Abdel-Latif at 2:00 p.m. (CST) Friday, Feb. 26th. Abdel-Latif discussed modern literature in Egypt, his experience in Iowa among IWP writers, as well as his philosophy of teaching writing. You can find samples of Abdel-Latif's writing at the IWP website. Yasser Abdel Latif participated in the 2009 IWP residency courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.

________________________________________

Maddalena, Iowa City: Mr. Abdel-Latif, you are a poet, translator, novelist, and scriptwriter--so many different fields. Do you believe that a successful writer must be a master of multiple forms?

Yasser Abdel-Latif: I consider my self a prose writer that commit the poetry sometimes. the translation and writing for the screen i do it to gain bread, as you cannot live from literature in my country. Even Naguib Mahfouz, our only Noble prize winner(1988) use to work as a journalist and scriptwriter to gain life.

But also as a paid translator or scriptwriter i choose topics that suites my literary interests.
________________________________________

Coco, Iowa City: Yasser, I would like to know more about your time in Iowa City. How did you enjoy living and writing in the U.S.A.?

Yasser Abdel-Latif: My first impression about Iowa city as a man coming from a 22 millions of habitants city like Cairo, that It is a very quiet place. The second impression was it is a young place too. Regarding to all those students between 18 and 21 walking down the streets of the campus and downtown with the Hawkeye shirts.

I use to spend my day time reading or working in my room. Then go out for lunch with some friends from the fellow IWP writers. Then back to my room in Iowa House to continue work. In the evening i like to go to listen to some live music in THE MILL or SANCTUARY. If not, just couple of beers in GEORGES. I also enjoyed the trips to New Orleans, and Chicago where we hear more of authentic jazz. And the trips to NY an Washington DC with their great museums and night life.

________________________________________

Hisham, Alexandria, Egypt: Do you teach creative writing in Egypt? Is there anything like this in our country? Where exactly?

Yasser Abdel-Latif: Well, I do not teach creative writing as they do in Iowa university. but i Lead two seasons of creative writing workshop in Kotobkham Bookshop in Maadi-Cairo. the first one 2007-2008 was about what we can call "auto fiction" like memoires and blogs and diaries and how to transform it into creative fiction. The second season was under the title of "your first novel" 2008-2009. you can check the talk that i gave i Iowa City public library about this experience in this link: http://iwp.uiowa.edu/news/event-docs/2009/ABDELLATIF_Yasser_ICPL_teaching.pdf
________________________________________

Elizabeth, Iowa City: Hi Yasser, what is your writing process? And how do you compose poetry -- do you write a piece in one sitting, or pull together notes and ideas into poems over time?

Yasser Abdel-Latif: Hi Elizabeth,
The writing process is different between poetry and what you call in America "fiction". For the fiction, I work long time in my mind before start writing, and it is always on nonlinear basis. I compose the fragments in my mind, then start to type them down on my pc and in the end the "montage" stage to arrange the sequences in their right positions. And finally, the editing.

For the poems, I often write it in one shot. It is like a glimpse or a day dream. But for the long poems, I use the same method for the fiction, but with more complications.
________________________________________

Natasa, Iowa City: Among the contemporary Arabic writers, whose work do you look forward to and read with the greatest interest? And do you, as a reader, think differently about what comes out of the "western" Arabic (Maghrebi) and "eastern" Arabic (Beuruti, Syrian, Saudi, etc) writing?

Yasser Abdel-Latif: In Egypt I prefer the work of Mohamed Makhzangi who is one of the best short story writers in the arabic world. From Lebanon I like the work of the novelist Hassan Dawood and the poet Wadie Saada. From my generation there are such names like Haytham Wardani, Ahmad Yamani, and Mustafa Zekri. I think the Arabic litrarry scene is lead by Egyptian and Lebanese writers; as the journalists use to say that the fiction is from Egypt and the poetry is from Lebanon. But also we have a very strong literary movement in the diaspora. Exiled writers and poets from Iraq and Lebanon and Morocco and from Egypt in Europe or America and even in some countries in the far East. I use to like the prose poetry from an Iraqi poet living in filipinas called Salah Fayeq.

Talking about difference between the east and the west of the Arabic world. There is really a difference in terms of using and dominating the Arabic language between the two regions. And this is very clear in the translations, some times I find it hard to understand book translated into Arabic in Morocco or Tunisia. On the creation level I don't feel this difficulty. They have a strong poetry movement in morocco but I hardly know about literature in Tunisia or Algeria.

________________________________________

Fedosy, Caracas, Venezuela: Do you think your novel Legacies of Cairo, also can be considered a book of stories?

Yasser Abdel-Latif: It is a very good question my friend Fedosy. The structure of this novel is built on the relation between four different moments in the life of three generations from the same family. Those moments are linked together and separate in the same time. It is a "broken novel" as you told me one of these afternoon in Iowa city while we were walking down the hill to have lunch. May be this broken or sparkling structure that make this novel "unique" if I can say that.

But I do believe that a collection of short stories must be more variable than this book on the level of subject at least. Here you have the unity of the protagonist, the space and the main story seen in a broken mirror.

________________________________________

Ashur Etwebi Tripoli, Libya: How do you see the present poetry scene in Egypt? And how could you explain the fierce attack on prose poetry by Ahmed AbdilMoeti Hijazi in his recently published book?

Yasser Abdel-Latif: Well, It is nice to talk to a writer from the neighbor Libya. From my point of view, the prose poetry is leading the real poetry scene in Egypt. And all those attacks are coming from the retro voices of the past like the former poet now governmental journalist Hijazi. Prose poems are in the front lines of the publishing houses that still publishing poetry, and in the cultural supplements of the news papers and magazines.

Hijazi is still fighting for his faded glory of the years 1950 from the 20th century.

________________________________________

February 26, 2010
Fiction | Poetry | International Writing Program

Live Discussion with Yasser Abdel-Latif, Feb. 26th, 2PM

The Writing University website will host an online chat with International Writing Program alum Yasser Abdel-Latif at 2:00 p.m. (CST) Friday, Feb. 26th. Abdel-Latif will discuss modern literature in Egypt, his experience in Iowa among IWP writers, as well as his philosophy of teaching writing. You can find samples of Abdel-Latif's writing at the IWP website: http://iwp.uiowa.edu/writers/index.html.

Immediately following the Live Discussion, a full transcript of his responses will be available on the Virtual Writing University website's Live Discussion archive

Yasser Abdel Latif participated in the 2009 IWP residency courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.

February 24, 2010
Poetry | International Writing Program

UI ‘Student Book Collection Competition’ Announced

The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences is calling all book-collecting students to enter its first Student Book Collection Competition. The contest is sponsored by the CLAS, University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, and the Center for the Book.

Currently enrolled students may compete in the following categories:

1. The CLAS Award for the Best Book Collection Submitted by an Undergraduate Student
2. The Special Collections Award for the Best Other-Than-Book Collection Submitted by an Undergraduate Student
3. The Center for the Book Award for Most Creative and Most Creatively Described Collection by an Undergraduate or Graduate Student

Winning entries will be displayed in the University’s Main Library. Prizes will take the form of monetary awards or gift certificates to Prairie Lights and Murphy-Brookfield Used Books.
Each contestant must submit the following:
For the CLAS Award for the Best Book Collection Submitted by an Undergraduate Student and the Special Collections Award for the Best Other-Than-Book Collection Submitted by an Undergraduate Student:

• A brief 250-word essay about the collection
• A bibliographic description of the collection (25-50 physical objects)

For the Center for the Book Award for the Most Creative and Most Creatively Described Collection by an Undergraduate or Graduate Student:

• A 500-2000 word essay about a collection. The essay can describe a collection that is entirely imaginary; contestants do not need to have actually collected any of the objects mentioned.

Essays and bibliographies must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 26th, 2010.
Semi-finalists in the Book and Other-Than-Book contests may be asked to appear before the judges with at least ten representative items from their collections.
Essays, bibliographies and a cover sheet should be sent to as a single MS Word document to rawan-alkhatib@uiowa.edu. For more information and competition requirements, see the Book Collection Competition website.

Media contact: Rawan Alkhatib, rawan-alkhatib@uiowa.edu

February 22, 2010

Fedosy Santaella y Roberto Echeto Conversación en Vivo

Viernes, Febrero 5, 14:00 CST

La página web de la Writing University (Universidad de Escritura) presenta hoy una charla con Fedosy Santaella, un participante anterior del IWP (Programa Internacional de Escritura), y Roberto Echeto, a las 15:00 (CST). Es la primera Conversación en Vivo que ocurre exclusivamente en español. Se producirá un transcrito en inglés después de la charla. Las temas de conversación incluye la literatura/la cultura pop y la literatura/el humor. Para más información, visita sus página web::
Fedosy Santaella | Roberto Echeto

Español: Para leer la Conversación en Vivo pincha aquí
English: Read the Live Discussion in English

________________________________________

Miriam, Venezuela: Saludos! Gracias por responder mis anteriores preguntas. En la actualidad, Como podemos reconocer "la literatura venezolana"? Gustavo Valle, por ejemplo es parte de esa literatura venezolana"? Que la distingue de las otras? Tiene alguna particularidad

Roberto Echeto: La verdad es que no sé qué distingue a la literatura venezolana de otras literaturas. Creo que es tan extensa, tan diversa y tan llena de obras buenas, malas y regulares como la de cualquier otro país. Quizás lo único que la distinga sea una manera muy particular de usar un idioma, pero no sé si eso sea suficiente para calificarla de tal o cual manera. A mí en particular no me gusta hablar de "literatura venezolana". El que yo sea venezolano no me obliga a hablar de temas estrictamente venezolanos ni a dejar de hablar de temas de cualquier otro continente o de cualquier otro planeta.
Sí. Gustavo Valle es parte de eso que llamamos (a falta de un nombre mejor) literatura venezolana. Aunque haya vivido en España y ahora viva en Argentina, no ha perdido el vocabulario ni el ritmo venezolanos, la forma que tenemos aquí de usar el castellano.

Fedosy Santaella: Miriam, yo no creo que exista una literatura "venezolana". Existe la literatura, sin más. Leemos (todavía podemos) libros de todas partes del mundo, vemos películas también de muchas partes (todavía podemos esto también), nos metemos en la red (podemos aún), vivimos en un mundo global y virtual. ¿Es posible una literatura venezolana o colombiana o argentina es este contexto? ¿Acaso ya no existe la crónica periodística o incluso literaria para esas cosas locales? Gustavo Valle, por cierto, escribe literatura, y de la buena, según mis gustos. Pero no me hagan caso, mis gustos son mis gustos, y algunos pensarán que no son los mejores. Aún así, no dejo de recomendar a Gustavo. Espero que esta recomendación mía no sea dañina para él. Jejeje.
________________________________________

Doris, Rodesia del Sur: Mi pregunta es acerca de la gran tradición poética en Venezuela, y si esa tradición establece algún puente con la narrativa actual. Además ¿leen poesía los narradores jóvenes venezolanos? Gracias.

Fedosy Santaella: Yo leo poesía, y si son autores venezolanos más todavía. Me fascinan Elenora Requena, Cecilia Ortiz, Milton Quero, Ramón Palomares, Eleazar León, que es grande entre los grandes... Para mí es fundamental ese enlace entre poesía y narrativa. Cada vez que me siento muy estancado con la narrativa, leo poesía y esto mi carga las baterías. La poesía me destranca las palabras.

Roberto Echeto: Nuevamente no puedo hablar por todos mis colegas, pero supongo que la mayoría lee mucha poesía venezolana. En especial a José Antonio Ramos Sucre, a Vicente Gerbasi, Fernando Paz Castillo, Antonia Palacios, Eugenio Montejo, Rafael Cadenas, Armando Rojas Guardia, Eleazar León, Hanni Ossot, Yolanda Pantin y tantos otros.

La lectura de poesía es vital para un narrador. En ella hay tonos, ritmos y cadencias que, por lo general, no existen en la prosa. A eso podemos añadir que la buena poesía le ofrece a la narrativa su renovación constante del lenguaje, su resemantización de las palabras.
________________________________________

Elena Broszkowski, Caracas, Venezuela: Fedosy, ¿podrías contarnos un poco de la página web de Los Hermanos Chang y qué intentas hacer con ella? Me da la impresión de que entre los escritores venezolanos es un lugar muy apreciado y el humor que manejan es muy singular. Saludos y me encanta que Roberto y tú estén haciendo este chat.

Fedosy Santaella: Saludos, Elena:

Los hermanos Chang (http://www.hermanoschang.blogspot.com) es una revista-blog literaria (o quizás de humor literario, o quién sabe de qué) que ya lleva cuatro años en línea. La revista aparece cada dos meses, se trabaja por invitación, y fue creada por mí y por José Urriola, quienes somos los editores. Pero también hemos contado con la ayuda fundamental de Roberto Echeto, y de colaboradores como Enrique Enriquez, Carlos Zerpa y Joaquín Ortega entre otros. La revista es temática, cada número por lo general es un negocio. Hemos tenido una funeraria, una agencia de festejos, una oficina de mariachis, una planta nuclear, etc. Por medio de un correo, los editores invitamos al colaborador y le decimos nada más de qué va el negocio, y por ahí el colaborador se va libremente. La libertad es fundamental en nuestra revista. La libertad para crear textos originales, sabrosos, pero siempre de calidad. Ah, se me olvidaba, los hermanos Chang son dos chinos mafiosos que viven en Venezuela, que un día nos contactaron (a José Urriola y a mí) y nos obligaron a ser sus testaferros. De ahí que siempre estemos montando negocios. En esos negocios ellos lavan su dinero sucio (los hermanos Chang son tratantes de mujeres con barba y de armas tan letales como palitos chinos con punta de acero envenenadas). Con los hermanos Chang han colaborado escritores venezolanos como Armando José Sequera, María Celina Nuñez, Jacqueline Goldberg, Edda Armas, Israel Centeno, Oscar Marcano, Salvador Fleján, Rodrigo Blanco, Adriana Bertorelli, Eloi Yague, entre otros tanto a los que pido excusas por no nombrar en este espacio. Por fortuna, los hermanos Chang se han convertido en un referente de la literatura venezolana en la red; creemos que algunas personas han sido torturadas con el sólo fin de obligarlos a hablar bien de los Chang. Porque para nosotros esa buena fama no tiene otra explicación. Por cierto, en el número anterior, los hermanos Chang obligaron a varios miembros del IWP a participar en su proyecto. De ahí que tuvimos un magnífico número internacional que agradecemos a todos nuestros amigos que estuvieron Iowa el año pasado.

________________________________________

Sandra, Caracas, Venezuela: Me gustaría que ahondaran en el hecho de que la escritura no es sólo escribir sino releer, borrar, reescribir, hasta encontrar lo que realmente se quiere decir. ¿Ese proceso es realmente necesario? Y de serlo, ¿se dirije solo hacia el perfeccionamiento de la forma o pasa por otras búsquedas de fondo?

Roberto Echeto: La escritura no se debería llamar "escritura". Se debería llamar "reescritura" y sus herramientas más preciadas deberían ser el borrador y la gaveta. El borrador para borrar y la gaveta para guardar durante un tiempo aquello que alguna se escribió con ingenua ilusión.

Ese proceso no sólo es necesario; es EL PROCESO (en mayúsculas).

Relees, borras, reescribes, borras, reescribes para perfeccionar la forma y para que el fondo salga a la luz con absoluta nitidez.

En la escritura, forma y fondo están unidos a tal punto que es casi imposible separar dónde termina uno y dónde comienza el otro.

Sí. Escribir cansa y duele.

________________________________________

Effie, Israel, Tel-Aviv: Usted escribe en tres géneros (libros para niños, relatos cortos y novelas) – ¿Ve una relación entre los tres? Si es así, ¿Qué puede cubrir con cada género que no puede cubrir con los otros? ¿Es una cuestión de tres mentalidades distintas? ¿O maneras de expresarse que practica como escritor?

Roberto Echeto: Aunque esta pregunta me parece que es para Fedosy, quisiera ofrecer mi punto de vista.

Yo escribo cuentos, novelas, ensayos, crónicas, libretos para la radio... La única relación que encuentro entre todo lo que escribo es una necesidad inmensa de comunicación con mis semejantes.

Quizás uno desarrolle "varias mentalidades": una de cuentista, otra de articulista, otra de libretista... No obstante, creo que todas están unidas por un imaginario común y por un conjunto de preocupaciones similares.

________________________________________

Whitney, Chicago, IL: ¿Se ha acostumbrado a una vida donde una vez más está usted visto como un bailador por debajo de la media?

Fedosy Santaella: Yo no sé bailar, Whitney. Pero allá en Iowa, las pocas veces que lo hice, fui una estrella. Hay un dicho que dice que en la tierra de los ciegos, el tuerto es rey. Pero yo bailo muy mal, en verdad.

Roberto Echeto: Jajajajaa. Por si acaso, yo soy peor bailarín que Fedosy.

Yo no bailé ni en mi boda.
________________________________________

Juan Carlos Herrera Mujica, Iowa City (Department of Spanish): El departamento de español y portugués de la Universidad de Iowa está tomando medias para el desarrollo de un MFA en escritura creativa en español.
Como profesores de escritura creativa en Venezuela ¿Piensan que es esencial el desarrollo de este programa en español para la universidad que históricamente fundó el concepto del taller de escritura? ¿Y piensan que afectará el futuro de talleres de escritura en los EE.UU. y otros escritores estadounidenses/latinos?
Saludos,
Juan Carlos Herrera Mujica

Fedosy Santaella: Estimado Juan Carlos, creo que esa es una respuesta que requiere mayor conocimiento de la situación de los talleres literarios en Estados Unidos. No obstante, tengo entendido que cada año hay mayor demanda de la enseñanza del idioma español, y cada año también hay más hispanos allá. Sí creo que toda labor que contribuya a que los escritores latinoamericanos nos demos a conocer en Estados Unidos es importante. Así, si estos MFA enfocan parte de sus esfuerzos en dar a conocer la literatura de por estos lados, pues entonces me parece magnífico.

Roberto Echeto: Sí. Creo que un MFA en escritura creativa en español afectará positivamente a los escritores estadounidenses/latinos que quieran y puedan tomarlo. Un idioma es un universo, una tradición y una manera de ver el mundo y de interactuar con él. Todo lo que enriquezca la vida, estimule el intercambio cultural, promueva el respeto entre las personas y ayude a la gente a abrirse caminos en la vida, debe ser apoyado.

________________________________________

Gustavo, Buenos Aires, Arg.: Fedosy, Roberto, mi pregunta es:

¿Sobre qué se está escribiendo hoy en día en Venezuela, y sobre qué no se ha escrito aún, o no se ha querido (o no se ha podido) escribir?
Gracias!

Fedosy Santaella: Mientras los escritores sean más honestos y más libres, es decir, podrán escribir lo que se les antoje. Hay que tener cuidado un poco con la repetición de la repetición de la repetición. No dejarse llevar por modas, no sentir tanto que debemos entrar en el canon de los que quieren imponernos gustos. Mientras seamos honestos, ya lo dije, escribiremos lo que realmente nos gusta. Falta, por ejemplo, novelas de terror. Y que no me vengan con que el terror no es literatura.

Roberto Echeto: En Venezuela se está haciendo muy buena literatura. Se están escribiendo muchos ensayos sobre nuestro devenir político y social. Se están escribiendo novelas, cuentos y mucha poesía. La temática es muy variada, como en cualquier parte. Hay historias de amor, relatos eróticos, policiales, thrillers políticos, novelas históricas...

Hay un deseo de analizar nuestros problemas desde la escritura.

Decir que eso es nuevo sería una tontería. Lo que es relativamente nuevo, por el impulso que ha tenido durante los últimos siete u ocho años es el tema editorial. Se han editado muchos libros, se han abierto librerías; han surgido muchos grupos de lectura, análisis y talleres que le han dado a la literatura de nuestro país un soplo aire fresco que antes no era tan común.

Creo que no hay barreras (al menos visibles) para lo que se pueda escribir y publicar.

________________________________________

Ashur Etwebi, Tripoli, Libya: Está pregunta está dirigido a los dos autores:

Como ustedes viven en un país donde el tono de los lemas revolucionarios es alto, ¿es necesario que su lenguaje se retire a temas donde puede inventar un cuerpo de escritura con una textura sofisticada y a la vez intacta?

Fedosy Santaella: No sé si entendí bien la pregunta. Pero sí me gustaría decir que el escritor no está obligado a atarse a temas políticos en su escritura. Si lo hace, está bien, pero lo importante acá, es la historia a contar y la escritura. Mi última novela tiene un componente político muy fuerte, pero no se queda solamente con la nacional. Digamos que traté de que mi mirada fuese más latinoamericana, más universal, si esto fuese posible. No obstante, yo creo que por más que te apartes de los temas actuales, tu escritura siempre reflejará tu situación existencial. De alguna manera el presente está reflejado. En la violencia, por ejemplo, o la neurosis de los personajes. Siempre habrá algo allí. El mismo hecho de alejarte de la realidad, está hablando de la realidad. Está reaccionando contra algo que no te gusta, y eso ya es un reflejo o una respuesta a la realidad.

Roberto Echeto: Así es. Nada peor que convertirse en eco de un lenguaje sórdido, destemplado y lleno de odio.
________________________________________

Roberto Ampuero, Iowa City, US: No hay duda que la situación política y económica actual en Venezuela está alimentando tensiones entre los venezolanos. Normalmente el narrativo está estrechamente relacionado con los sucesos políticos. Mi pregunta es: ¿incluye usted y sus colegas la situación política de Venezuela en sus obras recientes, o siente usted y sus colegas la necesidad de crear una cierta distancia histórica (o prefieren las alegorías) para representar en su ficción la situación política actual del país?

Muchas gracias,
Roberto

Roberto Echeto: No puedo hablar por mis colegas, pero, en calidad de lector de muchos de ellos, puedo decir que en buena parte de su narrativa han preferido crear una distancia con respecto a la situación política, económica y social de nuestro país. Y sí, en la narrativa venezolana actual hay de todo: alegorías, relatos que hablan de otros tiempos y de otros lugares, historias fantásticas, humorísticas, pornográficas... En la literatura no existe una sola manera de retratar los hechos.

En mi caso puedo decir que tomo elementos del entorno que me rodea (verbigracia el absurdo y la violencia) y trato de devolvérselos a esa realidad en forma de relatos llenos de humor y rabia congelada.

Fedosy Santaella: Saludos, estimado Roberto. Creo, tal como dice Roberto, que la mayoría de nuestros contemporáneos, se han alejado del tema político en su literatura. Y si lo hacen, hablan de esto indirectamente. ¿Por qué? No tengo la menor idea. Creo que se trata quizás de una tendencia latinoamericana, o incluso mundial. Creo también, Roberto, que todo este proceso político y económico de Venezuela es tan complejo, tan arrollador, y tan reciente (a pesar de que han pasado más de diez años, pero aún así no terminamos de saber hacia dónde vamos) que aún no se ha terminado de asimilar lo que ocurre. La literatura, en ese sentido, es lenta. Lo político y su pensamiento, su análisis, no obstante se encuentra muy presente en el ensayo, en la crónica, es decir, desde el periodismo. Mi novela, Las peripecias inéditas de Teofilus Jones, tiene un fuerte elemento político, pero en mi caso, yo escribí una sátira con mucho de ciencia ficción del caos, o distopia. La sátira y la ciencia ficción me permitieron un distanciamiento que me ayudó a sentirme bien mientras escribía. A divertirme, digamos. Pero al mismo tiempo que me diviertía, también me permití hablar de la realidad del continente. No sé si me explico. Si me pones a escribir una novela sobre la situación política actual de Venezuela, no me saldría. No sé, trato de pensar en ella y me aburro. No le he conseguido el lado divertido a la tontería del presente. En cambio, cuando la modifico, cuando la proyecto hacia otros lugares, cuando le meto imaginación y humor, la cosa sí se pone divertida. Y una vez más, si no me divierto cuando escribo, entonces no tiene sentido escribir.

________________________________________

Effie, Israel, Tel-Aviv: Usted escribe en tres géneros (libros para niños, relatos cortos y novelas) – ¿Ve una relación entre los tres? Si es así, ¿Qué puede cubrir con cada género que no puede cubrir con los otros? ¿Es una cuestión de tres mentalidades distintas? ¿O maneras de expresarse que practica como escritor?

Fedosy Santaella: Mi querida Effie. Mil saludos. Escucha, escucha, yo creo que en todos los elementos hay cierta unidad, porque todos pasan por mis manos. Es decir, si revisas mis historias para niños, mis cuentos y mis novelas, verás que están atravesados por varias constantes: el humor, lo lúdico, el juego con el lenguaje. No obstante, con la literatura para niños puedo jugar más, y sin duda, debo pensar un poco más en mis lectores. No obstante, creo que la literatura infantil sí existe, y sí es posible escribirla y estudiarla más allá de los intereses comerciales.

________________________________________

Miriam, Venezuela: Cuando intentas buscar un equilibrio entre la palabra y la historia, ¿Cómo logras ese equilibrio? ¿es imperante ese equilibrio? ¿Qué te hace buscarlo, qué indicios aparecen? O ¿Surgen naturalmente? Al respecto, ¿tienes alguna estrategía que puedas revelarnos?

* Actualmente, ¿Podrías mostrarnos algunas ideas o imágenes para definir el concepto o la noción de "literatura venezolana"?

Roberto Echeto:
Cuando intentas buscar un equilibrio entre la palabra y la historia, ¿Cómo logras ese equilibrio?
A veces ese equilibrio llega solo porque tu historia te dice cómo debes contarla. A veces ese equilibrio no surge solo y tienes que hacer malabares en una cuerda floja hecha de palabras y más palabras.

¿Es imperante ese equilibrio?
A veces sí. A veces no. Todo depende del efecto que busques. Si te dedicas a escribir relatos fantásticos, por ejemplo, no estaría mal que usarás un vocabulario muy amplio para hablar de los detalles. En ese tipo de relatos, la prolijidad a la hora de describir los elementos realistas le permite al narrador causar un efecto contundente cuando le toca mostrar los elementos sobrenaturales.

En ese caso, el equilibrio entre palabra e historia juega a favor del lector, de su sorpresa y de su susto.

Tal vez quieras escribir un relato fantástico en el que los elementos reales (qué sé yo: las alfombras, las lámparas, la ropa de los personajes) no están tan bien detallados como las manifestaciones de lo sobrenatural. Es otra manera de abordar el mismo asunto y seguramente producirá un efecto distinto en el lector. Está en manos del escritor decidir qué quiere hacer.

¿Qué te hace buscarlo, qué indicios aparecen o surgen naturalmente?

A veces buscas ese equilibrio porque te parece que la relación entre las palabras y la historia debe ser evidente. A veces simplemente te dejas llevar.

Al respecto, ¿tienes alguna estrategia que puedas revelarnos?

Mi estrategia es la de todos: escribir, releer lo que escribí, borrar, reescribir, releer, volver a borrar... Tomarme una cerveza, volver a leer, tachar, borrar, reescribir hasta que encuentro el tono que mejor se lleva con el efecto que deseo causar en los lector.

Actualmente, ¿Podrías mostrarnos algunas ideas o imágenes para definir el concepto o la noción de "literatura venezolana"?

En principio, la literatura venezolana está bien, como tantas otras en otros tantos países. Sin embargo, creo que no es justo encerrar en un sólo saco el trabajo de gente tan distinta, tan diversa y con tantos intereses diferentes. Hay de todo. Hay cuentos, novelas, obras de teatro, poesía. Hay relatos de amor, relatos policiales, históricos, eróticos, humorísticos, dramáticos... Desde hace unos años se está escribiendo mucho y se está editando a un ritmo que nos ha insuflado un optimismo quizás un tanto exagerado, pero que, sin duda, es distinto y mayor al de décadas pasadas.

Tal vez nuestra circunstancia histórica (llena de excesos y de absurdos) haya despertado algo que teníamos dormido por dentro.

Fedosy Santaella: Esa es una búsqueda en la que ando. Para mí es muy importante la historia, me gusta contar historias. Pero si me quedo sólo con la historia, entonces imagino que seré nada más que un contador de chistes. La palabra, el lenguaje es fundamental. Yo creo que cada proyecto de historia también debe tener un proyecto de lenguaje. No puedo contar la historia del duque de Rocanegras (hablo de mi novela) con el mismo lenguaje con que vas a contar las peripecias de Teofilus (mi última novela). La historia de Rocanegras transcurre en el pasado, y Rocanegras, además es un personaje rocambolesco, manierista digamos. Para escribir esta novela usé un lenguaje parecido al tiempo histórico y al personaje. Luego, para escribir la novela de Teofilus, que es una distopia, use un lenguaje más directo, menos formal, pero barroco en sus construcciones. Así, el equilibrio para mí, está en pensarse bien cómo darle a la historia y al lenguaje un mismo plano de significación.

________________________________________

Ana Merino, Iowa City, IA: Un abrazo desde la ciudad de hielo y maiz...
Esta pregunta es para los dos.
Qué tal es la situación del cómic en Venezuela?
Por un lado la producción autóctona y por otro lado las grandes influencias de otros países tanto anglos como hispánicos...europeos... Qué leen los jóvenes con los que tratais? Producción local, manga, superhéroes...alternativo.Y vosotros? Qué cómics os han marcado y por qué?

En fín, como son muchas podeis contestarme las preguntas que os gusten mas. Mil gracias!!!!
Ana

Fedosy Santaella: Hola, querida Ana:

Un placer recibir tus preguntas. Gratos recuerdos de mi estadía en Iowa me unen a ti, a tus alumnos, a Félix, y la fantástica fiesta de Halloween que tuvimos en tu casa. Pero vayamos al tema. La situación de producción del cómic en Venezuela es totalmente artesanal. Es decir, no hay una industria del cómic. Sé que hace algún tiempo existió una revista llamada Zuplemento. También tengo entendido que habrá pronto una exposición de cómics en la Universidad Metropolitana. Sé que hay mucha gente joven con ganas de trabajar. Pero en cuanto al mercado, en verdad es muy pobre. En los ochenta hubo como una cierta fiebre. Llegaba Fierro, la famosa revista de Argentina, y también El Víbora, de España. Algunas librerías trajeron material de Manara, sobre todo. El asunto iba por buen camino, pero algo pasó. Se hizo difícil y costoso traer revistas, y la tendencia bajó, o se recluyó a los institutos de diseño gráfico. Fíjate, ahora que lo pienso, esto acá en Venezuela es como la Edad Media. El cómic, como la cultura, se fue a esconder a los monasterios-academias-de-diseño-gráfico. Espero que de algún día salgan de allí, y aporte el Gran Renacimiento del Cómic en Venezuela. Es triste decir que uno vive una oscura Edad Media en su país, ¿no es así?

En cuanto a las influencias. Pues el cómic norteamericano está muy presente en los últimos años. No cabe duda que películas como Sin City han sido poderosos impulsores del cómic. De hecho, he visto libros de Sin City en librerías respetables, y por extensión, otras obras de Frank Miller. El Manga, por supuesto, tiene su lugar. Acá disfrutamos durante mucho tiempo de Dragon Ball y todas sus variantes. El canal por cabel Animax, también ha sido buena influencia. Claro está, hay grupos de fanáticos duros del animé y del manga. Todo lo que corresponde a Akira y a filmes como Ghost in The Shell es bien conocido. Batman, claro, está, también llega a algunas librerías. No obstante, insisto, creo que la mayoría de la gente sigue considerando el cómic como algo menor. Falta mucho para comprender que Alan Moore o Frank Miller son grandes artistas y que son trabajos son verdaderas obras de arte.

Podríamos estar hablando un ratote de esto. Pero cierro diciendo que a mí me marcaron El Incal de Moebius y Jodorowski, me el Batman de Miller, Alan Moore, todas aquellas cosas morbosas que leí en El Víbora, y por supuesto, Milo Manara.

________________________________________

Gustavo, Buenos Aires, Arg.: ¿Sobre qué se está escribiendo hoy en día en Venezuela, y sobre qué no se ha escrito aún, o no se ha querido (o no se ha podido) escribir?

Roberto Echeto: En Venezuela se está haciendo muy buena literatura. Se están escribiendo muchos ensayos sobre nuestro devenir político y social. Se están escribiendo novelas, cuentos y mucha poesía. La temática es muy variada, como en cualquier parte. Hay historias de amor, relatos eróticos, policiales, thrillers políticos, novelas históricas...

Hay un deseo de analizar nuestros problemas desde la escritura.

Decir que eso es nuevo sería una tontería. Lo que es relativamente nuevo, por el impulso que ha tenido durante los últimos siete u ocho años es el tema editorial. Se han editado muchos libros, se han abierto librerías; han surgido muchos grupos de lectura, análisis y talleres que le han dado a la literatura de nuestro país un soplo aire fresco que antes no era tan común.

Creo que no hay barreras (al menos visibles) para lo que se pueda escribir y publicar.

________________________________________

February 19, 2010
Fiction | Poetry | Translation | International Writing Program

Fedosy Santaella and Roberto Echeto Live Discussion

Para leer la Conversación en Vivo pincha aquí
Read the Live Discussion here

La página web de la Writing University (Universidad de Escritura) presenta hoy una charla con Fedosy Santaella, un participante anterior del IWP (Programa Internacional de Escritura), y Roberto Echeto, a las 15:00 (CST). Es la primera Conversación en Vivo que ocurre exclusivamente en español. Se producirá un transcrito en inglés después de la charla. Las temas de conversación incluye la literatura/la cultura pop y la literatura/el humor. Para más información, visita sus página web:
Fedosy Santaella
Roberto Echeto

Fedosy Santaella (fiction writer; Venezuela) has published two novels, four short story collections and one novel and three collections of children’s stories. The novel The Unpublished Eventful Journeys of Teofilus (Alfaguara, 2009) is the most recent one. His short story collection Postales sub sole won the 2006 Pocaterra Latin American Literature Biennial’s Novel Prize, and the story collection Moon Rocks was recognized in the 2007 José Antonio Ramos Sucre Literary Biennial. He has written for HBO and Cinemax, and contributes to magazines and newspapers in Venezuela. Santaella is the Creative Writing Workshop coordinator at UNIMET in Caracas. He is also the editor of the literary webzine http://www.hermanoschang.blogspot.com since 2006.

Fedosy Santaella participated in the 2009 IWP Fall Residency courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1970, Roberto Echeto graduated in humanities from Universidad Católica Andres Bello. He is a radio producer, journalist, graphic artist and writer, contributing essays and opinions to dailies such as El Nacional and to the journals Claro and El Malpensante. He is the author of the novel No habrá final and of two short story collections (Cuentos líquidos and Breviario galante). Since 2005 he blogs at http://www.robertoecheto.blogspot.com.

February 16, 2010
Alumni | Fiction | Translation | International Writing Program

UNESCO City of Literature events: “The Big Read” and “Carry a Poem”

Iowa City and the Iowa City Public Library are participating in this year's National Endowment of the Art campaign "The Big Read" with many other community organizations including Summer of the Arts and the Public Libraries of Johnson County. The "The Big Read" kicks off this month with this year's book, Ray Bradbury's “Fahrenheit 451.” There will be events and activities throughout Johnson County running through the beginning of March. During the month of February, public libraries in Coralville, Iowa City, North Liberty and Solon will show a number of Bradbury films as well.

Learn more about the campaign and view a list of the events at the "Big Read" website.

Simultaneously, "Carry a Poem 2010", an initiative by the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, has kicked off in Edinburgh. It is their fourth citywide reading campaign, being run in conjunction with the Scottish Poetry Library and City of Edinburgh Libraries. The campaign launched formally in February and a range of events and celebrations will take place during the whole month.

To read more about the campaign and to see an an event overview, visit their website: http://www.carryapoem.com

February 15, 2010
Fiction | UNESCO

Maxine Case and Zuki Wanner Live Discussion

Friday, Feb. 5 at 2:00 p.m. CST

The Writing University website hosted an online chat with South African writer and International Writing Program alum Maxine Case at 3:00 p.m. (CST). Maxine was joined by Zuki Wanner. They discussed the international writing community, as well as other literary topics. To peruse Maxine's work and read more about her literary career, visit the IWP Website.

Maxine Case participated in the 2009 IWP Fall Residency courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

________________________________________

Cody, Iowa City: Maxine, you were part of the International Writing program in Iowa. How was your time here? Could you tell us about the people you met? And anything that was noteworthy?

Maxine Case: Everything was memorable ... in a word "awesome", which came to typify the Iowa City experience for all of us. As I mentioned before, I have begun packing for my return to South Africa and came across notes I had made after meeting Marilynne Robinson, although meeting is an overstatement, I attended one of her lectures. I ended up writing about this experience yesterday, months after meeting her. It is always wonderful to meet one of your idols, and she was definitely one of mine! On a lighter note, I acquired serious poker skills while in Iowa City and had a drink named after me at the Foxhead.

________________________________________

Pascal, London, U.K.: Where do you draw your ideas from? When and how do you usually write?

Zukiswa Wanner: I draw my ideas from society. I could be walking around and I will see something that gets me and I will think 'hey, good idea.' Some of my best ideas have also come from discussions I have overheard on public transport or among my family members (please don't tell them, they might sue me for my measly royalties:-0) I write whenever inspiration hits. I make it a point to walk around with a pen and a notebook and if something gets me I will write about it later.

________________________________________

Manju Kanchuli, Napal: What is the taste, interest and demand of the readers of fiction writing in South Africa regarding subject matter and the way of writing styled. Would you like to say a few words about it?

Zukiswa Wanner: If you judge from the sales, one would assume there is not much interest in fiction reading in South Africa but I think the problem is more of limited marketing. many a time I have encountered people who have read my work after finding it from somewhere else and they can always identify. Most readers want stories they can identify with. I believe maxine and I (and a whole range of other South African writers who have cropped up in the last five years) feel that need. Tjis has led to an increase in book sales and the creation of book clubs - higher than at any other time in South African fiction I believe.

________________________________________

Maggie, Iowa City: Maxine, I wonder if you got to watch the Orange Bowl football game? And how about those Hawkeyes?!

Maxine Case: Hi Maggie, I didn't watch the Orange Bowl, but heard about the win immediately after the game and felt very proud. I was thinking about you and the Hawkeyes today as I came across the memento ribbon you gave me as I was packing today. As my second residency ends, I've begun to become very nostalgic about Iowa City.

________________________________________

Ashur Etwebi, Tripoli, Libya: Because the tongue of narrative in short story is richer with silence than the tongue of narrative in novel: do you agree that the skills of fiction writer are more challenged in writing short stories than in writing novels?

Zukiswa Wanner: There is some truth to that. You can only use a minimal amount of characters and in doing that, you need to ensure that you make your story tighter and more appealing.

________________________________________

Pascal, London, U.K.: Where do you draw your ideas from? When and how do you usually write?

Maxine Case: My ideas come from various sources, from the stories I grew up with - I was lucky to have a strong oral tradition in my family, things I read about; hear. If something stays with you, it almost begs to be written.

I am currently a writer in residence at the City of Asylum/Pittsburgh, so I write throughout the day in fits and starts.

________________________________________

Bonface, Kakamega, Kenya: I have read the swahili literature play book titled 'Masahibu ya ndugu Jero" english translation (The Trials of Brother Jero). Did you authorize this translation, and if yes:
1. why did you let it be a swahili version?
2. Do you know the impact the swahili version had to it's readers(what was the readers feedback?)
3. How much did you earn monetary speaking from this Swahili translated version?

Maxine Case: Erm, as far as I know, The Trials of Brother Jero was written by Wole Soyinka. He would be a better person to answer this question.

________________________________________

Manju Kanchuli, Napal: What is the taste, interest and demand of the readers of fiction writing in South Africa regarding subject matter and the way of writing styled. Would you like to say a few words about it?

Maxine Case: I don't think that there is one thread of interest or demand regarding subject matter. Many South Africans have expressed fatigue at the the so-called struggle novel, but I think that there remains a place to explore the undocumented stories, not only of this time, but earlier too. Generally, South Africans are no different to the rest of the world in terms of the kinds of books they buy. As South African authors, we have to compete with books written by international authors more so than amongst each other. As I'm sure Zuki will mention, the South African book-buying audience is far too small, which I hope will change during my lifetime at least.

________________________________________

Ashur Etwebi, Tripoli, Libya: Because the tongue of narrative in short story is richer with silence than the tongue of narrative in novel: do you agree that the skills of fiction writer are more challenged in writing short stories than in writing novels?

Maxine Case: I can't answer for all fiction writers, but I find writing short stories and novels to be very different experiences. I wouldn't say that one is more challenging than the other. I also think that novels too can be "rich with silence", and which I explored in All We Have Left Unsaid.

________________________________________

Kecia, Iowa City: Hi Maxine! Simple question: How are you liking Pittsburgh?

Maxine Case: [Ask Joe show you what I wrote, which sums up my thoughts on Pittsburgh.] Generally, I do like it, but this weekend we had to be evacuated to a hotel due to the snow storm, which left us without electricity. I became a Steelers supporter and way too fond of Primanti sandwiches. The best thing about where we are staying is that it meant a lot of time to write without as many distractions as in Iowa City.

________________________________________

Elizabeth, IC, IA: The World Cup will be in Africa this summer -- has this upcoming event spurred any writing projects? Do you think you can using as inspiration?

Maxine Case: The World Cup will take place during South Africa's winter, which is much milder than the winter I am currently experiencing in Pittsburgh. I think that writing projects spurred by such an event would be pandering, and I try not to pander, or consider a potential market etc before writing a book. That being said, I saw a wonderful installation at the District Six Museum in Cape Town on the history of soccer and thought that it would make a good coffee-table book. I am sure that we can look forward to several children's books with a soccer theme, and I remember hearing about a romance series that has sports stars as the romantic interest. Each to his own, I guess.

Zukiswa Wanner: I have done some writing for a French photographer for it. Whether there will be more stuff in the works will depend on whether my country wins the World Cup though:-)

________________________________________

Doug, North Liberty, IA , US: How do politics affect your writing?

Maxine Case: Politics had a substantial impact on my writing, but that's probably because I am interested in history and politics overshadowed South Africa's history and continues to loom large today. I was raised on stories and politics formed a large part of those stories. I can never say (as many younger people do today) that I was unaware of what was happening in South Africa then. I was confronted by the realities of growing up under apartheid at a young age, and perhaps that's just because of my own family. Can I condemn people who say that they never knew what was happening? No. Do I agree when they profess total ignorance? No, again.

Zukiswa Wanner: My father always told me everything in life is political so because I deal with contemporary issues, there will always be politics in it, whether it will be class politics or gender politics but ultimately, I try to write work that makes society question ourselves and our values while still keeping it amusing to the reader.

________________________________________

Shannon, Iowa City: Was becoming a writer hard for you? How did you start your career. Do you have any advice for new writers?

Maxine Case: It was hard for me because I had no confidence in my own writing at first. My mother is a children's book writer in South Africa, and you'd think that that would make it easier for me, but it made it harder. My older sister published her first novel at the age of 20, so I was very embarrassed to admit that I too wanted to write. I began writing while I was working as a book editor. Editing other people's writing was the ideal training ground for me, and I began to see what worked and what didn't. I learned about the flow of a novel, which is also important.

My advice to new writers is to continue writing. There are good writing days and bad ones, but the trick is to carry on regardless. Someone once told me: "Do it badly, but do it." And I still hear these words when I have a bad day and think of starting something new instead of completing the book I'm currently busy with. Try not to judge yourself and your writing.

________________________________________

February 11, 2010
International Writing Program

IWP Alum Maxine Case Live Discussion, Feb. 11

The Writing University website hosted an online chat with South African writer and International Writing Program alum Maxine Case at 3:00 p.m. (CST) Thursday, Feb. 11th. Maxine was joined by Zuki Wanner in the discussion. They discussed their experience in the international writing community, as well as other literary topics. To read Maxine's work visit the IWP website.

Read an archive of the discussion:
Maxine Case and Zuki Wanner

Maxine Case (fiction writer, novelist; South Africa) is a senior writer for the non-profit Cape Town Partnership. She contributes to a number newspapers and magazines, including Real Simple, Reader’s Digest and O Magazine. Her short story “Homing Pigeons” was included in African Compass: New Writing from Southern Africa 2005. In 2007, her debut novel All We Have Left Unsaid won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book in Africa, and, jointly, the Herman Charles Bosman Award. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.

February 08, 2010
Fiction | International Writing Program

Live Discussion with Alice Pung

The Writing University website hosted an online chat with Australian writer and International Writing Program alum Alice Pung at 2:00 p.m. (CST) Friday, Feb. 5th. Alice discussed her experience as a resident at the IWP, her place in the international writing community, as well as other literary topics. To peruse Alice's work and read more about her literary career, visit her website: http://www.alicepung.com/

Read the archive of the discussion here:
Live Discussion with Alice Pung

Alice Pung (fiction writer, playwright, nonfiction writer; Australia) was born in Melbourne to Cambodian parents. She has published the memoir Unpolished Gem (2006), which won the Australian Book Industry Association award for Newcomer of the Year and was short-listed for numerous other awards, ;and the short story collection Growing Up Asian in Australia (2008). Her work was also included in Best Australian Short Stories 2007. A lawyer by trade, she contributes regularly to The Age. She participated in the International Writing Program courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.

February 05, 2010

Alice Pung Live Discussion

Friday, Feb. 5 at 2:00 p.m. CST

The Writing University website hosted an online chat with Australian writer and International Writing Program alum Alice Pung at today 2:00 p.m. (CST). Alice discussed her experience as a resident at the IWP, her place in the international writing community, as well as other literary topics. To peruse Alice's work and read more about her literary career, visit her website: http://www.alicepung.com/

Alice Pung participated in the 2009 IWP Fall Residency courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

________________________________________

Kathy, New Zealand: My question is: How difficult is it for you to write authentically about your family, and to accurately reflect conflicts with people? Do you worry about offending people? Also, is it difficult to write about yourself when you know complete strangers are going to read about you?

Alice:Thanks for this question Kathy. I recently discovered that the American writer Maxine Hong Kingston first wrote her book The Woman Warrior to be a set of short stories, but her publishers thought that the only way that stories about Chinese women would appeal to an American audience was to publish it as a memoir.

The Bangladesh poet Tagore wrote that “Truth in her dress finds facts too tight. In fiction she moves with ease.” So when I first started writing my book Unpolished Gem, I had meant for it to be a book of fictional stories, but the more I wrote the more truthful I found the stories became, until I didn’t need to make anything up to have material to write about.

I was very conscious of the need to not hurt people in my writing. I remember Amy Tan at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival when I was nineteen, teaching me one of the most important lessons I will ever learn as a writer – that writing is an act of compassion.

That book was meant to be funny, and I only write about myself if I can mostly make fun of much of myself. I also don’t see the book as defining who I am. Me at age five is a very different person to me at age seventeen, and now that I am 29 if I were to write the book again, I am certain it would be completely different. So I don’t worry about strangers reading about me.

________________________________________

Sally, Melbourne, Australia: Alice, I love the way you make the ordinary extraordinary. When you write a piece, say about shopping after midnight, or giving a talk in schools, you often end with some beautiful twist that creates meaning and context out of the most mundane situations. When you set out to write a piece like this, do you know what you are going to say - or the 'point' of your article - as you write it, or do you discover it as you are writing?

Alice: Thanks, Sally. When I start writing, I usually have the beginning of a scenario that I think might be interesting, and then because most of my work is non-fiction, I will take myself back to that scenario and this time around, look around slowly and notice details. The 'point' of the article, or epiphanies, only emerge when I write the piece.

________________________________________

ashur etwebi, Tripoli, Libya: As a writer of Asian origin living in Australia, do you think that a marginal culture has more chance in understanding the richness of a multicutural society? and do you look at yourself as a writer from a lateral stream rather than from the main stream?

Alice: Thanks for the question Ashur. I don't see myself as part of the mainstream not do I see myself as part of an alternative culture. I don't put myself in any stream because I know people are going to inevitably put me in a stream whether I like it or not (and often without a life raft)! Although I was born in Australia, our country has not reached the stage of acceptance where Asian-Australians are naturally accepted as part of Australian culture, as Asian-Americans seem to be in the United States. In the US, I was very heartened to see many Asian Americans on American television and advertisements. Being an outsider has its advantages too - like being able to see the humours and hypocrisies of both cultures.

________________________________________

Scott Iowa City IA: Alice, what is your writing regiment? & how do you write? -- do you write in large blocks at a time, or smaller pieces? is there a certain time of day that you like to write?

Alice: Thank you for your question Scott. I work full time as a lawyer in Melbourne and so I don't have a clear and set regiment of writing. For instance, if I have spent the day working on minimum-wage decisions, which is also writing, by the end of the day I might not feel too creative. But I try and write everyday - whether it be in the form of a handwritten letter to a friend, emails or a handful of sentences for a short story.

Often I find that when I have large blocks of set time (for example, a two week residency somewhere) I will accomplish a lot. Long stretches of time also give me the chance to be more reflective in my work. Yet if I were to have an infinite amount of time to write, then I know that I would waste a lot of it idling away. So balance is very important to me.

________________________________________

Ryan, Denver CO USA: You work both as a writer and a lawyer. Do you find that you are utilizing different parts of your personality and intellect in pursuing each endeavor? And if so, how do they correspond with each other, or conflict?

Alice:Dear Ryan, thanks for your question. Lawyers are known for their creative writing skills! Only kidding. I work in the area of minimum-wage law, and I write stories about families. So in this respect, the writing I do as an author and as a lawyer are very different - one involves reports based on evidence, and the other narrative based on people's interior lives. One involves having a critical, analytical mind; and the other involves being able to see both the specks and enormous orbs circulating at the same time in people's emotional spheres.

Yet there are times when my two kinds of writing seem perfectly aligned: on weekends when I might write character non-fiction about the factory workers and migrant women in the neighbourhoods in which I grew up, and then the next day go to work and see how their living breathing lives fit within government policy.

________________________________________

Ed Laarman, Iowa City, Iowa: What writing projects are you working on now? And do you work on one thing at a time, or several projects simultaneously?

Alice: Thank you for your question Ed.

I am writing a book about my father, a man who survived Pol Pot’s Killing Fields during a time where many Chinese were purged. The most significant years of his young adult life were spent as a slave labourer. It often amazes me how ordinary he seems, and how resourceful and funny. I have realised that these were the qualities that probably got him through alive.

Then he arrived in Australia, seven years after the White Australia Policy was officially abolished by the government. I’ve noticed that as he has become older, he has sequestered himself from the outside world in order to stay safe. So this is a book about how two different generations grow old and come to understand what it means to have a family.

________________________________________

Ellen, Iowa City: Alice, you spent time here in Iowa City as a member of the International Writing program. How did you like you're experience? Could you tell us about anything that was surprising to you -- or enlightening about your stay in Iowa, or about the people you met?

Alice: Being part of the Iowa International Writing Program was one of the best experiences of my life. It is a very unusual and pioneering program, because there is nothing else quite like it in the world. Very rarely does an adult get to live with thirty five other adults in the same profession from all different parts of the world, for an extended period of three months.

The most remarkable thing about my residency was befriending the other writers, particularly Kathy White from New Zealand, Salomat Vafo from Uzbekistan and Millicent Graham from Jamaica. In no other circumstance would I have had the opportunity to live on a day-to-day basis with these extraordinary people.

There was also a real community feel to Iowa City. I participated as a guest speaker in many classes including Ana Merino's Spanish literature class, while her husband the artist Felix De La Concha involved me in his painting project. Kathy and I went to a barn dance at the senior citizens centre, and we went on hayrides at the Dane's farm. Chris Merrill, the Director of the Program, invited all the writers to his house; and local doctors (the Lims) and kindly general members of community also invited us to dinner.

The whole town seemed to be imbued with a deep aura of respect for the international writers, which made the experience all the more magical.

________________________________________

Erin, Iowa city: I am a writing student and I am interested in how to start a writing career. do you have any suggestions about the path to take in order to become published? Thank you!

Alice: Dear Erin

Thank you for your question. It is a difficult one to answer as each writer starts out differently. I started out writing short stories for local and literary magazines. Many of them were rejected but sometimes one or two would get picked up by a magazine or journal. Eventually a publisher had read one of my stories in his spare time and called me up to ask whether it could be expanded into a book. That is how my career started.

There is no set path except to keep on submitting your work, and being able to accept a few rejections before you are published. It is never easy, but if it is any consolation, when you are published you will probably have a far larger audience in the States than we have in Australia (I am told our entire country's population could fit into New York City!)

My other piece of advice (because I also believe in being practical about these things) is to have another job at least until you get your first book published. Then you will not be beset with anxieties about not being able to feed yourself!

________________________________________

UI Patient Voice Project Helps Tap into Creative Strength

This Cedar Rapids Gazette article highlights The Patient Voice Project, a University of Iowa Arts Share program that pairs people who have chronic or mental illness with Iowa Writers' Workshop graduate students for at least six weeks of free writing classes. Launched in 2004 by a workshop student, the program has helped more than 100 people.

"This writing class helped me come to terms with the fact that my disease is progressing. I don't know that I would have just admitted that otherwise," said Molly Baker, who has cystic fibrosis. "It helped me get that out, and that was important."

Read the entire article here: Patient Voice Project

January 27, 2010
Iowa Writers' Workshop | Fiction | Poetry | Nonfiction | Science/Medical Writing

Undergraduate Student Book Collection Competition

The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences is calling all students to enter its first Student Book Collection Competition.

Collecting is a way to create the world as well as to understand it. A collection can build a set of structures that help a collector to assess the rest of the world; looking at a collection can provide insight into a collector’s mind. Collections can become a driving force in a person’s life, motivating the collector to make sacrifices, track down rarities, and build up a repertoire of histories. Often the history of an object can make it more precious to a collector than its market value might imply. Collections can help us to think both deeply and broadly, and assembling a collection can be one of the most intellectually rewarding activities a scholar can undertake.

To recognize and encourage collecting, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at The University of Iowa is pleased to offer the following competitive awards:

The CLAS Award for the Best Book Collection Submitted by an Undergraduate Student

The Special Collections Award for the Best Other-Than-Book Collection Submitted by an Undergraduate Student

The Center for the Book Award for Most Creative and Most Creatively Described Collection by an Undergraduate or Graduate Student

For the Prize for the Best Book Collection and Best Other-Than-Book Collection Submitted by an Undergraduate Student:

Submit two items: a bibliographic description of your collection (25-50 physical objects that you own), and a 250-word essay on what you collect and why. The essay may describe the nature and character of the collection, how and why it was assembled, when it was begun, and future direction(s) it may take.

For book collections, your bibliography must be written in standard format:

Author. Title. Publication place: Publisher name, Date of publication.

There is no single appropriate format for the Best Other-Than-Book Collection; please submit a clear and concise catalogue ordered by elements you believe will be useful to the judges, such as chronology, object description, etc.

Note your name, class year, email address, and phone number on a separate cover sheet.

Semi-finalists will be asked to appear before the judges with at least ten representative items from their collections.

For the Prize for the Most Creative and Most Creatively Described Collection by an Undergraduate or Graduate Student:

Write a 500-2000 word essay about a collection. Your essay can describe a collection that is entirely imaginary; you do not need to have actually collected any of the objects you are discussing. Judges are looking for eloquent and imaginative descriptions.

Note your name, class year, email address, and phone number on a separate cover sheet.

You must be a registered full-time student during the semester in which the competition is held. All of the items in your collection must belong to you.

“Books” can include comics, graphic novels, zines, as well as other objects with texts on paper enclosed in a binding.

“Non-books” can include maps, prints, broadsides, manuscripts, letters and other kinds of paper ephemera as well as CDs, DVDs, sound recordings, computer games, or any other tangible objects.

Your essay will be evaluated on a number of criteria: the judges are as interested in your reasons for collecting as in your collection itself; an elegantly and imaginatively articulated purpose is as important as the objects in the collection. The judges are not interested in how rare items are, or in their market value; they are interested in whether your stated purpose and goals are fulfilled by your collection.

Submit one file as a Microsoft Word attachment, containing your cover page, bibliographic information and essay, to rawan-alkhatib@uiowa.edu by 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 26th, 2010. The subject line of your email should mention the title of the contest you are submitting to.

Winning entries will be displayed in the Main Library, and the winning essays will be published on university websites, including the Special Collections webpage and the Virtual Writing University. There are also a number of cash and gift certificate awards:

Best Book Collection Submitted by an Undergraduate Student:

$200 First Prize - The CLAS Award for the Best Book Collection Submitted by an Undergraduate, supported by the Dewey Stuit Fund for Undergraduate Research. The First Prize winner will also be entered in the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of American (ABAA), the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (FABS), and the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. The first prize winner in that competition will receive $2,500; the second, $1,000; and, the third, $500; the prize winners will be invited, expenses paid, to an awards presentation at the Library of Congress.

$100 Second Prize – Supported by collectors JoAnn Castagna and Dan Campion in the form of gift certificates for Prairie Lights and Murphy-Brookfield Books.

$75 Third Prize – Supported by The University of Iowa Press.

Best Other-Than-Book Collection Submitted by an Undergraduate Student:

$150 First Prize – Supported by the University of Iowa Libraries.

$100 Second and $75 Third Prizes – Supported by Special Collections & University Archives, The University Libraries.

Prize for the Most Creative and Most Creatively Described Collection by an Undergraduate or Graduate Student:

$200 First Prize – Supported by The University of Iowa Center for the Book.

Reference:
ABC for Book Collectors, John Carter: this may be useful in helping you to prepare your bibliography.

Books about book collecting:
Among the Gently Mad: Strategies and Perspectives for the Book Hunter in the 21st Century, Nicholas A. Basbanes: A practical and passionate guide to book collecting.
A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books, Nicholas A. Basbanes: a book about books, and about the people whose lives are devoted to collecting them.

Fiction/personal narrative about books, bibliomania or bibliophiles:

• Jorge Luis Borges:
  “The Book of Sand” (story of an infinite book); “The Library of Babel” (story of an infinite library; link: http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/library_of_babel.html); “The Total Library” (an essay).
  
• The Logogryph: A Bibliography of Imaginary Books, Thomas Wharton: several fragmented short stories about books, addressing both the experience of reading and books as both imagined and physical objects.
  
• Salamander, Thomas Wharton: a novel that engages with the vagaries of printers and book-binders head-on; heavy doses of Borges-esque puzzles and magical realism feature.
  
• The Library at Night, Alberto Manguel: a personal narrative founded on the notion that reading can provide rescue.
  
• The Anthologist, Nicholson Baker: a novel about an anthologist’s impulse to collect poetry, and the impact it has on his increasingly fraught life.
  
• The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco: an intellectually stimulating medieval monastery murder-mystery, featuring a labyrinthine library.

Other:

• Your Old Books, a resource page hosted by the Rare Books and Manuscript Section of the American Library Association. Lots of useful answers: http://www.rbms.info/yob.shtml
  
• Books and Book Collecting, a website with links to a variety of booksellers, book collectors’ associations and more, as well as a detailed bibliography of reference books and resources for collectors. Link: http://www.trussel.com/f_books.htm
  
• Bibliodyssey, a fascinating blog brimming with eclectic and rare book illustrations derived from many digital repositories, accompanied by erudite background commentary. Link: http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/
  
• Book By Its Cover, a blog documenting the rich and varied book collection of a graphic designer. Art books, handmade books and artists’ sketchbooks feature. Link: http://www.book-by-its-cover.com
  
• Artist Jane Mount documents people's bookshelves as a form of portraiture, believing that a lot can be learnt about a person by their book covers. She is also working on a series of “ideal” bookshelves, sets of people’s favorite books. Link: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2009/08/the-ideal-bookshelf.html

Email: rawan-alkhatib@uiowa.edu

January 26, 2010

Veterans invited to free UI Midwest Writers Workshop

To help veterans give voice to their experiences, the University of Iowa Veterans Center and the UI Division of Continuing Education co-sponsored a free UI Vets Midwestern Writing Workshop Jan. 15-17 in the UI Distance Learning Site on the second floor of the U.S. Bank building at 30 S. Dubuque St. in downtown Iowa City.

The workshop was open to all current and former military personnel, regardless whether they're connected to the university. No previous writing experience was required.

"My goal is to offer vets a venue to begin exploring their war experiences and find their voices in the process," said Emma Rainey, a May 2009 graduate of the UI Nonfiction Writing Program who co-facilitated the workshop with John Mikelson, veteran's advisor with the UI Veterans Center.

Given the international literary reputation of the UI, Rainey said the workshop was an excellent opportunity for veterans to learn from UI faculty, poets and nonfiction writers. Read more...

January 19, 2010
Fiction | Poetry | Nonfiction

Launch of eXchanges Winter Issue

eXchanges, the University of Iowa's online journal of literary translation, announces the launch of its Winter 2009 issue, EXOCITY. Visit http://exchanges.uiowa.edu/ to read this new issue, which contains poetry, fiction, and critical nonfiction translated from the Sanskrit, Polish, German, Latin and Spanish.

The issue also features an interview with the always thought-provoking Johannes Goransson (co-editor of Action Books and Action Yes). In the interview he discusses his translations of Swedish poetry, foreignization as a kind of domestication, how translations get packaged as the foreign, closeness and distance of translators to/from their originals and more.

January 11, 2010
Fiction | Poetry | Nonfiction | Translation MFA

IWP Participant Wins International Journalist Award

Michal Hvorecky, a Slovak alumnus of the University of Iowa's 2004 International Writing Program (IWP), is the winner of the International Journalist Award, 1989 – 2009: Europe in Dialog. The award is sponsored by MitOst, which promotes cultural and language exchange programs in central, eastern and southeastern Europe. The award is co-financed by the European Union.

Print journalists between the ages of 18 and 35 from 55 European countries were eligible to compete for the award by submitting an article on the process of Europeans leaving behind the old dividing lines between East and West. Hvorecky’s winning submission is entitled: “Childhood’s End: Summer 1989.” He is the author of two short-story collections and three novels. He also writes as a freelance journalist for Slovak newspapers.

Read an English translation of Hvorecky’s award-winning article here.

December 15, 2009
Journalism | International Writing Program

2009 Whiting Writers’ Awards To Three Workshop Alumni

Congratulations to the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Jay Hopler (MFA 1997), Salvatore Scibona (MFA 1999), and Vu Tran (MFA 2002), three of the ten recipients of the 2009 Whiting Writers' Awards.

The awards, which are $50,000 each, have been given annually since 1985 to writers of exceptional talent and promise in early career. Denis Johnson, Jorie Graham, Michael Cunningham, and Mark Doty are among the past Whiting Award recipients who have gone on to achieve acclaim.

For more information the authors or the award, please visit The Whiting Foundation.

December 02, 2009
Iowa Writers' Workshop | Alumni | Poetry

“Writing the World”: UI Graduate College Highlights the IWP

This University of Iowa Graduate College article highlights the International Writing Program and its director Christopher Merrill:

"At age 6, Christopher Merrill began a brief but lucrative career as a newspaper publisher. His first story was about a young girl who shared the same wing of the hospital as he did and was dying of leukemia. "I remember writing a story about her. I sold them to my neighbors for one penny apiece," Merrill said. "I had to copy out each one, so it didn't last very long." While his newspaper career stopped before it ever really started, Merrill has never quit writing. From his office at Shambaugh House, where he has been director of The University of Iowa's International Writing Program since 2000, to a basement in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, during the Bosnian War, Merrill has used the written word to explain his life's journey." read more...

November 19, 2009
Poetry | Faculty | International Writing Program

Video Podcast: Isaac Sullivan’s “Skinsignia”

Video by Isaac Sullivan
Internet Explorer users: click video twice to play

November 18, 2009

Poets & Writers Magazine Ranks Iowa #1

The University of Iowa creative writing programs in fiction, poetry and nonfiction were individually and collectively ranked number one by Poets & Writers magazine in their "Top Fifty" list of Master of Fine Arts programs.

The list was compiled on the basis of a poll of more than 500 MFA current and prospective MFA applicants between October 2008 and April 2009. "All poll respondents were asked to list, along with their genre of interest, either the programs to which they planned to apply, or, if they were not yet applicants but expected to be in the future, which programs they believed were the strongest in the nation," Seth Abramson, wrote.

Poets & Writers, Inc. is the primary source of information, support and guidance for creative writers. Founded in 1970, it is the nation's largest nonprofit literary organization serving poets, fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers. Read more...

October 29, 2009
Iowa Writers' Workshop | Fiction | Poetry | Nonfiction

Under Construction

Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), was born as Thomas Lanier Williams in Columbus, Mississippi. He attended the University of Iowa from October 1, 1937 until August 5, 1938, and studied with Edward Charles Mabie, head of the Theater Department at the time. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Before coming to Iowa, Williams had completed most of his coursework toward the degree at the University of Missouri and some at Washington University.

Tennessee Williams’s plaque on the Iowa Avenue Literary Walk has the following quote from Orpheus Descending,

"We're all of us sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life!"

Loneliness was Williams’s main perception of life. In 1979, four years before his death, he wrote: “My greatest affliction … is perhaps the major theme of my writings, the affliction of loneliness that follows me like a shadow, a very ponderous shadow too heavy to drag after me all of my days and nights.”

Williams’s Iowa City period is narrated with thorough detail in Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams by Lyle Leverich^[1]. The following excerpts give an idea of the themes surrounding Williams’s life in this quite vulnerable period of his life. To read the entire two Iowa chapters, please click here.

The question of Tom’s continued education, and especially the furtherance of his writing career, had been a matter of discussion for several week [in early 1937], both between Edwina [Tom’s mother] and her parents and among Tom’s friends. Although he had benefited from some of the courses he had taken at Washington University—a “lost year,” as he would come to regard it—his only valid credits were those he had earned at the University of Missouri. Willard Holland [organizer and director of a first-rate nonprofessional acting company called the Mummers], who had returned from his screen test on the West Coast, felt that Tom would benefit most from going to the University of Iowa...

    Tom’s first lodgings were at 225 North Linn, and on his first day in Iowa City, he wrote home: “I am very well satisfied with this place. I get both board and room here.” He said that the “excellent” meals cost twenty-one dollars a month and the room ten dollars in advance. He was also delighted with the city—“very much like Columbia,” an opinion he would shortly reverse...

    At [some] time [soon] he got off a letter to Holland, giving a new address at 3255 South Dubuque regarding it as a better location at the same price...

    It can be said that E. C. Mabie’s impression of Thomas Lanier Williams was, in fact, less than favorable. A classmate and later a producer, Norman Felton, remembered that Tom was once assigned a “living newspaper” play on the topic of “socialized medicine.” When Tom turned in his play, Felton said, “it was as if a volcano had erupted. You see, ‘the Boss’ [Mabie’s nickname] had many friends among doctors of medicine at the University. The next day I heard that he had torn up Tom’s script...”

    [Tom spoke] of his friendship with Thomas Pawley, his one black classmate, in whose play Ku Klux Tom was enacting, because of his southern accent, the role of a Negro chairman of a church convention. He told Willard Holland that Pawley exhibited real talent. Pawley recalled Tom Williams as shy, reticent, taciturn, and unkempt; because he didn’t attend classes frequently enough, he got poor grades. “Once I arrived in Iowa City,” Pawley said, “I quickly discovered there was absolutely no social contact between blacks and whites. The town and the University were segregated: I could not eat in the restaurants of the Student Union, and I was told I could not stay in the dormitory.” But Tom, he said, “was always cordial to me. I was genuinely surprised at his apparent sympathy for Negroes.” Pawley, who went on to become a distinguished professor at Lincoln University, added however that, had he known Tom was a native Mississippian and not simply form St. Louis, he would not have been so friendly, as Mississippi had “an unsavory reputation.”

    [Tom] was doing poorly in school and he knew it. Mindful of the sacrifice his grandparents had made, he painted as reassuring a picture for his grandfather as possible:

Last night I heard the famous English novelist, J.B. Priestly [sic] give a lecture. Two weeks ago we had Stephen Vincent Benet, a famous poet. The cultural opportunities here are remarkable for a mid-western school. They even have a fine free symphony orchestra. Also a radio broadcasting station—even television! Almost every evening there is an interesting public lecture, debate or round-table discussion in the Student Memorial Union—which is a beautiful recreation hall containing a library, magazine room, cafeteria, dance hall, lounge and auditorium—furnished like an expensive hotel! From my two windows I now have a beautiful view of snow-covered hills and woods and a frozen river and am receiving over my roommate’s radio a broadcast of classical music from the University studio...

    “I get a bed in the frat. dormitory, and breakfast and lunch in the fraternity house at reduced rates by coaching the Freshmen in their English and make a small commission selling tickets to the University theater—but have gone to bad numerous nights without supper.”

    A vicious […] circle, as he would subsequently come to recognize, was his deeper preoccupation with self: self-fascination and self-torment, the self-imprisonment that his work demanded. In time, that circle turned into a vortex, drawing him into its center and, along with him, those closest to him, those whom he loved and who would love him. Many, though, like [his then girlfriend] Bette Reitz, understood what the personal cost to them would be and shunned his importuning. They simply realized that he would never be free from the bondage of his work.

    Bette was a girl somewhat ahead of her time. As her roommate, Jean Fitzpatrick, and others remembered her, she knew her way around. If she didn’t recognize Tom as gay, she knew that he was sexually inadequate to meet her desires and that she had to lead him into the act itself. In Memoirs, he threw the weight of his inadequacy against what he saw then as her promiscuity, but which by present-day standards of free love would be largely overlooked. In the months to come at Iowa, Tom would continue to pursue Bette for the illusion she was.

    One of E. C. Mabie’s requirements was that all students in his department act in his various productions. The professor leaned toward more epic plays, like Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I, in which Tom Williams was cast as a member of Falstaff’s “Charge of Foot,” which prompted him to tell his mother, “I am enlisted as a soldier in King Henry IV’ army—next major play—fortunately they did not know about my record on the R.O.T.C.” It had been a year since he made his acting debut as an old man in Molière's Scapin, stomping about in a yellow fright wig and ad-libbing in French. However, French with a southern accent was one thing. Shakespeare another. Mabie wisely saw to it that he had only one line to deliver…

    A postcard he sent to his mother announced the fact that he had moved again to a rooming house at 126 North Clinton Street and had started a board job: "I am a waiter in the state hospital doctors' cafeteria—feel very professional in a white uniform—I get meals for three hours service—hope I can keep it."

    Earlier he had told his mother that he had received letters from both Clark Mills and Willard Holland. "Holland is leaving for another vacation in California and wants me to let him take one of my plays out there. Clark is having a hard time in Paris, living on about fifty cents a day, and waiting for money to get home on. He said they feel war is inevitable over there and expect to be defeated. Are very incensed against England for being so irresolute." In March, Hitler had swept over Austria without resistance, and Tom commented to his mother, "It seems the whole world is in a state of economic and political chaos for which there isn't any immediate solution. Very hard on these young people on campuses who are going to have to deal with it in the future." Clark Mills would be one among them. In an unmailed note to Mills, Tom wrote, "Everybody is talking about the literary 'renaissance' at Iowa—there are five or six prominent writers here, all of which are now working on novels— "He was alluding to the origin of the University of Iowa's famed Writers' Workshop, although it would not be named as such until the following year."

    By mid-June Tom had registered for two classes in the summer session: Mabie's seminar on playwriting and Conkle's course on problems in dramatic art. Tom's hope was that Mabie might take more notice of him. He told his mother that Mabie was about to lose his best playwright, Marcus Bach, and that "he has begun to take a special interest in me, possibly in hopes that I will come back. Of course I probably would if he could get me one of the Rockefeller scholarships."

    Later, he reported, "Mabie won't get me a scholarship." Worse than that, Tom had once again read Spring Storm aloud, this time to Mabie and his seminar, and wrote that "it was quite finally rejected by the class."

    By the end of July, Tom was again writing to his mother, saying how glad he was that she and Dakin were intending to come to Iowa for his graduation. He also mentioned that after graduation, Marian Gallaway was planning to drive up to Chicago for a few days and to return home via St. Louis, and that Milton Lomask was also going to Chicago to look for work.

March 26, 1911: Thomas Lanier Williams is born in Columbus, Mississippi.

1929: Williams is admitted to the University of Missouri, where he sees a production of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts and decides to become a playwright.

1931: His father forces him to withdraw from school and work in a St. Louis shoe factory where he meets a young man named Stanley Kowalski, who will later resurface as a character in A Streetcar Named Desire.

1937: Two of his plays, Candles to the Sun and The Fugitive Kind, are produced by Mummers of St. Louis.

August 5, 1938: Williams graduates from the University of Iowa with a bachelor of arts degree.

1939: He moves to New Orleans and changes his name from Tom to Tennessee.

1943: A pre-frontal lobotomy is performed on Williams’ sister, Rose, who had long suffered from mental illness. However, the operation is a failure and leaves Rose incapacitated for the remainder of her life. Tennessee never forgives his parents for allowing the operation.

December 26, 1944: The Glass Menagerie premieres at the Lyric Theatre in Chicago and enjoys a successful run. In early 1945, it moves to the Playhouse Theatre on Broadway, earning Williams the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for best play of the season.

1947: Williams meets and falls in love with Frank Merlo.

October 6, 1948: Summer and Smoke opens at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.

February 3, 1951: The Rose Tattoo opens at the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway, earning Williams a Tony Award for Best Play.

March 17, 1953: Camino Real opens at the National Theatre on Broadway.

March 24, 1955: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opens at the Morosco Theatre on Broadway, earning Williams his second Pulitzer Prize as well as another Tony Award for Best Play.

December 28, 1961: The Night of the Iguana opens at the Royal Theatre on Broadway, earning Williams another Tony Award for Best Play.

January 16, 1963: The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore opens at the Morosco Theatre on Broadway. Frank Merlo dies of lung cancer and Williams falls into a deep depression that will last for a decade.

November 23, 1976: The Eccentricities of a Nightingale opens at the Morosco Theatre on Broadway.

February 24, 1983: Tennessee Williams dies in his New York City residence at the Hotel Elysee. According to official reports, he choked to death on a bottle cap. He is buried in St. Louis, Missouri.

Photo by Yousuf Karsh on the website of the National Gallery of Australia

Early plays:

Candles to the Sun (1936)
Spring Storm (1937)^[2]
Fugitive Kind (1937)
Not About Nightingales (1938)

Major plays:

The Glass Menagerie (1944)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)
Summer and Smoke (1948)
The Rose Tattoo (1951)
Camino Real (1953)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955)
Baby Doll (1956)
Sweet Bird of Youth (1959)
The Night of the Iguana (1961)
The Eccentricities of a Nightingale (1962, rewriting of Summer and Smoke)
The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (1963)
Vieux Carré (1977)
A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur (1979)
Clothes for a Summer Hotel (1980)
A House Not Meant to Stand (1982)
In Masks Outrageous and Austere (1983)

Novels:

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1950, filmed 1961)
Moise and the World of Reason (1975)

Screenplays:

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (1957, filmed 2009)

Short stories:

The Field of Blue Children (1939)
The Resemblance Between a Violin Case and a Coffin (1951)
Hard Candy: A Book of Stories (1954)
Three Players of a Summer Game and Other Stories (1960)
The Knightly Quest: a Novella and Four Short Stories (1966)
One Arm and Other Stories (1967)
It Happened the day the Sun Rose, and Other Stories (1981)

The 1997-98 season was the 50th anniversary of the Broadway premiere of Summer and Smoke. To mark the anniversary, University Theatres produced the play’s revision that Williams preferred, titled The Eccentricities of a Nightingale.

Summer and Smoke, a sensuous and poignant story of a Southern spinster's passionate longing, was first staged in 1947, following the great successes of The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire. This ranks the play among the works that established Williams as one of America's most important playwrights.

Dissatisfied with the original script and disappointed with the Broadway production, Williams re-wrote the play for its London premiere. But when he arrived with the revision, the production was too far advanced to accommodate the changes. In his forward to the published script, Williams wrote: "I think The Eccentricities of a Nightingale is a substantially different play from Summer and Smoke, and I prefer it. It is less conventional and melodramatic." Eccentricities was not produced at all until 1964 and has been produced only rarely since. The Eccentricities of a Nightingale, directed by UI Department of Theatre Arts faculty member John Cameron, opened on Thursday, February 5, 1998 and was performed until February 15, 1998.

Text and design: ZLAU

October 28, 2009

Second Life Readings Presented by the UI Grad College and IWP

Alice Pung is nearly 10,000 miles away from home as an International Writing Program participant at the University of Iowa.

But through Second Life (a 3-D virtual world where users can socialize, customize an avatar, connect and create using free voice and text chats) friends and family in her native Melbourne, Australia, had the opportunity to hear her read from her memoir, "Unpolished Gem" on Oct. 21.

Students in the UI's School of Library of Information Science (SLIS) graduate program developed avatars -- characters that you can personalize and use when interacting with friends online -- for themselves and the writers, and coordinated the readings with the avatars at the main library.

SLIS students will be hosting another Second Life presentation at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, with IWP participants Yasser Abdel Latif of Egypt and Maxine Case of South Africa reading from their work. Representatives of the UI's Virtual Writing University are helping produce the events.
Read more...

International Writing Program | New Media | UI Libraries

UI Press Marks 150th Anniversary of ‘Leaves of Grass’ with Facsimile Edition

The University of Iowa Press will release "Leaves of Grass, 1860: The 150th Anniversary Facsimile Edition" this autumn in honor of the 150th Anniversary of the collection's publication. This anniversary edition will include not only a facsimile reproduction of the original 1860 volume but also an introduction by antebellum historian and Whitman scholar Jason Stacy -- a faculty member at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville -- that situates Whitman in 19th-century America as well as annotations that provide detailed historical context for Whitman's poems.

The book is part of the ongoing Iowa Whitman Series that celebrates and explores his influence on modern and contemporary writers in America and around the world. Robert Roper, author of "Now the Drum of War: Walt Whitman and His Brothers in the Civil War," wrote, "The University of Iowa Press continues its indispensable service to Whitman scholarship with this new edition of the 1860 'Leaves of Grass.' Jason Stacy refrains from calling the 1860 edition the greatest of all the editions that Whitman published in his lifetime, so we will have to do it for him: Those that came before were smaller, while those that came after represent fallings-away from this towering and encompassing enchantment, the greatest book yet from an American poet." read more...

October 19, 2009
Poetry | UI Press

Eavan Boland in Iowa

This semester, the Irish poet Eavan Boland visited the University of Iowa as an Ida Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor, participating in a variety of different events on campus October 12th -16th. We have cataloged the archives of her visit below.

Boland, who attended an IWP residency in 1979, has published nine volumes of poetry, as well as two volumes of prose. She is professor of English at Stanford University and director of the creative writing program.

Eavan Boland reading

As the featured guest for a public reading in honor of Paul Engle, Eavan Boland began her visit to Iowa City by reading in the Shambaugh Auditorium on the University of Iowa Campus.

Shambaugh Auditorium | Oct. 12, 2009
Listen