tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46610588176903960642024-03-13T21:50:00.484+08:00Asian Books BlogRosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comBlogger1012125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-65113050019337331822024-01-25T20:00:00.001+08:002024-01-25T20:00:00.132+08:00Dipika Mukherjee chats with Elaine Chiew About Writer's Postcards and her travel-writing<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieJraMfDcc-tWczQ2iBVdxftdB0mFO-0jY5GtDnX9G-6rfP1fnMuxjNwhVgTj7on2I3UJiohjT0Zn_vOZFH-1binzitrVf0lTyT6gQPik85SGYGBAcDdFjmUeynzQQ2Qv0W7zvQahYl5cdnGcuxTj0QY5Jgw336hGnf1U0UyriADBaTyO-Bpktic3l7tw/s4898/Jpegs_Dipika%20(34%20of%2067).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4898" data-original-width="3265" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieJraMfDcc-tWczQ2iBVdxftdB0mFO-0jY5GtDnX9G-6rfP1fnMuxjNwhVgTj7on2I3UJiohjT0Zn_vOZFH-1binzitrVf0lTyT6gQPik85SGYGBAcDdFjmUeynzQQ2Qv0W7zvQahYl5cdnGcuxTj0QY5Jgw336hGnf1U0UyriADBaTyO-Bpktic3l7tw/w266-h400/Jpegs_Dipika%20(34%20of%2067).jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: SC Shekar</td></tr></tbody></table><b></b></p><p><b><b><br /></b></b></p><b>Bio:</b><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Dr. Dipika Mukherjee’s collection of travel essays, <b>WRITER’S POSTCARDS </b>(Penguin Random House SEA), was published in October 2023. Her work is included in <i>The Best Small Fictions 2019</i> and appears in <i>World Literature Today</i>, <i>Asia Literary Review</i>, <i>Del Sol Review,</i> and <i>Chicago Quarterly Review,</i> <i>Newsweek</i>, <i>Los Angeles Review of Books</i>, <i>Hemispheres</i>, <i>Orion</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and more, and she has been translated into French, Portuguese, Bengali and Mandarin Chinese. She is the author of the novels <b>SHAMBALA JUNCTION</b> (Aurora Metro, winner of the Virginia Prize for Fiction) and</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>ODE TO BROKEN THINGS </b>(Repeater</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Books, longlisted for the Man Asia Literary Prize), and the story collection, <b>RULES OF DESIRE</b> (Fixi). Her latest poetry collection is <b>DIALECT OF DISTANT HARBORS </b>(CavanKerry Press, winner of Quill and Ink Award).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Her work has been performed and installed at the South Asia Institute and the American Writers Museum in Chicago, and is being developed into a choral composition by Art Choral Canada for live performances in 2024-2025.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">She has received grants and fellowships, including an Esteemed Artist Award from the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (USA), Illinois Arts Council Agency (USA), Ragdale Foundation (USA), Faber Foundation (Catalonia), Sacatar (Brazil), Rimbun Dahan (Malaysia), and Gladstone Library (Wales), among others. She has taught in the United States, India, China, Netherlands, Malaysia and Singapore and was Distinguished Professor of Linguistics at Shanghai International Studies University, China; Affiliated Fellow of the International Institute of Asian Studies in Leiden, the Netherlands; and affiliated to the Roberta Buffet Centre for Global Studies at Northwestern University, USA. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">She is currently core faculty at StoryStudio Chicago and teaches at the Graham School at University of Chicago.<span style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><o:p></o:p></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZlO4cEkKR-Dnv5TmZYnbJuI6spWW295sz8SzOf5pIHNK77fGKTrFf6HN_zS7xPgkf6DkcjEt1W-Vftxy_gIktz5yd8v5Zgf6ocdqoJDm-PRhirbUxqqAMdKD5KAbJcyZaKsB7lqh-Cvi3_dLWNpeW3SGNgtiQ799wGaqfgQdbI-Cg-3aDdsGCvN14Aw/s650/FrontCoverWP1page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="406" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZlO4cEkKR-Dnv5TmZYnbJuI6spWW295sz8SzOf5pIHNK77fGKTrFf6HN_zS7xPgkf6DkcjEt1W-Vftxy_gIktz5yd8v5Zgf6ocdqoJDm-PRhirbUxqqAMdKD5KAbJcyZaKsB7lqh-Cvi3_dLWNpeW3SGNgtiQ799wGaqfgQdbI-Cg-3aDdsGCvN14Aw/w400-h640/FrontCoverWP1page.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Author</td></tr></tbody></table></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Book Synopsis:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a;">Part travelogue, part memoir, and part commentary, <i>Writer’s Postcards </i>is a collection of essays that examine imagination and culture through the lens of geography. A <i>flaneuse</i> and person of the world, Dipika Mukherjee takes readers through various encounters from her highly mobile life: the lugubrious literature of Brazil; the linguistic diversity in China and Tibet; and meeting the Dalai Lama while travelling as a lone woman through New Delhi. She examines the political unrest in Myanmar after the brief international reach of Burmese books; weighs in on Chicago’s literary landmarks and famous writers; reminisces on the languid feasting of Diwali celebrations at Port Dickson by the Malaysian-Bengali community; and finds new notions of home, identity, and belonging in the Netherlands-among many others.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a;">Thought-provoking and unabashed in its entirety, this is a collection of essays that goes beyond the personal and communal to examine issues of international concern.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;">—————-</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC: </b>Welcome to Asian Books Blog, Dipika. What an honour to have you. Thank you for sending <i>Writer’s Postcards</i>. I really enjoyed reading these essays about travel, solitude, spirituality, writing, teaching, food, cultural festivals, family bonds, unsung voices, and so much more. What was the impetus for this project?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>DM:</b> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Thanks for these fabulous questions and such a nuanced reading of my book! My impetus would be the gendered landscape of travel writing, even today. I belong to Facebook groups of Women Travel Writers and I personally know a very diverse group of women travel writers; I have written for travel magazines and inflight magazines like <i>Hemispheres </i>and <i>Orion</i>, where women are well represented, but google “BEST TRAVEL BOOKS” and it is the Bill Brysons and Paul Therouxs of our world that pop up.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Then, at an international conference in Bali a few years ago (an essay on that is in the book) there was a panel on travel writing, which was all Caucasian. I was appalled. In a place like BALI, in this conference on writing populated by local university students, we were modeling who could travel and make that travel worth writing about. When I brought this up to the convener, she shrugged and said she couldn’t find a panelist beyond this group that had published a book on travel. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">So I summoned my inner Toni Morrison and vowed to write the book I wanted to read. Hopefully one that readers around the world will all want to read :)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Of course, travel for brown or black people is harder than for white people. Except for a few countries like Singapore and Japan, our passports are viewed with suspicion and there are more roadblocks. But the welcome is there once you clear the bureaucracy and I wanted to talk about being a brown woman and seeing the world without exoticizing it or othering it, while also acknowledging my own privilege in having the means and the education to travel as I do. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I hope that readers, after reading this book, give themselves the permission to travel and be intrepid. Anais Nin’s words are especially true for travelling women: <i>Life shrinks or expands according to one’s courage.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC:</b> You begin with an essay on Rimbun Dahan, and I loved your descriptions of how nature encroach, or forms part of daily living and artistry within the residency. How has nature enriched or crept in unguardedly into your own inspiration channels, musings and expression? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>DM:</b> I am a bit of a tree-hugger…no, really! There are days when living in the heart of Chicago—an amazingly happening literary city! —just feels sad, either because of the cold, or being away from the bustle of Asia and the food. My panacea is to walk to the lake, past a large green lung, and literally just stop and hug every huge tree until I feel calm again. There is something about these old trees, even when they are bare in winter, that feels timeless, their rough bark a caress on the cheek. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I need a literary residency to finish a draft of a book, whether it is Rimbun Dahan in Malaysia, or Ragdale in Illinois. In a slow walk through the moist tropical undergrowth in Malaysia or the midwestern prairie in Illinois, there is something about the resurgence and resilience of plant life that is reassuring for the writer. Research shows that exposure to trees is restorative both physically and mentally and I can personally vouch for the fact that a walk amongst these most gentle guardians of our world relieves my anxiety. Also, a walk in the forest is most excellent for unknotting plot kinks when all else fails; the trees whisper suggestions through the breeze. Once, during a walk through Wisconsin’s Door County, I saw a red fox like a blaze of fire through the woods, and that magical creature unlocked a door in my mind I had not before considered opening. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC: </b>You write about many sojourns (especially loved the one about travelling to Tibet to meet the Dalai Lama) as well as resident-expatriate stays in Singapore, Shanghai and Amsterdam, and you reference the ‘flaneuse’ too. There’s a real sense that place imprints in individuated ways on identity, and personhood also leaves indelible traces on place. How do you see your journeys dialoguing or diverging within the tradition of “flaneusing”? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>DM: </b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Flâneuse, is defined as the feminine form of Flâneur, a french word for the idler, a man strolling unhurried through city streets, an invisible man while watching his surroundings intently.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The American writer Lauren Elkin wrote a book called <i>Flâneuse: Women Walk the City</i>, and she writes of how women are never able to shed the invisibility granted to men; they are, in most parts of the world, subject to the male gaze, no matter how unwanted.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Although it is true that a woman often has no choice to be invisible in the same way a man can be invisible, there are also ways in which a women have a distinct advantage in simply blending in while travelling. As a non-threatening female, especially when travelling solo, I am often the recipient of immense acts of kindness by strangers. Families invite me into homes, strangers share stories, waiters give me an extra portion on the house. As someone who is never viewed as inherently dangerous, which a male stranger often can be, I find myself being welcomed wholeheartedly into new places, and often left alone to wander at will, without the policing that a foreigner is sometimes subject to. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC:</b> I especially enjoyed how much this essay collection speaks to the urban-dweller bibliophile, as you say, “the Word immortalized through time in brick and cement and art”. I too examine signs and Words on building, street, stone and arch. Tell us about your relationship intersecting reading, writing, with specific city literary traditions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /><b>DM:</b> Oh, where do I begin with this lovely question? I love Leiden because of the Wall Poetry at every corner, in multiple languages, such deliciousness to be savoured no matter what the weather, over and over again. My heart broke in Myanmar, in the mausoleum of the last Mughal Emperor for he was a poet who died exiled and alone; the walls of his final resting place encase him forever in his own poem, translated into other languages. Kolkata is a city of bibliophiles, and the street art during the annual goddess festival, the Durga Puja, is often filled with very literary references and erudite puns. I love cities that revere books, thereby honouring language in the best possible way.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC:</b> One of the hard-hitting essays for me is “The Advantage of the (Global) Asian Writer”, in which you cover the gamut landscape of publishing for the subaltern in succinct fashion – from stereotyping to neglect, the importance of prizes to the building of a sustainable literary ecology. What do we need to do more of, what do we need to do less of? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>DM:</b> Asian Writers need to group together more into collectives and groups that support each other. In a city like Chicago there are a number of MFA programs, public courses for creative writing, and open mics for newbie writers. There are groups that have a regular reading series for Black writers and for Latin voices, but there is not a single regular reading series for Asian writers. We need to build communities of writers who support each other, especially as Asian families are still dismissive of careers that are too “artsy”, and we need to read beyond the bestseller lists and learn to love our own stories and mentor those who are trying to tell them in new and fabulous ways. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">We need to lose the scarcity mentality—our own kiasuness— when it comes to building our own writing communities. Helping other writers flourish opens up new opportunities open up for us all in new and exciting ways. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>EC:</b> Thank you for joining us on ABB, Dipika. Good luck with your book!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>DM:</b> Thank you for having me.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">_______</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">* Writer's Postcards may be purchased from all the following outlets:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Penguin direct: </span><span style="color: #954f72; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="https://www.penguin.sg/book/writers-postcards/" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.penguin.sg/book/writers-postcards/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Author's website: </span><a href="https://dipikamukherjee.com/writers-postcards/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">https://dipikamukherjee.com/writers-postcards/</span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Please support independent bookstores. Those carrying the book may be found here: <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/writer-s-postcards-dipika-mukherjee/20886658?">https://bookshop.org/p/books/writer-s-postcards-dipika-mukherjee/20886658?</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Amazon U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, France, The Netherlands, and Singapore. </span></p>E.P. Chiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952934075736969157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-1478549303384927852024-01-15T15:49:00.028+08:002024-01-15T16:32:47.663+08:00Tokyo Time, by Dawn Farnham<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> T.A. Morton </b>talks to Dawn Farnham about her shift into crime fiction</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdAq1DYbuTJtscfI3pK7dLE5M82ayOv4LDpykxowfQsX9h0TvAJsM8zuM7Na_oNaoMfnNWRu3oNfNKH-9vhc_F8E1gziYC8sXL7pGEff6vfoJmLMqO3mXwCEScBJIGhkLgKAYXx2Ek_hGnVSovZfkx6uKCE5k03kat2hYN6S3i3smK8i10n-8hiPBzhBY/s500/129228022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdAq1DYbuTJtscfI3pK7dLE5M82ayOv4LDpykxowfQsX9h0TvAJsM8zuM7Na_oNaoMfnNWRu3oNfNKH-9vhc_F8E1gziYC8sXL7pGEff6vfoJmLMqO3mXwCEScBJIGhkLgKAYXx2Ek_hGnVSovZfkx6uKCE5k03kat2hYN6S3i3smK8i10n-8hiPBzhBY/s320/129228022.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p></p><p>Though she has now returned to her native Australia, novelist Dawn Farnham is a former expat in Singapore, a place which inspired much of her fiction, including the <i>Straits Quartet</i>, which follows the struggle of two lovers, Charlotte Macleod, sister of Singapore’s Head of Police, and Zhen, triad member and once the lowliest of coolies, who beats the odds to become a wealthy Chinese merchant. <i>Tokyo Time</i> marks Dawn's first foray into the historical crime genre. It is again set in Singapore, against the backdrop of the Japanese Occupation, when the City State adopted a new time zone - Tokyo time.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><b>What sparked the inspiration for <i>Tokyo Time</i>, and was there a specific moment or event that influenced the narrative, especially regarding the murder aspect?</b></p><p>I was in the middle of a Creative Writing PhD which concerned local women’s experiences of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore and had done a mountain of research for the book which would eventually come out of that (<i>Salvaged from the Fall</i>, Penguin). I’d got bogged down and frustrated with the academic process at one point and needed some distance and clear air. A new project, something I hadn’t attempted before but which could make use of the research I’d done. </p><p>I’d enjoyed <i>Foyle’s War</i>, the TV series set in wartime England by the brilliant Anthony Horowitz, and thought telling the history of a period through crime stories would be interesting both for me and for the reader. </p><p><b>What motivated the title <i>Tokyo Time</i>? </b></p><p>Everything changed in Singapore at the beginning of the Japanese Occupation: the name of the island, the year, month, week and hour, the language, street names, everything, overnight, everywhere. Brutal. Terrifying. Lives turned upside down. All the old certainties crushed under the yoke of a fearful and alien occupier. The end of the British Empire! The cover reflects that with the faded Union Jack. </p><p><i>Tokyo Time</i> is about shock and anger, and the moral choices we are suddenly forced, or decide, to make—good, bad, foolish, noble, necessary, vindictive—in drastically altered circumstances. Nothing is more drastically altering to the flow of the familiar than war and occupation. </p><p>Very early on I pick a title (or two or three possibilities) and also design a cover. Publishers sometimes ask for examples of a cover by the author and it keeps me centred into theme as well as having fun with design. I gave a mock-up of the cover to <i>Tokyo Time</i> to my publisher who was happy to go with it and present me with five alternatives to pick from. </p><p><b>The detectives in <i>Tokyo Time</i>, Martin Bach (Eurasian) and Kano Hayashi (Japanese), are notably intricate characters. Were they inspired by real individuals you encountered during your research?</b></p><p>My research showed me that many ordinary Japanese men and women hated fascist control and the privations and horrors of the war. Over 3,000,000 Japanese military and civilians died in WW2. Kano Hayashi abhors what his country has come to and has a strong sense of his own moral centre and ideas of personal justice. I leaned a little bit into the fictional Japanese 18th century magistrate, Ooka Tadasuke, famous for his acumen and fairness. Hayashi is not above righting wrongs he sees as having gone unpunished. This makes him interesting, subversive and more unpredictable than you’d think at first.</p><p>My readings of Eurasian memoirs of the war were instructive, speaking to their authors' positions in the liminal spaces between multiple cultures and how they navigated them in a new reality. Martin has a German father, Indochinese mother, raised by a Cantonese amah, British educated but never accepted by Britons. Likewise, Eurasians were distrusted by the Japanese who saw them as ‘bastard’ puppets of the British. Martin is as wary, alert, resentful and pragmatic as that upbringing has taught him. He has no problem with the ignominious end of British rule and can role with the punches. </p><p>Hayashi and Bach have different backgrounds and lives. As a writer this supplies me with the possibilities of amusing/dramatic cultural clashes and interesting social situations, but at the deepest level, I wanted them, as detectives, to find common ground in the pursuit of truth. </p><p><b>In creating the world of occupied Singapore in <i>Tokyo Time</i>, how did you navigate the interplay between research and imagination?</b></p><p>It’s always a balance. The crime and the characters are imagined of course, but the background, the events, the timelines are factual. I always do this with my historical fiction. Research into the past can only get you so far. History books are not always useful beyond dates and major events. Written by men, they leave out women and ordinary people. I always try to go to diaries, memoirs, oral histories if they exist. In <i>Tokyo Time</i>, some real characters appear as themselves, others are based on real people but the names are changed. The civilian Mayor of Syonan, for example was a real person about whom I had some generalised details (his clash with the military is based in fact), but because I had to make a lot up, I changed his name. </p><p><b><i>Tokyo Time </i>marks your transition to historical crime fiction. What prompted this genre shift, especially towards the darker themes of crime?</b></p><p>Crime is a genre which offers—paraphrasing P.D. James—the age-old and universal pleasure provided by a well-told tale, mysterious and dangerous, but one where there is a familiar beginning, middle and end, where wrongs will be righted, the guilty exposed, the innocent vindicated, and human reason will triumph. Crime never seems to lose its appeal. Historical crime is disciplined and satisfying to write and enjoyable to read. </p><p><b>Given that <i>Tokyo Time</i> is your first crime novel, did you encounter any particular challenges while delving into this genre? Are there specific literary rules or principles you believe are essential when crafting crime fiction?</b></p><p>As a new genre for me and with all of us becalmed with Covid, there was plenty of time to do some useful research. Watching TV crime series and reading the greats was a good start. I like to do what creative writing teachers call critical reading/watching, noting how the author deploys point of view, plot twists, rounded characters, cliff hangers, and even clichés. More than any other genre, crime fiction comes with reader expectations and leans into a formula. Knowing that is half the battle. The originality comes by bending the formula to your own ends – with unexpected characters, crimes and location. Setting becomes a character in itself (and always drives plot and atmosphere), especially interesting when it is unfamiliar territory to the reader — like Singapore under Japanese Occupation. </p><p>PD James wrote: “One of the ancillary pleasures of reading mysteries is that of discovering new facts and gaining an insight into different and fascinating worlds. It has been said that a good mystery consists of twenty-five percent puzzle, twenty-five percent characterization, and fifty percent what the author knows best.” If you want to read her insights into crime fiction look at the Paris Review. <a href="https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2020/08/03/murder-most-foul/."><span style="color: #990000;">https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2020/08/03/murder-most-foul/.</span></a></p><p><b>With the intriguing detectives Bach and Hayashi in Japanese-occupied Singapore, can readers anticipate more historical crime novels featuring them in the future?</b></p><p>The plan is to tell the story of the Occupation from the Fall to the atom bomb. Is it too ambitious? Perhaps. Time will tell. Book two is underway in any case. Three murders, restless spirits and a disappearance, the dreaded secret police and twisty trouble galore for Bach and Hayashi! All the titles of the books, will be thematic, and the theme will be reflected in the central crime. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJUvLwP9aSe5FpAH0EUuOg4Wa9NOfOXzvsvyBObqPSWAY46o2_1Au1V9PBxPFDW5GCNmoe0VPkNh9C3e4R_yf8VLPJ22yhHT1mPHR-4S-rqD5ATEkBDjdayRR6fMSiTFeq0mJ1j25Xl1Idm0jioLUHuPD2kJroS0Z7o3UVTLCoI6FNPoLA0fKwj464A8/s225/Unknown.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJUvLwP9aSe5FpAH0EUuOg4Wa9NOfOXzvsvyBObqPSWAY46o2_1Au1V9PBxPFDW5GCNmoe0VPkNh9C3e4R_yf8VLPJ22yhHT1mPHR-4S-rqD5ATEkBDjdayRR6fMSiTFeq0mJ1j25Xl1Idm0jioLUHuPD2kJroS0Z7o3UVTLCoI6FNPoLA0fKwj464A8/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><p><b>Details</b>: <i>Tokyo Time</i> is published by Brash Books (USA) in paperback and eBook, priced in local currencies. </p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Rosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-86492153134080974142024-01-06T19:44:00.002+08:002024-01-06T19:48:03.583+08:00Publishing in Pakistan<p>Safinah Danish Elahi talks to Devika Misra about the pitfalls and possibilities of publishing in Pakistan.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_g4-lnUgfXLvWJRMP9QKtNNS50l3RMXWqDZ2k38SjI6DHhvvteB-A6nwHX254p_t4RchWqJ2_Rq3G4F27jhw8osExFvdcg5LlRw8GupUFiYvc00tPkeM-DR7QqIyCYRWbIHQeVJfOCcRE1aiNRz12VXus0RPKUuKplEl7tDp-SQRiHZUIyDl_BQ9mKp0/s254/download.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="254" data-original-width="198" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_g4-lnUgfXLvWJRMP9QKtNNS50l3RMXWqDZ2k38SjI6DHhvvteB-A6nwHX254p_t4RchWqJ2_Rq3G4F27jhw8osExFvdcg5LlRw8GupUFiYvc00tPkeM-DR7QqIyCYRWbIHQeVJfOCcRE1aiNRz12VXus0RPKUuKplEl7tDp-SQRiHZUIyDl_BQ9mKp0/s1600/download.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><p>English readership in Pakistan is relatively small; none of the big five publishing houses has a significant base in the country. But Pakistani writer and independent publishing house owner Safinah Danish Elahi argues that English fiction by Pakistani writers deserves more attention. She contends that readership patterns are slowly evolving. Although Pakistani fiction publishing is still very much in its infancy, she believes that the role of independent publishers is more crucial than ever before. She spoke to Devika Misra on the occasion of the launch of her most recent novel, <i>The Idle Stance of the Tippler Pigeon.<span></span></i></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>I began by asking her why she felt the need to set up her own publishing house despite being a published novelist and poet. Danish Elahi says it all began as a personal quest. She had no literary connections and “no clue” about how to get her first novel published.</p><p>SDE: “When I took my novel around, I realized that not many publishers are doing fiction at all. Two, three names that have been around in Pakistan weren't doing fiction, they mostly did text books. Liberty Publishing signed me for my first novel. And at the time I felt that maybe they didn't have enough resources to properly deliver a book. For example, the kind of editing that I was expecting wasn't there because they were kind of new.”</p><p>One route that many Pakistani writers have taken, is to use established Indian publishing houses. However, relations between the two South Asian countries have always been fraught. Since their inception in 1947, they have been bitter rivals and any kind of collaboration is subject to the vagaries of politics. Writing, on both sides of the fence, often finds itself collateral damage.</p><p>SDE: “I do remember there was a publishing house in India at the time who was interested in my first novel. When I asked how things would work, they asked me if I could visit. By that time there were visa issues and there was this ban on books from India to Pakistan. We call it the ‘book ban’ because we cannot make any payments directly to our neighbours in India, and we can also not receive packages directly. When you publish in India; writers who began their journey before me, they couldn't do it. Books would either have to come through the UAE or the UK. So it just becomes not feasible for you to get copies of your books. So you either have to republish it in Pakistan or have a UK publisher do it and then sell rights to Pakistan. As a writer you want your book in your hand and you do want your country people to read the book.”</p><p>But it wasn’t just push factors that prompted Danish Elahi to set up shop. She describes positive trends that also served as the impetus. </p><p>SDE: “Reading in the 1990s was all about what America is like, or what the United Kingdom is like, and then reading about the diaspora; people who are out of Pakistan. That made a big chunk of Pakistani readership so they weren't reading Pakistani writers talking about Pakistani stories, but white writers or Pakistani writers outside of Pakistan.” </p><p>This, she says, is what has changed and convinced her of the potential value of setting up a publishing house.</p><p>SDE: “This wave of new writers, in which I'd like to include myself, have been about mostly local stories. The publishing world has also changed in the past maybe five, six years where you see more diverse writing, you see people interested in stories that are coming from the global south. So I see a shift there. In terms of readership, I don’t think the number has increased per se but with the population increase there has been an increase in digital consumption. So there's a lot of (consumption) of Netflix and dramas on iPads…. also audiobooks, e-books. My children's generation is mostly hooked on the digital end of things.” </p><p>Certainly, some Pakistani literary fiction is being turned digital. Danish Elahi’s own debut work <i>Eye on the Prize</i>, has been translated into Urdu and adapted into a television series.</p><p>Danish Elahi established her independent publishing house, Reverie, about three years ago. It serves as a platform for local writers like herself. She wanted to break what she saw as the dependence of Pakistani writers on British and American publishers.</p><p>SDE: “The idea for Reverie was not to pick up well-known authors because they already have their agents and publishers and popularity. So I wanted to bring new voices and people who are struggling with the process of publishing, who weren't able to get the mainstream recognition that the more famous authors have already received. But I had to take on some of the more popular writers as well so that I sell.”</p><p>Reverie has a sister label which consists of self-published books for which a management and print fee are charged. Hard to believe now, she says, that it all started as a dream.</p><p>SDE: A reverie is a day dream. My publishing house, Reverie, initially felt like a daydream to me because a person who's been reading all her life, not writing for enough time, kind of clueless about how writing and publishing works, it just felt like a daydream to me.”</p><p>Despite its playful name, Reverie is not simply a passion project for Danish Elahi. In terms of profitability, 2021 and 2022 were good enough to justify maintaining the business. Danish Elahi hopes it will be more than just self-sustaining, even profitable in the long term.</p><p><b>Details</b>: Safinah Danish Elahi’s <i>The Idle Stance of the Tippler Pigeon</i> is published by Neem Tree Press (UK) and is available in paperback.</p><div><br /></div>Rosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-60701221202469911212023-11-23T10:30:00.016+08:002023-11-23T11:04:39.200+08:00The Plot Twist<p>Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) is currently underway - it runs at various venues until November 26. To suit our strange times, this year’s theme is <i>plot twist</i> - embracing strange approaches, unexpected outcomes, sudden changes in direction, unlikely connections, and the unpredictable. <b>Devika Misra</b> reports.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ozdE4rOZzskQ1Q8hYOhOo1DvwGMlfqA4ZtzcAy2WGx_Zzl_kJezkxhf9JZ2hTmJzmRQG53lGg6v8jLqiFw_mMUgzsLXYU6e3gd9fRxuHLGUnu9fgQJvr6BHyMfTw8O1t03NGwJ_H3BV82vaGXDft-dxtVdzLsb2c8WROXXgve4KFkNlTdb7EUg3iMBo/s251/download.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="201" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ozdE4rOZzskQ1Q8hYOhOo1DvwGMlfqA4ZtzcAy2WGx_Zzl_kJezkxhf9JZ2hTmJzmRQG53lGg6v8jLqiFw_mMUgzsLXYU6e3gd9fRxuHLGUnu9fgQJvr6BHyMfTw8O1t03NGwJ_H3BV82vaGXDft-dxtVdzLsb2c8WROXXgve4KFkNlTdb7EUg3iMBo/w232-h289/download.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><p></p><p>The opening of SWF saw panellists debate the proposition: <i>This House Believes AI is the Better Writer. </i>Is AI an opportunity or a threat to literature? Can it make good writers better? These were questions addressed by panellists Colin Goh, the Singaporean writer, and creator of the <i>Dim Sum Warriors</i> comics; Arianna Pozzuoli, the Canadian-Singaporean poet and storyteller; Nessa Anwar, playwright and journalist; Marc Nair, Singaporean poet; Melizarani T Selva, Malaysian writer and poet. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>Colin Goh was up first. He appeared to be mimicking a chatbot and mouthed his words in a flat, robotic monotone. “In the time it takes to type short prompts, AI can generate entire essays”. He then proceeded to compare working with AI to the experience of human writers. </p><p>Colin Goh: “First humans do the research, consisting mainly of hours upon hours of aimless surfing, punctuated by the consumption of unhealthy snacks, followed by periods of anxiety, self-doubt and self-loathing, before concluding with a last-minute late-night marathon while sobbing over the keyboard!” </p><p>Arianna Pozzuoli acknowledged AI can speed up writing, but argued AI produces text which is “heavily processed, repetitive, predictable”.</p><p>Arianna Pozzuoli: “A faster turnaround might make your boss happy...but it doesn't necessarily pump out polished work. It gives way to plot holes and clichés. I'm glad overused phrases are recyclable, but they pollute creativity. Can someone please explain why people are impressed by something that spits out words? Just because something can write a fast prescription doesn't mean you're cured. When AI spits out info, we should be the ones scared of what it's actually sharing. We don't bow down to writers who write novels in a hurry, or write like they're assembling parts in a factory line. Writing takes time. The greatest pieces of literature stay for decades on the back burners of stoves. We wait for things to simmer and heat up because they taste better. A writer's word is a scenic road…a long commute.” </p><p>Nessa Anwar stressed the democratisation that AI brings to writing. </p><p>Nessa Anwar: “Think about somebody with literary skills at the lower end of what is socially and professionally acceptable in a majority English-speaking environment...Danny, a non-native English speaker, creates an email account powered by chat GPT to offer people in his position a chance not to lose opportunities from native English-speakers who are more comfortable dealing with other native English-speakers. So when Danny sends an email that says, <i>Sally, I am start work at yours Monday</i>, chat GPT rewrites it as <i>Dear Sally, I'm writing to let you know that I will be starting work with you on Monday, Best Wishes. </i>Can you believe how this will change someone's life? People with dyslexia, people who struggle with communication, people who just immigrated to a foreign country. It bridges a gap that a lot of people take for granted in terms of communication because all of us have such a set idea of what effective communication looks like. Who is the better writer in this context of socially acceptable effective communication? AI is.” </p><p>Meanwhile, Marc Nair refused even to accept that AI was a writer. </p><p>Marc Nair: “Quick and dirty, with minimal effort, a hack. But does it make one a better writer? Does it even make one a writer? Writing is thinking. It is a way of being and becoming. It is one of - not the sum of, but one of - the primary ways humans choose to express desire, thought, feeling and belief. Is it flawed? Infinitely so - from arcane rules of grammar to fundamental contradictions to impossible permutations for non-native speakers - and yet it is ours. It is all we have.”</p><p>The last word went to Melizarani T Selva who said that AI is the better writer simply because it is the better reader.</p><p>Melizarani T Selva: “The better writer understands the need to read plenty and without prejudice. AI reads without discrimination towards gender and genre. AI voraciously consumes literature in non-English languages and non-Western forms. AI is not shackled by expectations of what is good or what is desirable because AI does not wonder what kind of writer it wants to be. AI reads nearly everything and writes nearly everything. The better writer is AI.”</p><p>A second conversation, <i>Mapping the Literary Legacies of Women in Singapore</i> drew together a group of Singaporean women writers from different ethnic backgrounds and generations, and who work in different genres, to discuss their own legacies, and those of their predecessors.</p><p>Comic book writer and illustrator Nurulhuda Izyan, best known for <i>A Drip, A Drop, A Deluge</i>, said she wasn’t born into a literary family. In fact, her mother couldn’t read. Yet that didn’t stop her from bringing home from the library big bags of books.</p><p>Nurulhuda Izyan: “I remember they were filled with folklore, legends…like Sita-Ram…all these Malay stories. These are the stories I was exposed to…stories my mother would have read had she been a reader…stories that have been carried from great, great grand-parents so kids today can tell you that, hey, there's a story behind this story.”</p><p>Playwright Stella Kon’s iconic work <i>Emily of Emerald Hill </i>is loosely based on the life of her grandmother, a Peranakan – that is, a person of mixed Chinese and Malay heritage. Stella herself was born in Edinburgh into a well-known Chinese family and has written several novels, musicals and short stories, many around the question of Singaporean identity.</p><p>Stella Kon: “The early books that I read were from school…One was <i>Jane Eyre </i>and another was P<i>ride and Prejudice</i>…five daughters all desperate to get married. Those were two books that struck me partly because I got introduced to the beauty of the English language. Then there was Han Suyin who was based in Malaysia for a while. She wrote stories about China - somewhat ideological stuff totally overshadowed by the fact that one of her books, <i>Love is a Many Splendoured Thing</i>, became a movie. Mind you, the most influential person may have been Enid Blyton. She wrote fascinating stories and turned them out prolifically, she was a role model of what it was to be a very professional writer, she had a market. As a little girl, I wrote to her office and she sent me a signed picture, so that also gave me a sense of her as a living person.”</p><p>Visual artist and writer Dana Lam said there was a period when she thought she couldn't be a writer because most writers were men. She warned, too, that literature can reinforce stereotypes. </p><p>Dana Lam: “Reading can be a very dangerous thing - I remember reading a book about a nurse and after reading that book, I thought: I’ll be a nurse so that I’ll fall in love with a male doctor and marry. Quite a lot of books available to me were about women: they fall in love with some guy, who is never emotionally available. Then they get into trouble. So there were those kind of models, which I think is very dangerous if that is the only thing you read.” Dana credited contemporary Singaporean female writers for introducing her to literature beyond romance. “People like Constance Singham and Suchen Christine Lim who were writing friends, and we were all meeting in a writing group at Connie's house. Suchen was working on <i>The River’s Song</i>, which became a Singaporean classic, and we got to hear her thought processes. Those kinds of experience were very interesting for me.”</p><p>Educator and writer Nuraliah Norasid said for her literary influence was less about the actual books she'd read than about the range of material she was exposed to. </p><p>Nuraliah Norasid: “As much as I was reading fiction, I was reading non-fiction, and more importantly, as much as I was reading English fiction, I was also reading Malay fiction.” </p><p>Finally, Stella Kon captured the idea of literary legacy by saying, “Remember, I will still be with you, as long as you hold me in your memory.” </p><p> </p><div><br /></div>Rosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-63078317457610551542023-11-17T20:12:00.003+08:002023-11-17T20:15:45.589+08:00Dear Chrysanthemums: A Novel in Stories by Fiona Sze-Lorrain<p><b> Devika Misra</b> reports.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgsCaHzGcRfE4xvMCDWDL1sZMDqJnPbbYovXzcDOSo6UmDW6Ur5q6yvA3zI2heEzuwDo-4On-j0UcS5JVSTA0Nns1Fi-n84CWjNvgnjoaJFV3V8hk3XRjFypmz7Lv6Um0aHhnVe_5o6Dje5mIrUxbM-c06Ke_j_wWwDq7jZ6vGgWfb55my9Lz8Tqd2zk/s400/dear-chrysanthemums-9781668012987_lg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="266" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgsCaHzGcRfE4xvMCDWDL1sZMDqJnPbbYovXzcDOSo6UmDW6Ur5q6yvA3zI2heEzuwDo-4On-j0UcS5JVSTA0Nns1Fi-n84CWjNvgnjoaJFV3V8hk3XRjFypmz7Lv6Um0aHhnVe_5o6Dje5mIrUxbM-c06Ke_j_wWwDq7jZ6vGgWfb55my9Lz8Tqd2zk/s320/dear-chrysanthemums-9781668012987_lg.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p>Singaporean-born, Paris-based Fiona Sze-Lorrain is a poet, translator, musician, and now novelist. Her debut work of fiction <i>Dear Chrysanthemums</i> can be read as a novel or as separate interconnected short stories. Set in Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Paris, and New York, the protagonists are all victims of difficult circumstances; young Asian women, alone, vulnerable and struggling to survive displacement and sometimes violence and assault. Despite suffering lifelong mental anguish, they prove emotionally resilient and are keen to connect with the wider world as they construct different personas in challenging and ever-changing landscapes. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>FSL: “What I wanted to work with in the book was parallel destinies, parallel fates, parallel lives and then it evolved into something much more circular… then you had the idea of time and with the years ending with the number six and the connection with Chinese divination. I wanted to look into women’s lives when there exists a bigger sweep of history in the background and then you have all the little personal struggles in life that put together has a narrative. It’s a novel in stories. You can read everything as a novel but at the same time you can read each story just as a story in itself and it stands on its own. And that in itself, that concept, is already a parallel destiny in a way.” </p><p>The women’s lives are interwoven with historic/political events and characters. Mao’s favourite opera is mentioned and Madame Chiang Kai-shek’s favourite salad becomes the theme of a tale. </p><p>FSL: “It's my attempt at trying to understand what history is and what historical figures are really exactly and also the idea of authenticity. I believe that the important thing in life, really, is to re-live an authentic life behind the image, behind the mask, behind the social role, which is what all the other women are also struggling with all the time, you know the construction of different selves. In the book I even started to poke fun at the historical figures sometimes. I also had a lot of fun to make them exist in worlds next to, for instance, a corpse, in <i>Death at the Wukang Mansion, </i>and, in <i>News from Saigon,</i> an old French writer alongside a waitress and a waiter. So beyond creating a democracy between all the different narratives and voices, I'm looking at how the parallel and conflicting possibilities of history versus present and what is present and what is history anyway? Ultimately there's no real binary opposites. I'm consistently trying to dismantle that. And so in a way we are starting to normalize and see Madam Chiang Kai-shek, it's not Madam Chiang Kai-shek but a woman who wants to eat a potato salad that's called <i>sela</i>. So there are huge figures in it and there are also very interesting, you know, what we call ordinary people. I think the word <i>ordinary</i>, it's not all that ordinary after all. So ordinary lives are really far more than ordinary.” </p><p>In this work of historical fiction Sze-Lorrain goes beyond exploring well known political figures, she delves into political landscapes. One narrative she develops, for instance in <i>The Invisible Window</i>, is around the taboo topic of Tiananmen Square. </p><p>FSL: “I was just very interested because we don't know much about Tiananmen Square. We're not allowed to know much about Tiananmen Square” Readers wouldn’t be to blame if they wondered whether her accounts of the event are completely fictional. FSL:” Yes and no. Fictional, fictionalized only because the details were a composite. But in fact, it's not made up. It is a composite truth. A composite character, a composite of details. So in that sense, they are fictionalized. But the emotional truth and the emotional honesty, there's a certain level of truth. I do have friends who have been through Tiananmen. That was back then in 1989 and now we are in 2023. These people have aged. They live all over the world now, in fact. Yet we don't know much of it - of Tiananmen. And what struck me was the collective amnesia there. Like just in 30 years, everything was just gone. except for what we have as dialogues, memories, which by the way are absolutely unreliable. …Documentations, but dispersed throughout the whole world.” </p><p>Sze-Lorrain describes the experience of tackling a new writing genre. </p><p>FSL: “It is not difficult, but it's not easy. Once you think about difficulty, then that will become a problem. It's more about the desire of whether you want to do it or not. If you have a desire to write a poem, you would do it. If you have a desire to write fiction, you would do it. If you have a desire to tell a story, you have to tell a story. Technique-wise, however, that's something else. It's like driving a different kind of car, taming a different kind of horse…that is actually apart from the desire. I find the desire a much more interesting vehicle, discourse, and how to stay motivated in that desire. Poetry and fiction each has its own difficulties and ease. Poetry is a lot about waiting. It's about waiting and listening. And you can create that poetry in fiction too, by (practising the art of) waiting and listening in the storytelling in itself. But when it comes to fiction, I think you have to let the story push you. You can come out with a plot, and then the next day you come back, and you see what you've written: nothing works. And then something else, again, another series of action. I do not think everyone has the same experience or working method…that's what it is for me.” Ultimately, she says she is less interested in the nomenclature or even the material “technique” of working in different artistic genres. The key she asserts is the actual creative process - “it’s about the quality of energy one brings to the creative process.”</p><p><b>Details</b>: <i>Dear Chrysanthemums</i> is published by Simon & Schuster, in paperback, priced in local currencies. </p><p><br /></p>Rosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-55838977222978514852023-11-16T09:13:00.009+08:002023-11-16T10:28:21.621+08:00The Siege of Tsingtau: The German-Japanese War 1914 by Charles Stephenson.<p>World War I in the Far East was a sideshow in the grand
scheme of things, but it had long-reaching implications, setting up further
conflict in the region. Nevertheless, the main action, the Battle of Tsingtau,
was full of drama, bravery, and suffering, which is covered in the book – <i>The
Siege of Tsingtau: The German-Japanese War 1914 </i>by Charles Stephenson.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEiTW_PvDSCaLOcAdBWz8x1q-RejpZoJH_YYkX5jv40pOTHhbou_htip9shRz5dXMHUeZWgNknwFSJPBrApTlY4KiXxm829ky4swZIkGOla2slYxzGIt1Ni9dgBNQFDLaOwNdFMdgvaKgLhX4AGwKeIGeSsajI1pCVfoJJSdTMKAT9gLzq73t2zATBwv10/s1000/Siege%20of%20Tsingtau.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="671" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEiTW_PvDSCaLOcAdBWz8x1q-RejpZoJH_YYkX5jv40pOTHhbou_htip9shRz5dXMHUeZWgNknwFSJPBrApTlY4KiXxm829ky4swZIkGOla2slYxzGIt1Ni9dgBNQFDLaOwNdFMdgvaKgLhX4AGwKeIGeSsajI1pCVfoJJSdTMKAT9gLzq73t2zATBwv10/w271-h404/Siege%20of%20Tsingtau.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Tsingtau, more commonly known as Tsingtao or Qingdao, is
a city on China’s Yellow Sea coast and as such, was coveted by imperial powers.
Following the murder of two German priests, Germany took advantage and forced
China to lease Tsingtau to them, turning it into a massive naval base. Kaiser Wilhelm
II had grand dreams of a naval empire to rival Britain and Tsingtau was seen as
a mere stepping stone, one where German ships could refuel as they traveled across
the Pacific to the many other German possessions in New Guinea and the Marshall
Islands.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, German ambitions ran up against the plans of the
Japanese Empire, which also wanted to expand its influence in China. After concluding
the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1902, Britain pressured Japan to enter the war
in August 1914 in order to clear out German colonies in Asia. The Japanese government
saw this as a golden opportunity and sent an ultimatum for Germany to abandon
its colonies, which she ignored. As such, Japan entered the war on the Entente’s
side.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Japanese Navy easily seized the islands in the Pacific,
often without a fight, but Tsingtau was the main prize, and as such, it was heavily
fortified. The book gives a detailed account of the German defenses and the
Japanese Army’s invasion of the Shantung Peninsula, under the command of General
Mitsuomi Kamio, while the Japanese Navy blockaded the harbor.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The battle actually saw heavy cooperation between the Japanese
Army and Navy, ironic since interservice rivalry would plague Japan during the
Second World War. After the Japanese Army took Prince Heinrich Hill in
September 1914, an important vantage point, they settled in for a long siege,
since Tsingtau was heavily guarded by three large German forts. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The battle was also notable for its use of aircraft in
warfare, possibly the first in history. The German pilot Lieutenant Gunther
Plüschow achieved fame by flying his Etrich Taube plane over Japanese lines for
reconnaissance. The Japanese also had aircraft and, allegedly, the first aerial
combat happened over Tsingtau with pistol potshots, although the book casts doubt
on this.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kaiser Wilhelm ordered the German Naval garrison to hold out
as long as possible, saying, “It would shame me more to surrender Tsingtau to
the Japanese, than Berlin to the Russians.” It should be noted that Kaiser
Wilhelm was virulently anti-Japanese and is the man who originated the term “the
Yellow Peril.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, the fall of Tsingtau was never in doubt for either
the Japanese or the Germans, but it was a brutal siege. The Germans shelled the
Japanese trenches daily, but when the Japanese Army brought its heavy artillery
up in late October, the end was near. When the Germans ran out of shells on November
6<sup>th</sup>, the Japanese made their final charge, breaking
through their third line of defense. The next day, the German garrison
surrendered the fort. Japanese staff officers had learned lessons from the brutal
siege of Port Arthur and roughly followed the same strategy, albeit with far
fewer casualties. The entire Japanese conduct of the war was conducted efficiently,
earning the praise of many Western observers and even the Germans themselves.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While the battle itself made no real impact on the war at
large, its effects were long-lasting. The Versailles Treaty granted the Shantung
province to Japan, enraging the Chinese and leading to the May 4<sup>th</sup>
Movement, often called the birth of modern Chinese nationalism. Emboldened by their
success, the Japanese presented the infamous 21 Demands on China in 1915, leading
to a backlash by Western powers, especially from America. These demands were
later toned down. Most importantly, the Japanese were granted the German possessions
in the Pacific Ocean, which they later began fortifying. During World War II, American
troops fought bloody battles with Japanese forces on these islands that were
surrendered without a fight in 1914.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>The Siege of Tsingtau: The German-Japanese War 1914 </i>is
not a book for a casual reader. Rather, it’s a book for people interested in
military history and those already familiar with the First World War. However,
it fills an important gap in the war, which should be appreciated by every student
of history.<o:p></o:p></p>Matthew Legarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06541411598345441029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-473014871635764502023-10-27T16:48:00.018+08:002023-10-27T23:15:23.699+08:00Fantabulous Nonya cookbook author Sharon Wee dishes on the new edition of Growing Up In A Nonya Kitchen<p><b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiTBW3WqeK_MoANAE3junKIg50GN3cU1-Wzrs7aXFp3C6Q2g_SD_VPuS27k1_PD70Hv_buhTIdz42E4MCIXfC49UilimgpYjq0Wu1Qjynce1jRGFn-h430n1lZebbS7iL7JYWkoNiMJ0lpU1-clbxe9SN3MhvCZWSDflPrBKBTHAvPMH4HiCBR9X_xgg/s1798/905B2463-4EF9-4856-8128-DE4EF91F29FA.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1798" data-original-width="1440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggiTBW3WqeK_MoANAE3junKIg50GN3cU1-Wzrs7aXFp3C6Q2g_SD_VPuS27k1_PD70Hv_buhTIdz42E4MCIXfC49UilimgpYjq0Wu1Qjynce1jRGFn-h430n1lZebbS7iL7JYWkoNiMJ0lpU1-clbxe9SN3MhvCZWSDflPrBKBTHAvPMH4HiCBR9X_xgg/w320-h400/905B2463-4EF9-4856-8128-DE4EF91F29FA.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Author</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">About the Author:</span></b></div><p></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Sharon Wee was born and raised in Singapore, graduating from the National University of Singapore. She worked for Mars Confectionery in Hong Kong and China in the 1990s. She has an MBA from New York University and resides in Manhattan where she trained at the French Culinary Institute. Her recipes have been featured in the <i>New York Times</i> and the <i>Washington Post</i> and she has given interviews about her Peranakan heritage. She chronicles her food experiences on Instagram @nonya.global. Sharon frequently returns to Singapore. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqLXacRPT8Hxl4AzkPxUiIQ9alhNiDJda_jXVvu8Tx6YZnoFXOM8RY8WdY7jfAquaHof_K2eKYWZJgB6q8bsgg-ae1H-wpNVRLQhVz8aNaYapUCuftsiHRjXcwkgb_UHkxsx2b57GNGwEIjjED7hsyy_W125NSKkfhfbqR_79P57rPSzJeam5ITeihUA/s1280/IMG_9923.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="944" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqLXacRPT8Hxl4AzkPxUiIQ9alhNiDJda_jXVvu8Tx6YZnoFXOM8RY8WdY7jfAquaHof_K2eKYWZJgB6q8bsgg-ae1H-wpNVRLQhVz8aNaYapUCuftsiHRjXcwkgb_UHkxsx2b57GNGwEIjjED7hsyy_W125NSKkfhfbqR_79P57rPSzJeam5ITeihUA/w295-h400/IMG_9923.jpeg" width="295" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Author</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Synopsis:</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">This is a cookbook, and an intimate memoir, giving readers a sense of what it felt like to grow up in a Peranakan Chinese family ― descendants of local womenfolk and the earliest Chinese settlers to Southeast Asia.</span><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">As a fifth-generation Nonya (honorific for female Peranakans) from both sides of her family, Sharon Wee recollects her life in Singapore. She interviewed older relatives and recreated her mother’s personalized recipes, many orally passed down for generations.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><i>Growing Up in a Nonya Kitchen</i> was originally published in 2012. This updated edition includes revised recipes and cooking methods, with more detailed explanations and guidance for the young or unfamiliar cook to Peranakan food, spiced with a dose of humour. It also includes new contributions by subject experts on the heritage and beautiful cultural legacy of the Peranakans.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">***</p><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: Welcome to Asian Books Blog, Sharon. What an honour to have you. Thank you for sending me your wonderful cookbook, <i>Growing Up In A Nonya Kitchen</i>; it’s refreshingly novel that you’ve embedded a memoir plus cultural commentary on the world of the Peranakans that expand beyond cuisine. Why did you choose this blended approach? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SW: When I considered publishing my book in the early 2000s, I was cognisant of the fact that there had already been a few established Peranakan cookbooks. Yet, very little was told about the significance of the food and how we ate – the moments we shared, the celebrations, the customs. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I wove the memoir in to give readers a sense of our culture, and I revolved it around my mother’s life because she was from a vanishing generation of women whose lives focused on raising a family, keeping a home, all while being compromised in their education. Cooking was their currency. I’d like to think that this format of a cookbook memoir with headers elaborating on the dish, was not as common as what you see these days. </span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a> <p></p><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: Can you share more specifics as to what changes and updates you have included from the original 2012 edition, as well as why you have included them?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SW: By the time 2021 came around, I geared up for my 10</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> anniversary edition. By then, there had been a global interest in who the Peranakans were. I assume that part of it stems from the popularity of the book and movie <i>Crazy Rich Asians</i>, as well as the matter that my book was embroiled in in the fall of 2021. There was heightened interest in my original edition. However, that book had been written for a more intimate local audience familiar with the cooking methods and nuances of Peranakan food.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It made no sense to do a new edition by simply spiffing up the design and cover. A new generation of readers around the world deserved to learn more, and those who already had my original edition, would only be compelled to buy a new edition if there was additional information. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">On a practical level, ingredients change somewhat, over time. Our eating habits change, too: we may not want too much sweetness for health reasons. I also learn more about the availability, substitution and similarities of ingredients across cultures and countries. Recipe instructions have improved significantly. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">There are clearer signposts, cooking cues, more details to guide a new cook. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">In summary, the changes I made included:<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 9.333333015441895px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 9.333333015441895px;"> ☞</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Reorganised recipe sections to guide a cook step by step<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">☞</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Rewritten recipe instructions<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> ☞</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Subtle quantity changes in ingredients<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> ☞</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Weekly menu planning table<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> ☞</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Matrix for various vegetable options<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> ☞ </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Suggested menus<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">☞</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Instructional photos for wrapping spring rolls, rice dumplings and a dessert <br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">☞</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Tips and Techniques for planning Chinese New Year, Baking and Desserts<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">☞</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Essays about the Peranakan Culture (Food Culture, Genetics, Women’s Progress, Language, Jewellery, Kebaya attire)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: -18pt;">EC: I love how detailed your recipes are, infused with your generosity and hospitality. Whereas celebrity chefs would show a seductive image of a complex dish and a recipe that breaks down to one page, yours are often two pages. Your popiah recipe includes table layout, as well as detailed images on how to roll a popiah! The process of writing this cookbook must have been laborious? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SW: I love writing. That was the easy part. The hardest bits were recipe testing, photo shoot, designing and editing. I am a believer that to tell a story, you have to provide a full picture. I was at dinner last night and while my friends absolutely love Peking Duck, they needed some guidance on how to wrap the pancake around the duck. It’s the same way when I have bulgogi and my Korean friend gently instructs me on how to do it correctly.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I was not publishing this book for a quick buck. It was really to preserve my heritage for posterity and to satisfy my readers, I won’t shortchange them on the details. </span></div><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[endif]--></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7ahGOOoYlFFcH2wF1lZSbn9pNGDCS3JMhyphenhyphen2InWnT-q8I1JTBGlObnb1hN0dEk16b7pv7xIOq9jCgzKbyY77M5cYC6onD5NrsC0tD6RjuLPR-mhu5tHpKoJSqvKaQFClPqzznxSa81_ROofCcWp5uCI06WgQbneFe9PkYIaCAz5M3RIi46ssR1OsgVv0/s1280/IMG_9924.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1004" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7ahGOOoYlFFcH2wF1lZSbn9pNGDCS3JMhyphenhyphen2InWnT-q8I1JTBGlObnb1hN0dEk16b7pv7xIOq9jCgzKbyY77M5cYC6onD5NrsC0tD6RjuLPR-mhu5tHpKoJSqvKaQFClPqzznxSa81_ROofCcWp5uCI06WgQbneFe9PkYIaCAz5M3RIi46ssR1OsgVv0/w314-h400/IMG_9924.jpeg" width="314" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making Popiah. Courtesy of Author</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: Would you share with us your hopes for this edition? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SW: I am surprised and thrilled that my book has stood the test of time. I felt a calling to recognise my mother’s life and remember my heritage in the best way I could articulate it, through the food and the memories I grew up with. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Like I told my friends ten years ago, I am not seeking to be a celebrity chef. The book was truly meant to be a document of a time gone by. That hope stays on. The additional hope now is that this book will be in the pantheon of classics one turns to, to learn about Singapore’s history, the Peranakan culture and the real details of nostalgic food within that framework.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: I particularly love the map you included of Katong, Joo Chiat, and Telok Kurau, since those are my stomping grounds. What is the significance of those areas to Peranakan cuisine?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SW: I actually grew up in this area and the map depicts my neighbourhood. What began as a seaside holiday enclave eventually grew to be a residential area for old families. My family has been there for at least four generations. Ironically, the area has become increasingly hip and trendy, but let’s not forget the long-lasting influences Katong has had in so many of our lives, particularly the Peranakans. We went to school there, we frequented the provision shops and local markets, bought tapau (takeaway) from famous hawkers, spent lazy afternoons visiting friends and families in the neighbourhood. It has its own identity and a very strong one at that. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: You poignantly draw our attention to the Peranakan kitchen, quoting Baba Peter Lee</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">, who referred to the Peranakan kitchen as “perot rumah” (“the stomach of the house”). Juxtaposed against the historically defined social role of the Nonya, how has this shaped your own approach to cooking, and to writing this cookbook?<br /><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SW: In almost every culture, food is what binds societies together. I just visited a Maasai chief’s home and his hearth was in his bedroom, to keep him warm and to prepare his food. His wife cooked. That hearth was in the middle of his small humble dwelling. The same goes with modern home renovations; many choose to make the kitchen an open showcase in the middle of the home, inviting action, gatherings and discourse among family and guests. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I’d like to think, having grown up in a Peranakan family, that the women wore the trousers in the home. They were really the matriarchs who called the shots, going so far as supplementing a household income with their kueh desserts in times of economic distress (such as World War II). At the same time, there could be a tendency to be insular within the confines of this rigid system and with the advent of education, I think these matriarchs just got even more resourceful. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">My life has been a reflection of this transition. If not for the tools acquired from education, I might never have had the gumption to document my roots and memorialise the secrets of the kitchen for posterity. </span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGv-7KBofqmGHUTzowtcChmDhPxWqAnsrlQYleSfdFBC2Rxntj3U0xslgzZ5E52qTz8A-vwkYdKC8Czpl1i77pL_c66h9f02dzgaWUmiGHFdjG4eKKWjSCGVZ0Qhh0Fu8N6-HGxUcvp6f00NxKurnJNO-LweTlk5CxawVINdVcpKRY-mZ4O3bjVtC9Kk/s2016/IMG_3887.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1406" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGv-7KBofqmGHUTzowtcChmDhPxWqAnsrlQYleSfdFBC2Rxntj3U0xslgzZ5E52qTz8A-vwkYdKC8Czpl1i77pL_c66h9f02dzgaWUmiGHFdjG4eKKWjSCGVZ0Qhh0Fu8N6-HGxUcvp6f00NxKurnJNO-LweTlk5CxawVINdVcpKRY-mZ4O3bjVtC9Kk/w279-h400/IMG_3887.jpg" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharon Wee at the London Book Fair. Courtesy of Author</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: I was also struck by what a melting pot of influence Peranakan cuisine is, from the Anglophile fruitcake to a Chinese mooncake recipe. Growing up, how did you see these different influences playing out in shaping your own culinary predilections? Did you feel drawn towards one more than others? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SW: I definitely felt more Anglophilic, judging by my frequent trips to London and my weakness for Fortnum teas, gin and tonic, and sticky toffee pudding! Yet, I am only one of the many Peranakans who are that way by our upbringing – convent or mission school-educated, loyalty to the Queen (or King in my parents’ generation), gratitude to the colonial opportunities to work in the Civil Service or British trading houses. Those identifiers simply reinforced our predilection for all things English. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">While I struggled with learning Mandarin, I was nonetheless growing up in a multi-cultural society, particularly at a time when Mandarin was encouraged as a second language and the mother tongue in school. The love for mooncakes derived from interacting with purely Chinese friends (the chef was Malaysian Chinese, by the way) who taught us to appreciate these delicacies. Let’s not forget that while I am Peranakan Chinese, we still honour our Chinese ancestors through our food. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: Tell us more about your "agak-agak" philosophy. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SW: Agak agak means to estimate. My pet peeve is when “agak-agak’ is defined as “guesstimate”. It really isn’t. There is more calculation than there is guessing. The cook engages her senses to gauge what else needs to be adjusted – be it lessening the salty taste, blending a more refined sambal paste, being attuned to the sizzling of the rempah in the saucepan so that it does not scorch, feeling the stickiness in a dough and adding more flour if too sticky. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The same goes with the combination of ingredients. There are many recipes these days that beg you to consider – would you eat it? There has to be a good combination balance of textures, flavours that go together. It’s an educated guess but one that is really concocted by someone who knows how to cook, understands enough of the different components to know that putting them together is workable, and delicious! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: I love the many personages and relatives floating through the cookbook. Do you agree that a cookbook is a collective endeavour, just as eating a meal is a communal happiness-making activity?<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SW: Yes indeed. We learn from one another and it is important to credit those who taught me things I didn’t know. My grandaunt, my Aunty Paddy, my sisters and of course, my mother. It explains why I would go the lengths to protect those who helped me put this book together. I cherish and am deeply grateful for their selfless help and want to preserve their memory with this book. Let’s not forget, there was at least one generation of these women, think of them in this way, their education was not to the max, they could have been accomplished writers, lawyers, career professionals. But their destiny was in the kitchen and cooking was their badge of identity. They felt vulnerable sharing their cooking secrets to the world and yet, they trusted me. So, it is my responsibility to always ensure I’d never forget to honour them. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: What is your "comfort food" or "staple dish" that you might make for family when in New York?<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SW: Oh so many! My kids love tauk yu bak (pork stewed in dark soy sauce) or Hainanese pork chops (a popular Singapore heritage dish). I crave for my own chicken curry, best eaten with a fresh French baguette, lots of potatoes and hard-boiled egg. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: Thank you, Sharon, for joining us on AsianBooksBlog!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">*NB: <i>Growing Up In A Nonya Kitchen </i>is available for purchase from <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Growing-Nonya-Kitchen-Peranakan-Singapore/dp/9815084070/ref=sr_1_1?crid=SLPZUKLY4VEA&keywords=sharon+wee&qid=1698336729&sprefix=sharon+wee+%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon </a>and <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Growing-Up-In-A-Nonya-Kitchen-by-Sharon-Wee/9789815084078" target="_blank">Blackwells UK</a>. </span></div>E.P. Chiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952934075736969157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-79476532816492952292023-10-14T23:53:00.002+08:002023-10-15T04:33:05.678+08:00Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi - a Gothic Horror Sci-fi Fantasy<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBQGNKS5PoCCFLXBn3EWt80qfUjZ82QRwtyqybkPBXulWHwaWTNcIyqpc22Y6SiYczMvYueIfU1dGyx9_uYiuqBX8OdR2tJkLzh73-CgapMtoLvyGcFgk_-e_nXbfAsPrXZO1601EsfShPwLcvMPCGu9XPc_kLKyQ4V2DMO9VzMV8HLii58TGwZFefvMJ/s1000/Vampire%20Hunter%20D%20novel.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="702" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBQGNKS5PoCCFLXBn3EWt80qfUjZ82QRwtyqybkPBXulWHwaWTNcIyqpc22Y6SiYczMvYueIfU1dGyx9_uYiuqBX8OdR2tJkLzh73-CgapMtoLvyGcFgk_-e_nXbfAsPrXZO1601EsfShPwLcvMPCGu9XPc_kLKyQ4V2DMO9VzMV8HLii58TGwZFefvMJ/w287-h408/Vampire%20Hunter%20D%20novel.jpg" width="287" /></a></div>In the distant future, humanity clusters in small villages,
reduced to a medieval style of living, while monsters, demons, and vampires
roam the outskirts of civilization. It’s a hard life, full of danger,
witchcraft, and death – this is the world of <i>Vampire Hunter D</i>.<p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Written by Hideyuki Kikuchi in 1983, <i>Vampire Hunter D</i>
is the first entry into a long-running novel series. To date, there are 40
novels, along with numerous short stories and novellas, spanning an enormous
time period, locales, and characters, 30 of which have been translated into English.
I, like most Westerners, discovered <i>Vampire Hunter D</i> through the 1985
OVA (Original Video Animation) which aired during the 90s on the Sci-Fi
Channel’s <i>Saturday Anime</i> series.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was unlike anything I’d ever seen at the time – dark,
mature, and bloody, the perfect fodder for a teenager in the 90s. It lived
rent-free in my head for years, so when I discovered they had, at long last,
translated the novels, I picked up the first.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The novel’s plot is very similar to the OVA in that Doris, a
tough farmer girl on the frontier, hires D, a dark, laconic, and stoic vampire
hunter. She’s been plagued by the vampire lord Count Magnus Lee, who seeks to
take her for his latest bride. The world of <i>Vampire Hunter D</i> is fleshed
out more in the novel, detailing how after a nuclear war, the vampires, aka the
“Nobles”, emerged from their hiding to take over. The Vampire Nobles ruled for
hundreds of years, creating mutant monsters and feeding on humans, only to
later fall into disrepute.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">D accepts Doris’s offer and even storms Count Lee’s castle.
No mere human, he’s a Dhampir, a half-human, half-vampire, but despised by both
worlds. During his assault on Lee’s castle, he’s captured and tossed to a
three-headed female monster, only to turn the table around and suck its blood,
after it had become enamored with D’s beauty.
That’s another thing. D is described as absolutely gorgeous in multiple
passages, the epitome of dark and brooding gothic beauty. What’s more, it’s
rumored D is descended from vampire royalty. Three guesses what the D in his
name stands for.</p><p class="MsoNormal">All the other characters from the OVA are there too. Doris’s
kid brother, Dan, Grecko, the slimy son of the village mayor eager to make Doris
his bride, Larmica, the Count’s villainous daughter, and Rei, a mutant and D’s rival,
eager to become a Noble himself and gain immortality.</p><p class="MsoNormal">As mentioned, the story is mostly similar to the OVA, but
with some slight differences. Rei is probably the most different, since, in the
novel, he leads a gang of mutant bandits called the Fiend Corps. While he
ultimately occupies the same role, i.e. being dispatched to kill D, his
ultimate fate is much different in the novel.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Vampire Hunter D</i> is what the Japanese call a light novel
(<i>raito noberu</i>), that is, a type of novel written for younger readers –
but not too young – with more simple prose, accompanied by illustrations. While
the prose in <i>Vampire Hunter D</i> is nothing amazing, it’s leagues better
than other light novels, which is to the credit of Kikuchi. Born in 1949,
Kikuchi was inspired heavily by the 1958 Hammer film – <i>Horror of Dracula</i>,
starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kikuchi already had success as a writer with the popular
1982 novel <i>Demon City Shinjuku </i>(also later adapted into an anime OVA), but
when he tried pitching the book as a fantasy horror novel, he found publishers
weren’t interested. While there had been some vampire media in Japanese pop
culture, they were far and few between. But the Japanese have long had a deep
love for science fiction, so Kikuchi tweaked his story to be set in the post-apocalyptic
future, filled with futuristic technology alongside a medieval setting. Peasant
farmers use laser rifles to beat back mutants and werewolves, people ride in
carriages drawn by cybernetic horses, and robot security systems monitor gothic
castles. It’s especially interesting to see what is, ostensibly, European
culture through the lens of a Japanese writer is, twisted into a dark and
ghoulish fantasy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kikuchi is one of Japan’s most famous horror novelists, with
his <i>Demon City Shinjuku</i> series, his <i>Wicked City</i> series, and his <i>Vampire
Hunter D</i> series, arguably his biggest hit. The first novel was a hit and,
as mentioned, spawned a massive franchise, still being published to this day.
He never forgot the inspiration for the series though, as the villain, Count
Lee, is an homage to Christopher Lee’s performance in <i>Horror of Dracula.</i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you want a foreboding and dark fantasy novel with sci-fi
and adventure elements for spooky season, all told through the lens of Japan, then
give <i>Vampire Hunter D</i> a read.<o:p></o:p></p>Matthew Legarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06541411598345441029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-3288809621149862392023-10-12T00:22:00.005+08:002023-10-12T00:37:24.745+08:00No Funeral for Nazia, interview with Taha Kehar<p><i> No Funeral for Nazia </i>is Pakistani journalist and writer Taha Kehar’s third and latest work of fiction. The story highlights some of the complexity in his hometown Karachi.</p><p>He speaks to <b>Devika Misra</b>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiAL0OoYU99hRqgJhFc9L7kGsYMu6MULH2SMtC0e0IQHUX7AyYiNoPR2N0y6YiVOQQ1hUf_j8hyphenhyphenAirfmVT6uYypBQZg2Ix1sjf38Oq_XFLCObAkktuaa_8EHrkeSxeS5uimm7xceZlQA06In7E7Mc1QsH-Kr51gt0RuUavcvOaFRpvRn3pvk6P3IpJeY/s2551/Cover_No_Funeral_For_Nazia.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2551" data-original-width="1594" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiAL0OoYU99hRqgJhFc9L7kGsYMu6MULH2SMtC0e0IQHUX7AyYiNoPR2N0y6YiVOQQ1hUf_j8hyphenhyphenAirfmVT6uYypBQZg2Ix1sjf38Oq_XFLCObAkktuaa_8EHrkeSxeS5uimm7xceZlQA06In7E7Mc1QsH-Kr51gt0RuUavcvOaFRpvRn3pvk6P3IpJeY/s320/Cover_No_Funeral_For_Nazia.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>TK: There are two different Pakistans, You have the Pakistan of the elite and then you have the Pakistan that is fairly steeped in middle class values.”<span></span></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>People tend to think of Pakistan as a conservative Muslim country. This narrative however, tells the life story of an unconventional Pakistani woman; upper-class writer and single mother Nazia. Her lovers include her brother-in-law, a female co-worker and the colleague’s husband, these dalliances taken on with seeming nonchalance. Apparently this is all perfectly well accepted within Nazia’s tight circle of friends and family - something of an open secret. There is no evidence that these dealings have soured relationships among this rather incestuous circle. <p></p><p>I asked Taha if he meant this to be reflective of a certain section of society.</p><p>TK “It's not reflective, but perhaps indicative of the way people live their lives in a particular segment of elite society, as opposed to be representative of it entirely, I wouldn't want to use the word representative in that sense. There is a very small section - the choices Nazia makes are fairly unconventional.”</p><p>One such choice, as the title suggests, is that protagonist Nazia decides to forgo traditional death rituals and not have mourners at her funeral - atypical to say the least.</p><p>TK: “I don't think anybody would take that risk, to not have a funeral completely as to do without the rights and rituals of death and come up with your own set of traditions altogether. It would be frowned upon in certain segments of society, even the elite would probably say we cannot break away from that, but she's somewhat unconventional and she has her way of getting away with it.”</p><p>Upon her death, Nazia leaves instructions for her sister to hold a party for her instead of a funeral - but not just any party, a hypnotherapy party!</p><p>TK: “The motif of hypnotherapy was interesting to me because what is hypnotherapy? It's a way of healing. It's a way of recognizing that you have certain challenges that you need to overcome. And in many ways it was indicative of personal conflicts. There was so much that was going on in the first hundred pages. You have a father and a daughter clashing with one another. You have friends who are constantly arguing and bickering but they're on the surface friendly with each other. So there's a lot of a lot that needs to be unpacked, a lot that needs to be questioned, understood - beyond the personal conflicts as well.”</p><p>Complementing the lifestyles of the elite is another theme, the vast and deep inequities that plague South Asia. Ever present in Nazia’s story are her maids. I asked Taha if it was a conscious decision to give the household staff a voice.</p><p>TK: “Yes. Karachi, Pakistan itself, it’s a landscape of inequality. There's socioeconomic inequality, there are so many gender related issues here, so many confrontations, sectarian issues, that somehow, someway these seep into the domestic sphere of the elite, whether it's in the dynamic between the domestic help and the employer, or maybe in the relationship between partners. I think it was a conscious decision because here they are, in a drawing room having the most unconventional party ever, celebrating death, an anti -funeral of sorts, but even the maids, they have their opinions on what's going on. They would much rather that the traditional rituals are followed. So, I wanted the maids to have an opinion because usually when you think about the employer and servant, to use that horrible word, <i>relationship, </i>you often have this relationship of subservience and dominance, and I wanted to challenge that in a way, while also being aware of the ground realities of it. So it was pretty conscious, yeah.”</p><p>Taha’s tale is as much about its characters as it is about the some 17 million strong, sprawling city that he grew up in.</p><p>TK: “Karachi and perhaps Pakistan itself is considered to be a very unstable country and it's perhaps a stereotype because I live here and I know that there is some semblance of life here that goes beyond that definition of instability. I was intrigued by the idea of Karachi's past and its present, how the present is informed by its past politically. Perhaps the internal politics as well because we see things happening around us and we don't really question how those will impact us in the long term so if you've lived through a riot in the 90s it's bound to have an impact on you somehow. I grew up in the Karachi of the 90s and 2000s and it was fairly chaotic. It was a violent city back then as well, there were certain things I started not doing. I made sure that if I was in a crowd I'd check if my phone was still in my pocket or I wouldn't be walking on a dark street at night because there's always that fear of street crime. So there's certain things you unconsciously start doing. So I think it was very conscious because Karachi’s past and present has been very much a part of my body of work so far.”</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpw1rQ10XJ-r7fyfmvALdcz-Sj5iYtYfNXD4Rg5ClHqJfaEyIgh0zyu2cZkw6VQ9Jqevq20slrXk0jYJvOMlZkt2b_ER_aZRZ1xACVrzbxOp9qrH_JBq7BnSjS5n871Bem4Rt0uvSiAXo_VMWphOwMD_2bM9aoXO0Syowz7YibjVFC9TpqgmZ6c4vhb1c/s4032/Taha%20Kehar%20Headshot%201%20(1).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpw1rQ10XJ-r7fyfmvALdcz-Sj5iYtYfNXD4Rg5ClHqJfaEyIgh0zyu2cZkw6VQ9Jqevq20slrXk0jYJvOMlZkt2b_ER_aZRZ1xACVrzbxOp9qrH_JBq7BnSjS5n871Bem4Rt0uvSiAXo_VMWphOwMD_2bM9aoXO0Syowz7YibjVFC9TpqgmZ6c4vhb1c/s320/Taha%20Kehar%20Headshot%201%20(1).JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p><b>Details</b>: <i>No Funeral for Nazia</i> will be published by NeemTree Press (UK) on the 19th of October 2023 and will be available in paperback. Priced in local currencies.</p>Rosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-74093557004842788142023-10-09T21:10:00.006+08:002023-10-09T21:18:37.072+08:00The Plot Twists In Singapore<p>Southeast Asia’s largest literary extravaganza, The Singapore Writers Festival, will be held next month. Now in its 26th edition, this year’s theme is “Plot Twist”. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsi9_b5Rm3Irhe6uAvsjThBx1qgBjVZ6pGJzbshWdeEbJksXyG4GLW5liqE7vUHorYEYk9UHLBcbEZeeZFb_q9RYuCQOj93yLdfaVmwprqoGLRMQaXWqBxLpexm2hlvCzo3_LBFhTMclnkkAau5JtbIop41sQHmsArbqPCp6mxxY9oZflEPxpORxFdvc/s1100/SWFimage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1100" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsi9_b5Rm3Irhe6uAvsjThBx1qgBjVZ6pGJzbshWdeEbJksXyG4GLW5liqE7vUHorYEYk9UHLBcbEZeeZFb_q9RYuCQOj93yLdfaVmwprqoGLRMQaXWqBxLpexm2hlvCzo3_LBFhTMclnkkAau5JtbIop41sQHmsArbqPCp6mxxY9oZflEPxpORxFdvc/s320/SWFimage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><b>Devika Misra </b>spoke to Festival Director Pooja Nansi about what audiences can expect at the upcoming event.</p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>2023, SWF says, is all “about unexpected combinations and unlikely connections.” …Such as? </p><p>…Literature and hip hop for one. Nansi admits “being a bit of a hip-hop nerd” herself, she wanted to celebrate the movement’s 50th anniversary.</p><p>PN: “We're exploring its very close relationship with poetry and how it's become its own kind of global presence and language. So we've got a series of five programs across the youth range….and we've got one for children by rapper BGourd ….who dresses up in a bitter gourd suit and he's teaching kids how to come up with their own rap persona.”</p><p>The festival will also have its share of literary heavyweights.</p><p>Scholar and literary critic Gayatri Chakrobarty Spivak will hold “an informal conversation about her activism in between flying in from a Marxist feminist conference and flying out to teach rural children in Kolkata.”</p><p>Audiences will also be able to get up close with Pulitzer prize winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen ("The Sympathizer") as part of the festival’s “Tiny Room” series, a space that holds only about 50 people.</p><p>Singaporean poet, dramatist and novelist the late Goh Poh Seng will also be honoured.</p><p>PN: “I think Goh Poh Seng is very much alive and well. The title of the exhibition is “Tell Bowie, He's Only a Rockstar. I, However, Am A Poet,”. It is what he actually said when David Bowie refused to show up at his house because he said didn’t fraternize with concert promoters. And he told Bowie's people, Tell Bowie, he's only a Rockstar, I, however, am a Poet. And I thought that was like the most badass thing anyone could say. And, David Bowie showed up!”</p><p>Goh Poh Seng’s work will be presented “with a twist”.</p><p>PN “The idea is really to remind people that these are not old people who have passed on and once did important things, but that their legacies really live on today. So one of the programs at the festival is called "There's No Cause for Grief, reading Goh Poh Seng in 2023". We've got very contemporary poets like Cyril Wong, Ang Kia Yee and Zeha I think one of them was born in like 2001… it's very moving to hear them. The family was very kind to give us unpublished work. So these are poems of his that have never seen the light, and it's very moving to see, to hear them in the mouths of poets reading and living today and to feel how immediate he feels when you hear them. The poets said, this feels like it needs an electronic sound and so it's set to music by Chok Kerong who is an amazing musician…it really started off as a tribute to his jazz and poetry.”</p><p>This type of exploration across artistic genres and literary mediums is a focus this year, as are Asian American artists.</p><p>PN: “Fatimah Asghar, of the web series "Brown Girls," has worked across poetry, film, TV, we've got Jeff Chang who's a hip -hop historian and he talks a lot about what the Asian immigrant communities have brought to global cultures in the US. His current book is a biography of Bruce Lee and we've also got Kyeong Mo (Jeffrey Stuckel) who's a punk rocker, a Korean adoptee in America, so he's gonna be talking about the relationship between punk rock and poetry. Jeff Chang is doing a live lecture on the birth of hip hop while spinning because he also used to be a DJ. So he's talking about the birth of the music along with a live demonstration and then there's a DJ set after that.”</p><p>In her five years helming the festival Nansi describes the outreach program as unconventional, featuring events which connect with larger audiences.</p><p>“I've seen more youth attendance at the festival and also a real attempt to reach out beyond traditional audiences at literature festivals, so not just your avid readers and writers but people who are reading and writing but may not think that they are. That's why we've reached into more lifestyle areas like chefs, fashion writers, memoirs … we've had athletes who've written sports memoirs. For me it's really important that the festival is relevant to everyone.”</p><p>Last year, its 25th anniversary, the festival drew in an audience of about 46,000. This year the organisers say they have no idea how many to expect!</p><p>The Singapore Writers Festival will run from the 17th to the 26th of November 2023. Most programmes will take place on the festival grounds in Singapore’s Civic District but some events will be held at different locations across the island. </p><div><br /></div>Rosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-51400918823102942592023-09-29T01:30:00.007+08:002023-09-29T01:32:50.091+08:00Pulitzer finalist Vauhini Vara launches her short story collection This is Salvaged.<p><u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"></u></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSrZAdTG6Tshq5ya68icY0bfop081Q10YxDbX1WmEyK-yABZksLOjXc_G5xFhGOBqo5VTfYUdMgYkX_I5CnwrFx18mF-QwOvol7nOqoDExesOyslKliR14dn4GTA4MYinmAaJqbrJGv5XMzNV9FPZjUys0eqP6tzKf3X4PE8_j0oAmG10HGF8MYQQq2c/s1204/this%20is%20salvaged_art.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSrZAdTG6Tshq5ya68icY0bfop081Q10YxDbX1WmEyK-yABZksLOjXc_G5xFhGOBqo5VTfYUdMgYkX_I5CnwrFx18mF-QwOvol7nOqoDExesOyslKliR14dn4GTA4MYinmAaJqbrJGv5XMzNV9FPZjUys0eqP6tzKf3X4PE8_j0oAmG10HGF8MYQQq2c/w426-h640/this%20is%20salvaged_art.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of W.W. Norton and Author</td></tr></tbody></table><u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></u><p></p><p><u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Synopsis</span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">This is Salvaged</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> (W.W. Norton & Company, 2023).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">A young girl reads the encyclopedia to her elderly neighbor who is descending into dementia. A pair of teenagers seek intimacy as phone-sex operators. A competitive sibling tries to rise above the drunken mess of her own life to become a loving aunt. One sister consumes the ashes of another. And , in the title story, an experimental artist takes on his most ambitious project yet: constructing a life-size ark according to the Bible’s specifications. In a world defined by estrangement, where is communion to be found? The characters in <i>This is Salvaged</i>, unmoored in turbulence, are searching fervently for meaning, through one another. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Author bio.<o:p></o:p></span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Vauhini Vara has been a reporter and editor for the <i>Wall Street Journal</i>, <i>The New Yorker</i>, and the <i>New York Times Magazine</i>, and is the prize-winning author of <i>The Immortal King Rao</i>. She lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwj0kmP-RJKCjH2udOwBV1FCHnuw8qB-9wHGyj75u_tQwp9JFI2FR3fjFxPAoecvq-nh9MwH2DFwM7ynAWJgxcV0MEq4kjjyo7BD43uBJVFKuQXDr226l8K4is26C-OwWW4K3V43ZfG9zdqzgPeHlDkdWSUiL-AfquZwxu_v8UM3cQugDn9LY0UwXyhs/s1971/vauhini%20vara_c_andrew%20altschul.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1918" data-original-width="1971" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwj0kmP-RJKCjH2udOwBV1FCHnuw8qB-9wHGyj75u_tQwp9JFI2FR3fjFxPAoecvq-nh9MwH2DFwM7ynAWJgxcV0MEq4kjjyo7BD43uBJVFKuQXDr226l8K4is26C-OwWW4K3V43ZfG9zdqzgPeHlDkdWSUiL-AfquZwxu_v8UM3cQugDn9LY0UwXyhs/w400-h389/vauhini%20vara_c_andrew%20altschul.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Author</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">_________________<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Congratulations on your short story collection, <i>This is Salvaged</i>. Welcome to AsianBooksBlog. The stories in your collection are complex, multi-faceted and feel so well-imagined they are like novels. What draws you to the short story form?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">VV: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It’s the first form I ever learned, in my first creative-writing class in college, and is really dear to my heart. For at least the first five years or so of my life as a writer — starting with that class — I considered myself a short-story writer and didn’t think I’d ever attempt to write a novel. I think a short story is much more like a poem than like a novel in its reliance on allusion, subtext, and symbolism; I like the way in which much of what makes a short story beautiful lies in its connection to a reader’s — and the writer’s — subconscious.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> With your novel <i>The Immortal King Rao</i> being selected as a finalist for the Pulitzer, which form do you find easier or harder to work with? Is your process the same for writing either?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">VV:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> I love both and find both impossibly difficult! My process is the same for writing both, which is easy to say because the truth is that I don’t have much of a process at all: I open up a document when I have time — whether that’s five minutes or a couple of hours — and tool around for a while. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> My favorite story is probably the title story, where ‘salvaged’ takes on multivalent meanings, including what can’t be salvaged. In your Acknowledgements you mentioned the research you needed to do on how to build an ark. What was that like? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">VV:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> It was great! Being a journalist, I’m a sucker for research, sometimes to a fault (as in, I’ll fall down research rabbit holes that suck me away from the writing itself). In this case, I discovered an old press release about some academic research out of the Georgia Institute of Technology in which a doctoral candidate at the time, Jose Fernandez-Solis, had done some work toward figuring out what it would take, in our time, to build an ark according to the Bible’s specifications. I found Dr. Fernandez-Solis — he’s now an emeritus professor at Texas A&M — and he was generous enough to speculate with me at length, over Zoom, about what a hypothetical artist would need to do in order to build an ark in real life (or, in any case, in my fiction).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> How did you intend this particular theme of ‘salvaged’ and its various meanings to thread through the stories in the collection? (Feel free to mention particular stories too so that readers can get an even fuller sense of the collection)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">VV:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">With all the stories, I wanted to show the ways in which people — even in times of loss or estrangement — strive to find something to hold on to; something they can salvage from even the most wrecked moments in their lives.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> One paragraph in that story I was struck by was how art goers take in art, and how their response says more about class conditioning than aesthetic sensibility. Class shows up in several of the stories in interesting ways: in “What Next”, whether poor people sifted out rat droppings from their flour, and in “Sibyls”, class functions to show that our apartment neighbor’s secrets leach into our homes and bind us in uncommon ways. By contrast, race and culture feel like downplayed factors in the collection. For you, how important are these filters in your stories in the ways they color perception, condition our values and thinking, and govern our conduct?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">VV: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It’s interesting to hear that class comes across as more prominent than race in your reading. My reading of the stories is different (which isn’t to say I think it’s a <i>better </i>reading!); I think race — for many of the characters, Indian-American identity in particular — is deeply woven into the characters’ experiences, for instance, when the narrator of “What Next” mentions the statue in her hometown of the great Dalit thinker and politician B.R. Ambedkar in the context of her community’s expectations for her, or when the narrator’s mother in “Sibyls” makes a racist statement implicitly distinguishing “good” Asian immigrants like themselves from “bad” ones like the ones she’s targeting. Because I write largely about characters of color, including Indian American characters, race plays a major role in how characters experience the world, even though my stories tend not to be primarily <i>about</i> the experience of being a person of color.<br /><br /><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> A couple of the stories take on younger points of view, and in particular, the eight year old girl’s POV in “You Are Not Alone” was exquisitely mirrored in the way you handled the sentences. Was that a difficult perspective to get right in the writing of that story? Do you vary your approach in writing older or other perspectives? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">VV:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Thank yo</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">u! It’s hard for me to articulate just how a given character’s voice comes out the way it does; that said, I try to be aware of how characters’ perspectives on the world are very much shaped by their position in the world — including as it relates to the vulnerability and fear that often goes hand in hand with being a kid.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /><b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: </span></b><span lang="EN-US">The story ‘The Eighteen Girls’ feels almost fabled and gothic in its rendering, and reminded me a little of Carmen Maria Machado’s style and content matter. Do you also experiment with different genres in your short stories?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">VV: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I do think of many of my stories as experimental in nature, including that one.<b><br /><br /><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Would you mind sharing with us what’s next in your pipeline? </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">VV: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I’m working on an essay collection tentatively called <i>Searches</i>, which Pantheon will publish in the spring of 2025. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Thank you for joining us, Vauhini. Good luck with everything, and we wish you all the very best as <i>This is Salvaged</i>launches out into the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">VV<a></a></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Thank you Elaine for giving me space here.</span></p>E.P. Chiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952934075736969157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-71652155230430386332023-08-24T15:11:00.010+08:002023-08-24T15:11:00.139+08:00Award-winning writer Saras Manickam dishes about authorial ego, complicated women and race discrimination in Malaysia in My Mother Pattu<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqAHVHnbbhS4OVDZ7NwHwNkl--YDXW_r09CNLY5gPteIS2ZtmvqruDKNwWtRDmhi0Y5T2GYKFhGKGTkwTevPE9QVvRRtiL_P4fZlQERIlTM33I9XObDlGUrTATrP3wqGGVeOxsaED7DFJQ92Ul28cynZvgcZ58j3t0j-VO3J9dRQc6ZwJAkqXX-Z5kg4/s1120/Pattu.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="700" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqAHVHnbbhS4OVDZ7NwHwNkl--YDXW_r09CNLY5gPteIS2ZtmvqruDKNwWtRDmhi0Y5T2GYKFhGKGTkwTevPE9QVvRRtiL_P4fZlQERIlTM33I9XObDlGUrTATrP3wqGGVeOxsaED7DFJQ92Ul28cynZvgcZ58j3t0j-VO3J9dRQc6ZwJAkqXX-Z5kg4/w400-h640/Pattu.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Author</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><u><span lang="EN-MY" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">About the Book<o:p></o:p></span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><u><span lang="EN-MY" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-MY" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">My Mother Pattu</span></i><span lang="EN-MY" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> (Penguin SEA, 2023).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-MY" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-MY" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Deeply humane, in turn wry and humorous, the stories in this collection haunt readers with their searing honesty. Authentic and unsentimental, each story celebrates the resilience of the human spirit even as it challenges comfortable conventions about identity, love, family, community, and race relations.<br /><br /></span><span lang="EN-MY" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2w0tt8WTteIOV0Ac7f6SNWWLNpu7ajiHKpc0E04aKACZAH5605fhxd5CbEe4llRZMM5EaAuD-K-GlLA9wxfPF8NQEg3LCS0hOMFZ7G8elH5d2OqxhUC0DPCHR4ZQfrA44IfIRR0B_XIeJgVKSDPEH9nur1ln-3Xe0YShVK2127rqzDiqqQCgxCZAHeok/s742/Saras%20Manickam%20photo%202%20by%20Sharon%20Bakar.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="727" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2w0tt8WTteIOV0Ac7f6SNWWLNpu7ajiHKpc0E04aKACZAH5605fhxd5CbEe4llRZMM5EaAuD-K-GlLA9wxfPF8NQEg3LCS0hOMFZ7G8elH5d2OqxhUC0DPCHR4ZQfrA44IfIRR0B_XIeJgVKSDPEH9nur1ln-3Xe0YShVK2127rqzDiqqQCgxCZAHeok/w628-h640/Saras%20Manickam%20photo%202%20by%20Sharon%20Bakar.jpeg" width="628" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saras Manickam, courtesy of Sharon Bakar</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span lang="EN-MY" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><u>About the Author</u></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-MY" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Saras Manickam won the regional prize for Asia in the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Contest. In 2021, her story was included in the Bloomsbury anthology, </span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The Art and Craft of Asian </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Stories</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">. </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Having worked as a teacher, teacher-trainer, copywriter, and writer, Saras Manickam’s various work experiences enabled insights into characters, and life experiences, shaping the authenticity which mark her stories. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-MY" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">My Mother Pattu</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> is her debut collection of stories. She lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-MY" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">_________________<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Congratulations on your brilliant short story collection, <i>My Mother Pattu</i>. I’m delighted to see the love it’s been getting. I’ve not enjoyed a short story collection this much in a while. I’m curious: many of the stories are set in Mambang (which also means haunting/spirit). Is your Mambang a fictional town or based on a real town (e.g. Mambang di Awan, Perak)? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SM:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Thank you</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Elaine</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> for your very kind words. It’s rather affirming that <i>My Mother</i> <i>Pattu </i>resonates with readers.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Mambang is not a real town. It’s fictional, and therefore gives me the freedom to craft the streets, houses, places in it. It frees you up, you know what I mean?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> You were the 2019 Asia Winner for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for ‘My Mother Pattu’, and it’s an incredible story: Pattu is at once a fallen woman and a larger-than-life character, and we cannot help but sympathise with how her life has been circumscribed by gender, class, race, and circumstances. And yet, what damage she wrought. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SM:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Pattu was such a character, wasn’t she? Scorning pity, she lived her life on her terms by telling the establishment to eff off and boldly paying the price for her choices. She wasn’t good but not wholly bad either. Complicated and raging and free</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> I’d call her that. She was an amalgamation of all the women I knew, shut in by gender and patriarchy, and fighting back. I’ve had any number of people coming to me to say: <i>You’re talking about</i> my <i>mother</i>. I heard that someone from the Bronx said the same thing too that she was <i>his</i> mother.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">In a way, Pattu cut across race and geographical boundaries!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Agree, there are more strong heroine stories out there now, but not enough, I’d argue, of complicated and raging and free women. There are several other stories here featuring flawed mothers, their rage, their instability, and the subsequent cost. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SM:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> It wasn’t a deliberate intention to create women characters who fell a long way from the pedestal usually accorded to mothers. I just wrote of real women I knew or heard about when I was growing up in a town not unlike Mambang. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I put them together from all the bits and pieces one reads and hears and imagines. Flawed, raging, without real agency even when they were loved; the price that the women paid for making their own choices—I believe each and every experience described in the stories are <b><i>lived</i></b> experiences, which is why they struck a chord with readers. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> One thing I loved is your punchy, wry, and oft times laugh-out-loud trademark style. I know you’ve been writing for a while. Would you share with us how you developed your style of writing and your voice? Were there trials and tribulations?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SM:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Oh Elaine, it’s always delightful when readers recognize that you’re being wry and humorous! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">How did I develop my style? The hard way. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">When I started writing, and for the longest time after, I tried to manipulate the story to how it ought to be. You know, the author knows best and this is the way the story ought to go and this is what needs to happen to the characters, etc. I never learned. I pushed hard and the stories pushed back. The story line became chunky. The characters sulked and became stick figures. Authorial interference made the stories ponderous and pompous. Nothing worked. It was awful. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I had to learn to let go; to honour the characters and trust them to tell their own stories. It was a learning experience (for each story, mind you, because Saras Manickam the writer, thought she was too clever by half) to respect story arc, characters, and the real stories beyond what <i>I</i> wanted to tell. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I needed to step back and trust the characters. Having said that, the first drafts (or the first dozen) were awful.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Oh yes, the struggle between authorial ego and story beast, I relate. I loved also the rare glimpse into the lives of a Tamil community c. 1950s to 1960s in Malaysia. Did you feel a burden of representation writing into this space? What aspects were you consciously highlighting that you hope readers would appreciate?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SM:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Your question is too grand, Elaine! I wasn’t thinking anything except writing to witness with honesty, without sentimentality. Also, by the time the final draft was done, I had learned my lesson (usually) and learned to let the characters tell their story instead of the story I wanted them to tell.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">One interesting point: the Indian films of the 1960s painted the women in stark colours —on the one hand, good women, aka those self-sacrificing mothers and wives on a pedestal, and on the other, fallen women, who always came to a bad end. Darn—I feel rage even writing this —the way the women were manipulated into conforming. The first few stories in <i>My Mother Pattu</i>, set in the 1960s, decided they wouldn’t play ball, so there. From then on, almost no woman in the rest of the stories conformed to stereotypes. They were all complicated, all flawed—aren’t we all?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #c00000; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Some stories, e.g. “Dey Raju” and “Invisible”, appeared first in the <i>Silverfish</i> anthologies more than ten years ago. This is a question I’ve been thinking about: for short story writers like us who have been writing for a while, do our earlier stories feel dated, or can they survive modern readings? How do you approach this issue?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SM:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Stories being dated—stuff of nightmares for writers, isn’t it?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I went through all the published stories again and again. One fear was the ‘dated’ tag. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The other was whether the earlier stories lacked depth. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Dey Raju</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> was a light read that took a swipe at traditions, a reflection of its times, the mid 1960s. The story, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Will You Let Him Drink the Wind</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">?”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> still impacts after all these years, as readers keep telling me</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> the only </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">story</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> that ‘flowed’ out in one go. I was in a zone </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">writing</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> it. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The stories </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">needing</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> tweaking included </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Woman in the Mirror</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">”,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> not because it was outdated</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> but because it needed more depth. I had grown as a person</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> and</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> as a writer from the time I first wrote the stories and needed to see if the stories reflected that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Having said that, the first story in the collection, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Number One, Mambang Lane</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">”,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> has an interesting aside to it. I finished the story, and set </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">it </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">aside. When I came back to it for this collection, I </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">realised</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> the last one-third was hogwash. It was me pandering to sentimentality (and Tamil films) and not being true to the characters at all. So </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I rewrote the last section,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> and this time, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I knew it</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> got better.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The titular story, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">My Mother Pattu</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> was different. It took me the longest time to write </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> the first dozen drafts were all about me wanting to punish Pattu</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> but it </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">didn’t work. I was full of self-righteous rage</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">;</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> it was my ego talking rather than the story. I had to experience life with all its love, laughter, friendship, grief, loss, pain to approach Pattu with more compassion, with love, even. Then, the story literally wrote itself. Does this make sense, Elaine?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It does; I can’t remember which writer said this, but when a story pushes itself to the fore, the best thing a writer can do is get the hell out of the way. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> I want to talk about the stories that touch on skin colour discrimination still rampant in Malaysian society (not just on a governmental level, but within the deepest of friendships, such as in “When We Are Young”). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SM:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Yes, discrimination has become endemic as it were. It appears so deeply embedded in our psyche, regardless of race or skin colour. We can’t run away from this, living in Malaysia. We can</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> however, have candid and genuine conversations. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Perhaps these stories may create those necessary conversations. That said, I am a storyteller. There is no ‘agenda’ to my stories except to reflect as truthfully as possible, the realities that the characters inhabit, face, challenge and maybe surmount.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Someone came up to me after a reading and said: “I know I am privileged by race. But I didn’t quite think about my privileges when I was studying in England on a scholarship and travelling in Europe because the scholarship was ample. I never thought of all the other students of other races, who didn’t get what I got.” The person wasn’t </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">apologising</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">; it was an awareness that had just struck them. Stories do that, don’t they</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">—</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">peel off our comfortable notions?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Someone, a good friend, was surprised that Indians found the word </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“keling”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> offensive. “But it’s how the Hokkiens refer to Indians, she said. No insult intended.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">That’s the crux</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> isn’t it? Do you stop calling a people by a </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">slur</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> when you realise they consider it offensive? Do you keep calling them that among your own folks because </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that’s what you’ve always called </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">them”?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> I wanted to explore the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">insidious </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">reality </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> racist terms. They dig deep within us. They carry not just contempt for others but a sense of smug superiority. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Having said that, discrimination is </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">them versus us</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> in other ways. When the mother in </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Call It By Its Name</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> asks, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Who are these people? I don’t know their race, their religion, their caste… What plates will I set out?”, that’s racism too. My stories needed to call out both aspects, or I wouldn’t be credible</span><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">as a writer.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> I think fiction that can spark these sorts of internal realisations in a reader has done what it’s set out to do. The author can dust her hands off—job done. In a world that feels increasingly divided, if fiction can do even this much, it’s enough.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Thank you for joining us, Saras. Good luck on your next project.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-MY" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">SM:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Thank you Elaine for giving me space here.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">**My Mother Pattu is available regionally in local bookstores at local prices and internationally on Amazon. </span></p>E.P. Chiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952934075736969157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-24202932735153588472023-08-22T16:02:00.004+08:002023-08-22T16:11:06.171+08:00The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng<p><b>Devika Misra</b> reports on a conversation between Rachel Heng, and some of her readers. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSIZ21kOo_Z2mJ9VdG8cvFghIp-3AkRjFTj7le_JLD16rvB43WMQqmlr1nLE2KRq-dM7tR1hIfhLEqEGWy65g1C-R6BWqz7Zwq8ei2bZI4L_HfqwLdJF_d1QQHklVs_8KHTdibsLabVgoiJmb0zTvLwjTysTbGEotzZ3pU_rKlo32skKjaUk3br-Oygc/s210/the%20Great%20reclamation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="210" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSIZ21kOo_Z2mJ9VdG8cvFghIp-3AkRjFTj7le_JLD16rvB43WMQqmlr1nLE2KRq-dM7tR1hIfhLEqEGWy65g1C-R6BWqz7Zwq8ei2bZI4L_HfqwLdJF_d1QQHklVs_8KHTdibsLabVgoiJmb0zTvLwjTysTbGEotzZ3pU_rKlo32skKjaUk3br-Oygc/w272-h272/the%20Great%20reclamation.jpg" width="272" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Rachel Heng was born and raised in Singapore. She writes both fiction and non-fiction, and her debut novel, <i>Suicide Club</i> (Henry Holt / Sceptre, 2018), was much praised. She is currently an Assistant Professor of English at Wesleyan University, Connecticut, USA. <i>The Great Reclamation</i>, her acclaimed new novel, explores Singapore’s rapid transformation from third to first world in just two generations. At its heart the story is one of unrequited love - a doomed childhood romance and a lost way of life, as both the novel’s protagonist Ah Boon, and his nation, come of age.<span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Rachel Heng never directly answers the question of whether she thinks Ah Boon is more of an anti-hero than a hero. Once a quiet shy fisherman, he eventually becomes part of the machinery that facilitates Singapore’s pragmatic, efficient and what many see as ruthless march to modernity. The writer says Ah Boon is symbolic.</div><div><br /></div><div>RH: “Ah Boon felt to me like, this Singaporean “every man” that I grew up with, like this guy of a certain generation. I was like, oh, before that man became that man, he must have been a boy, right? He must have been tender and loving and fearful and all of these things, and had hopes and dreams before someone crushed them so violently. How did he become like that basically, was my question. I was like, how do people become like that?”</div><div><br /></div><div>As Ah Boon’s life unfolds he finds himself involved with an ambitious government reclamation programme to relocate residents from his fishing village to public housing apartment blocks. He grapples with more than just losing a home and the only lifestyle he has ever known. Moving into public housing and working for the government meant sacrificing personal beliefs, a loss of control and a sense of independence.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is the novel’s central dilemma and a question the writer asks her countrymen.</div><div><br /></div><div>RH: “How did we get here to this point where we feel like the economic choice is always the right choice, that progress is unquestionably good in all circumstances, that everything is pragmatism and everything is like a utilitarian decision?” </div><div><br /></div><div>One factor that explains Singapore’s success is its ability to access more land than the island originally had. Some estimate that since its independence in 1965, the city state has reclaimed about 22% of its total ground area from the sea even while it continues to be engaged in large land reclamation projects.</div><div><br /></div><div>RH: “The physical place is so rapidly evolving and so sort of tenuous, even the land can be taken over by the sea, or the sea can be taken over by the land. And these things that feel very immutable and solid actually turn out to be changeable after all."</div><div><br /></div><div>She asserts that it follows therefore that home is less about a place and more about people; about family. How can one identify one’s home in the absence of even the remnants of physical markers? What makes home, she says can’t be a physical place for Singaporeans.</div><div><br /></div><div>RH: “I think because Singapore is the way it is and has developed so rapidly over generations, even growing up in Singapore in the nineties, two thousands, I felt that. I grew up in public housing, and the places that I spent almost decades in have been raised and taken back by the government. And there's one place where it's just a grass field now, and the only kind of remnant of the buildings that used to be there are the trees that they haven't cut down yet, so the trees form this ghostly outline of all the buildings. So there's this feeling, I think, even in my time, that the past is constantly being erased. And so that does make your relationship with home a little more fraught or tenuous in the absence of those physical memories, I suppose, and the ways in which you return to a childhood place and you kind of expect it to be the same, or you expect to be reminded of childhood, but then you go back and it's not there at all. So it's almost as if Singaporeans have moved to a different country while staying in the same place.”</div><div><br /></div><div>She wanted <i>The Great Reclamation</i> to raise questions that have always piqued her curiosity rather than provide clear answers.</div><div><br /></div><div>RH: “These were choices that were made and sacrifices that were kind of agreed upon, necessary. And who am I to say, sitting here in 2023, having grown up in a nice HDB (Housing Development Board) flat, that they shouldn't have done that, right? So I think it tries to walk that line of ambivalence rather than saying, like, one thing or the other. How did we get here? Why is it like this? You know, I think there were a lot of things that I sensed growing up in Singapore that felt weird. Something felt like things that I didn't understand…. like, my family or my mom often says or, I hear people say that, Singapore has no history. You know, people would say that we have no culture, we have no history. As I got older, I was like, that can't be true. Literally, it cannot be true. We came from somewhere.”</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtyMD-M3CfNlEbsEhl7Q-V1NsOiAW-n_0Adirf0uT_4B45Qxgg_b_2dp3iKu3I6Dpkn70a3Ae5nPQH56p2DESXs-avXHpnBW2B38R-yx-kJ2yVmHBt-N8eAKYj6oXY8n4VMDi8LrSn3HX4DBv3Yttrkq1Z_VP9cSfxsrXemmlU5p595NDD44jwOIrjgY/s183/Rachael%20heng.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="127" data-original-width="183" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtyMD-M3CfNlEbsEhl7Q-V1NsOiAW-n_0Adirf0uT_4B45Qxgg_b_2dp3iKu3I6Dpkn70a3Ae5nPQH56p2DESXs-avXHpnBW2B38R-yx-kJ2yVmHBt-N8eAKYj6oXY8n4VMDi8LrSn3HX4DBv3Yttrkq1Z_VP9cSfxsrXemmlU5p595NDD44jwOIrjgY/w232-h161/Rachael%20heng.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><br /><div><b>Details</b>: <i>The Great Reclamation</i> (Riverhead Books, 2023) is available in paperback. </div><div><br /></div><p><br /></p>Rosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-43248917669754401212023-08-18T21:08:00.012+08:002023-08-18T21:43:05.810+08:00Once Our Lives, by Qin Sun Stubis<p>Qin Sun Stubis speaks to Devika Misra about the power of literature and story- telling.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZRW2w6V83E-XMYgy1NAiaunMCGZ76x-IIEnZr_5tKNrrRJjPTAwa3Jf_ZSTpiE3rl3E4xUn3lxXS5j2ObdZH5I623du1HASlu8U4Qmq9fMRF-pTBJJuFOIq1EqfgAx5phGKtQ_XMtcyp8XZsRhxT1e6hacgjFy5aF-QtLtO-UmjMRmHXLhrhNZfC-tk/s1280/0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZRW2w6V83E-XMYgy1NAiaunMCGZ76x-IIEnZr_5tKNrrRJjPTAwa3Jf_ZSTpiE3rl3E4xUn3lxXS5j2ObdZH5I623du1HASlu8U4Qmq9fMRF-pTBJJuFOIq1EqfgAx5phGKtQ_XMtcyp8XZsRhxT1e6hacgjFy5aF-QtLtO-UmjMRmHXLhrhNZfC-tk/s320/0.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p>Born in a Shanghai shantytown and brought up during the turbulence of the Cultural Revolution, Qin Sun Stubis is a Chinese American writer based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. She has worked as an international communications specialist providing translations and contributions to Gallup, the <i>Wall Street Journal,</i> and the Getty Center. She is currently a columnist for the Los Angeles based <i>Santa Monica Star</i>. She also writes poems, short stories, essays and Chinese folk narratives.</p><p>Her debut historical memoir, <i>Once Our Lives</i>, explores the deep trauma that tumultuous events in Chinese history inflicted on four generations of the Sun family. From the Second Sino Japanese War in 1937 to an era well past the brutally repressive Cultural Revolution in 1966, the writer’s parents found themselves impoverished and in a constant struggle for survival. Qin was their second daughter; one of four girls. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>Stubis’s journey began as a poverty stricken “paraplegic” child in a shanty town in Shanghai; she now lives a comfortable life as a writer, wife and mother in suburban Maryland in the United States. Her one constant, she says has always been stories…fiction, poems, writers and tellers of a good tale.</p><p>QSS: “My mother told me that she used to give my sister and I each a few pieces of candy, those little tiny milk candies, like three pieces. And that would be the dinner. And then tuck us into bed when the sun was still up. Because she said, if you fall asleep, you won't feel the hunger. And of course, being a child, you know, eyes wide open, I would always listen to her, her voice telling stories of the past. She created excitement…she was captured by pirates and you know, those stories gradually as we aged became more complex, with details and contents. She would make our life very exciting…We went through the hardships of the Cultural Revolution…I can tell you the thing is, as far as my own life is concerned, I'm a pretty lucky girl.”</p><p>This “lucky girl” could barely stand when she was two years old due to the abuse and neglect she had suffered at the hands of extended family members. Apart from her own mother’s stories she turned to others for sustenance.</p><p>QSS: “ I always did well in everything, but the life that I shared with my parents was also misery. We had nothing, my father was always in prison. We were like little women, you know, Louisa May-Alcott also inspired me because of the book <i>Little Women,</i> how four sisters didn't have a father. I thought of myself as Joe, the second sister, who would help the mother. The little women found ingenious ways to thrive…somehow, they managed to live and live a pretty good life. People are always like, oh, you know, horrible, everything's horrible. No, actually, out of all of the most miserable things, situations, come the sweetest, the best memories anyone could have.”</p><p>After the Cultural Revolution she managed to attend university and chose to get a degree in English Language and Literature. </p><p>QSS: “I am a very romantic person by nature so I think that's why I turned to novels. All literature affected me…Thomas Hardy, I adored him, Charles Dickens, I adored his writing….I studied Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare, you know I adored a lot of poets - Tennyson, Romney, Shelly, Keats.”</p><p>In fact she describes herself more a reader than a writer.</p><p>QSS: “I was an adoring person of other writers and in awe of how they could write; that's me... because English was my foreign language, I spent 29 years of my life in China and l came to the United States with two suitcases, a dream, and the book which never left my night table - <i>101 Poems</i>, an anthology of world famous poems which included as well Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the Constitution, all sorts of things; I used to read it before going to sleep every night and be inspired by the poems so when I came to United States my boyfriend, now my husband, he used to give me for my birthdays, for holidays, always books.”</p><p>Upon emigrating she was drawn to other Chinese American women writers who also explore the intersection of their own cultures and history with family experience, the likes of Amy Tan, Gish Jen, Lisa See, Maxine Hong Kingston, whom she acknowledges as “inspirations and idols”. However, those writers are generally recognized as having contributed to the genre of fiction. </p><p>Qin Sun Stubis on the other hand, has used the real names of her family members and states that as far as she knows everything in her book is true. </p><p>Her own book she says was completely unplanned. She was “not one of those people whose lifelong dream it was to become a writer”. What precipitated the change?</p><p>QSS: “My parents passed away one after another. And my father was only 65, my mother 69 after three and a half years of battling ovarian cancer. I tell you, I felt that my entire life collapsed when my mother died. I somehow was in inconsolable grief and obviously depression as well. So what helped me was my mind went in a place…I went all the way to the past. I tried to recall all the stories my mother had told me and the life that I had lived with my family all those years. And suddenly all the stories played out like a movie in front of me. I was surprised by myself, how much I could see colours, clothes, patterns and the people's facial expressions, I remembered how during the Cultural Revolution people ditched us, neighbours, my father's colleagues, family members and how poor we were, how I accompanied my mother to pawn shops to sell one thing after another… to sell it to have a handful of rice to live on. And I found a coping mechanism - I picked up a pen and I started to write longhand - I never understood why, but I could not type and think at the same time. Somehow my Chinese mind would not let me do that. And so I started to write with a pen, the old fashioned way…I just felt that it was deeply human stories I wanted to bring to the world. And that was the reason I started to write.”</p><p>Today Stubis sees her parents’ story as a representation of the lives of so many others of a particular time and generation… “honourable, brave and extremely ordinary” . Her book she says is borne from a determination to keep their story alive.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZiru7RN2u_MeYSZXbqzrqZzhpIzpggDUW2H_pGy5NqqKWu35unC2_scZymsb7EY0A_GBxjjukpAHFbN7hgclgujFutNczctEHbi6dDR6SOZMOqDmPEDsZ_gYxbQcV12Jb8eWEmkMytB0D_syK-20b7AgqeEpfdQA0yBHE_TaGcHEh0EV1lFC1IamuoyY/s1745/Qin%20Sun%20Stubis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1745" data-original-width="1163" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZiru7RN2u_MeYSZXbqzrqZzhpIzpggDUW2H_pGy5NqqKWu35unC2_scZymsb7EY0A_GBxjjukpAHFbN7hgclgujFutNczctEHbi6dDR6SOZMOqDmPEDsZ_gYxbQcV12Jb8eWEmkMytB0D_syK-20b7AgqeEpfdQA0yBHE_TaGcHEh0EV1lFC1IamuoyY/s320/Qin%20Sun%20Stubis.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b>Details</b>: <i>Once Our Lives</i> is published by Guernica World Editions (USA) in paperback, priced in local currencies.</p><div><br /></div>Rosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-45884974306497782512023-08-16T05:44:00.003+08:002023-08-16T05:44:37.298+08:00The Peking Express by James M. Zimmerman<p>In 1923, the Blue Express, a luxury train also known as the
Peking Express, departed from Shanghai, chugging northward to Peking. On the
night of May 5<sup>th</sup>, near the town of Lincheng, a gang of Chinese
bandits derailed the Peking Express and took the passengers hostage, leading to
a standoff that captured the world’s attention.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMe9hMqNviEzC7ngdbTRjbPGupexhxZepzDuHNH0n2pna-VdNQvfU4lkbdElj0shU0mOvc4QwLkjj-pty9N-DOSAmsBrd_hoR1kY14xX9EXlxO7rF0P2rlljnboyzSC0AGaMIzwB7jwF22d8r1bWcVDOjyzR0_PRB1kM7Ej-yaaiaBt-khAgChaWjF6msD/s983/Peking%20Express%20cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="983" data-original-width="637" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMe9hMqNviEzC7ngdbTRjbPGupexhxZepzDuHNH0n2pna-VdNQvfU4lkbdElj0shU0mOvc4QwLkjj-pty9N-DOSAmsBrd_hoR1kY14xX9EXlxO7rF0P2rlljnboyzSC0AGaMIzwB7jwF22d8r1bWcVDOjyzR0_PRB1kM7Ej-yaaiaBt-khAgChaWjF6msD/s320/Peking%20Express%20cover.png" width="207" /></a></div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><i>The Peking Express: The Bandits Who Stole a Train,
Stunned the West, and Broke the Republic of China </i>by James M. Zimmerman thoroughly
details this interesting event in a very readable, almost novel-like prose. The
story was famous at the time, so much so that it loosely inspired the famous
1932 movie <i>Shanghai Express</i>, directed by Josef von Sternberg and
starring Marlene Dietrich. Though, the movie is far more fiction than fact.
However, this appears to be the first full-length book devoted to the Peking
Express, or the Lincheng Incident in English. At least, the first in modern memory.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If there is a main character, then it’s the Sun Meiyao, the bandit
chief who engineered the attack. At this time, China was divided into factions
of feuding warlords, and many former warlord soldiers had been recently
discharged, due to inability to pay or defeat in battle. These soldiers often
turned to banditry and wound up following Sun, a prominent brigand in the
northern Shandong (Shantung) province.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The luxury Blue Express train made an appealing target,
carrying many upper-class Chinese, along with various foreigners, mostly
Americans. These included Lucy Aldrich, daughter of a US Senator and sister-in-law
to John D. Rockefeller, along with Guiseppe Musso, a prominent Italian living
in Shanghai’s French Concession. Even two US Army officers were among the
hostages, elevating the prominence of the so-called Lincheng Outrage.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The prisoners were marched from the derailed train and into
the Shandong mountains to the bandits’ hideout. Although the women were
released soon after, the incident caused a major embarrassment for the government
in Peking. Although China was divided at the time, there still existed a
central government in the historic capital, a major prize for the feuding warlord
factions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Government troops surrounded the bandit stronghold and a
series of tense negotiations followed. Sun wanted a pardon for his men, reentrance
back into the army, and guarantees of impunity for himself. This dragged on for
weeks, while the hostages pondered their fate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zimmerman includes many first-hand accounts, mostly from the
hostages, since the bandits didn’t leave many written memoirs behind. They
describe Sun and his men as somewhat good-natured, though, all-too willing to
kill prisoners if need be, Indeed, a British passenger, Joseph Rothman, had
been killed during the initial derailment for refusing to give up his valuables.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">An interesting conspiracy the book highlights is that the
Japanese passengers had abandoned the Blue Express prior to arriving at
Lincheng. Zimmerman wonders if these Japanese had been warned in advance,
possibly by the Japanese military, who may have had a hand in planning the
attack. Though, hard evidence of this is lacking.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>The Peking Express</i> is a great historical and summer
read, perfect for those looking for narrative nonfiction that shines a light on
a fascinating episode in Chinese history.<o:p></o:p></p>Matthew Legarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06541411598345441029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-8484397943252149192023-08-02T14:47:00.011+08:002023-08-02T15:04:15.132+08:00Tan Twan Eng discusses The House of Doors<p>Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng’s latest novel <i>The House of Doors</i> has just been included on the longlist for the Booker Prize. Devika Misra recently attended <i>An Evening with Tan Twan Eng </i>in Singapore and here paraphrases some of the conversation.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTDRkx4O472DCibk3NnX3hYMZPK7HOPhv3vZV3-S6zUoCHSz5Fz74a2wSe-zLwgp6I66sHZ3b5ElBUcmU0TaF2csBlGCVK1qLgeRBbj2S0NfG4rRSDAg5EkF3OCLR3uAy3YBA2LM4REglEhf0E5w9S5XeHCR3NCKirUB4RBcEjKj281EASJp44s6qoxo/s277/images.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="182" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTDRkx4O472DCibk3NnX3hYMZPK7HOPhv3vZV3-S6zUoCHSz5Fz74a2wSe-zLwgp6I66sHZ3b5ElBUcmU0TaF2csBlGCVK1qLgeRBbj2S0NfG4rRSDAg5EkF3OCLR3uAy3YBA2LM4REglEhf0E5w9S5XeHCR3NCKirUB4RBcEjKj281EASJp44s6qoxo/s1600/images.jpg" width="182" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><i>The House of Doors</i> is a multi layered yet very readable work of historical fiction. The narrative explores Tan Twan Eng's characteristic themes of love, loss, longing and betrayal, and is set in colonial Malaya, as are his previous works, <i>The Gift of Rain</i> (2007), and <i>The Garden of Evening Mists </i>( 2012). But this time Tan Twan Eng has taken the arguably audacious step of fictionalizing legendary writer Somerset Maugham. Maugham had in fact himself fictionalized the tale of crime and scandal that is narrated to him by the female protagonist in <i>The House of Doors</i>. She is part of the expatriate community in Penang; he portrays her, and her community, with subtle criticism and nuanced sympathy. </p><p>Tan Twan Eng was inevitably asked: what was the genesis of <i>The House of Doors</i>?</p><p>TTE : <i>"Well, actually there are two origins for this novel. One of them is Somerset Maugham and the other one is Dr. Sun Yat- Sen…I first read Somerset Maugham's short story </i>The Letter<i> when I was in my teens. I loved it very much. I found it very gripping and exciting. I was even more intrigued when I found out that he had based </i>The Letter <i>on an actual murder trial, which had taken place in Kuala Lumpur in 1910. The murder trial of Ethel Proudlock, who was accused of murdering a man she claimed had tried to rape her. The only problem with her justification of killing him was that she shot him five times, … six times, and four in the back as he was running away. So there was all this scandal about Ethel Proudlock. I felt that this would make a very interesting novel about how Somerset Maugham came to write and hear about this one. That's how it started. So I had Somerset Maugham, except I didn't know what to do with him, because obviously the story isn't substantial enough for a full-length novel."<span></span></i></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>This led Tan to his second historical character in <i>The House of Doors</i>, Dr Sun Yat-sen.</p><p>TTE: <i>"I decided to look at another person here, which was very interesting to me as well. I first heard of Dr. Sun Yat-sen when I was a child. From my father, he grew up in Armenian Street (in Penang) in the 50s. And when I was a child, he was always telling my sister and I, oh, you know … somebody who is famous … used to live in Armenian Street, and he was Dr. Sun Yat-sen. I had no idea who Dr. Sun Yat-sen was, because I first thought he was just some Chinese </i>sinse<i> (traditional Chinese medical practitioner) practicing medicine somewhere down the road. But imagine my amazement when I finally found out who he was, also in my teens. To realise that the revolution in China, which was one of the most cataclysmic global events ever in the 21st century actually had its origins in this little shop house, in this little street on this little island...That was magical.”</i></p><p>But just having a kernel, gem though it might have been, was only the beginning of an arduous journey. So arduous in fact, that <i>The House of Doors</i> may never have seen light of day. Was it difficult to write?</p><p>TTE: <i>“It was. ….when I published </i>The Gift of Rain<i>, some experienced writer told me, Oh, the first book is the easiest. It's going to get easier now. And he was such a liar because he was so wrong! </i>The Garden of Evening Mists <i>was so hard to write. And this one was even worse! I dread the next book that I … write. It doesn't get easier. Every book is different. The challenges are different. So you are actually coming to the writing experience cold and fresh. So it was very hard. Nothing worked. None of the story lines gelled. Everything was a mess. It was confusing. I mean, my first reader, he read the first draft and he said, He said, you can't publish this….It's awful. It's confusing...You have to listen to what people are saying. Eventually, my agent and I decided that we needed a fresh pair of eyes. Because at that stage, I'd been working on it for more than six or seven years. So I had no idea or concept of what was good in it. I'd lost all objectivity...Yes, I would really wish it (on) my worst enemy. But what you've done is, you've finally achieved the possible outcome. I'm more relieved than anything else and I'm very grateful that we have always been well received. There are a lot of times when I still find it difficult to believe.”</i></p><p>And what of his fictitious female protagonist the introspective and mysterious Lesley in whose voice much of the story is told? Did he choose to write in a woman’s voice? Apparently not. </p><p>TTE: <i>"When I finished writing the manuscript, I said to myself, I didn't realize that I had written a very feminist novel. It was a very strongly feminist novel, a very anti-marriage novel in many ways. It doesn't show marriage in a good light, especially for women. For many women, marriage was not an institution, but a prison. That's part of the colonial society. Maugham talks about it...It wasn't intentionally done, but if you're writing about characters and situations like that, you're going to be bogged up against the social conventions of the time…that are quite completely wrong and unfair to half of the world's population.”</i></p><p>And herein lies the essence of what drives Tan Twan Eng. He says he has no particular agenda. He is above all a master story teller, focussed on the craft of story-telling; for all his prose's elegance and complexity Tan says his aim is simply to tell an authentic tale.</p><p>TTE: <i>“My main goal is to improve as a writer with every book. Every book has to be better than the previous one in terms of the writing quality. So, that's the goal as I set myself and push myself towards it. It's so hard to come up with descriptions that are original but at the same time so apt and when you read it, you say, yes, that is exactly what it looks like or sounds like. Why hasn't somebody else mentioned this before? That's the goal that I have in mind...It's very hard work. Sure you bring your own background and interest to any piece of work...So every aspect… has to work. It comes down to the nitty gritty of all these things. It's not just great literature or art if it's nebulous and drifting about. You really have to come down to the nuts and bolts and build the whole thing right from the first step.”</i></p><p><i>An Evening with Tan Twan Eng </i>was a public event organised by NTU’s (Nanyang Technological University) Asia Creative Writing program on July 30th 2023, at the Arts House, Singapore.</p><p><i>The House of Doors</i> is published in hardback by Bloomsbury (UK) priced in local currencies. </p>Rosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-5258859041566400302023-08-01T07:00:00.002+08:002023-08-02T14:50:21.466+08:00Food glorious food – a feast of stories from Read Paper Republic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nicky Harman writes: <b><a href="https://paper-republic.org/" target="_blank">Paper Republic</a> is a registered </b><b>charity/</b><b>non-profit website dedicated to promoting enjoyment and understanding of Chinese literature in translation. I am one of its volunteer workers and trustees. As part of our mission, we publish <a href="https://paper-republic.org/pubs/read/" target="_blank">Read Paper Republic</a>, occasional series of complete, free-to-read short stories (or poems or essays) translated from Chinese to English. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavbnJHS9_Oq5gxkw1x_cx9Fi80ff-ingAFbrU8iGofunflV_XLBR7Cji6Th5VVpAeUaoPOIjvbG7l9HNI5f88KHQaLr8WJATsJuyHEHM3vyVzW5fe4VVPW7nWnYe94rGF60LaywK-GhXHMIFqB5eCg4zoKsgaf3LXrwgmkw1Oqvfegy07AfFk3ozvIzF1/s152/Untitled.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="152" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavbnJHS9_Oq5gxkw1x_cx9Fi80ff-ingAFbrU8iGofunflV_XLBR7Cji6Th5VVpAeUaoPOIjvbG7l9HNI5f88KHQaLr8WJATsJuyHEHM3vyVzW5fe4VVPW7nWnYe94rGF60LaywK-GhXHMIFqB5eCg4zoKsgaf3LXrwgmkw1Oqvfegy07AfFk3ozvIzF1/s1600/Untitled.jpg" width="152" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This year, after our foray into Covid stories, entitled <i><a href="https://paper-republic.org/pubs/read/series/epidemic/" target="_blank">Epidemic</a></i>, which explored how some of China’s best writers have been personally affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, we decided on a more upbeat theme. The current series, entitled <i><a href="https://paper-republic.org/pubs/read/series/food-glorious-food/" target="_blank">Food Glorious Food</a></i>, is made up of six contemporary pieces all based on or around one of China’s favourite pastimes: eating. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In <i>Food Glorious Good</i>, we have featured well-known authors from the Chinese-speaking world, including Xu Xiaobin, Hong Ying, Wu Ang, Sabrina Huang, Yang Shuangzi, and Zheng Zhi, all translated by up-and-coming literary translators. The stories range from historical fiction exploring complex relationships and social inequality to a clever, unnerving tale of kidnap at the hands of a food delivery driver. And it is this last story which we have chosen as a splendid climax to our series. The story is called ‘Winter is Coming’ and the author is Wu Ang. <span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This is Wu Ang’s third appearance in Read Paper Republic. Alice Xiang translated four of her poems for <i><a href="https://paper-republic.org/pubs/read/wu-ang-four-poems/" target="_blank">A Month of Women Poets</a></i> and three translators tackled her ‘<a href="https://paper-republic.org/pubs/read/su-volunteers-diary/" target="_blank">Su Volunteers Diary</a>' in the <i>Epidemic</i> series. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">‘Winter is Coming’, however, is something entirely different. A recently-divorced young professional is struggling to settle into her new home in a deserted tower block in a city where she knows no one. One evening, she orders a meal off a local food delivery app. The deliveryman is charming; he even helps her carry some of her bags up the stairs. But before she knows it, events take a sinister turn and she finds herself trapped in her own home, and then abandoned to an uncertain fate....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>An excerpt from ‘Winter is Coming’ by Wu Ang, translated by Kelly Zhang</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">…………………………</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Winter is coming. Inside the one-bedroom apartment where she lives alone, she feels chilled to the bone. The newly renovated unit is still in a state of disarray: boxes of unassembled furniture, including parts of a desk and a bookshelf, are strewn all over the living room floor. She recently purchased a simple washing machine, only to realize afterwards that she also needs a dryer. The air near the ocean is perennially damp. Qingdao takes on a special wintry dampness throughout the month of December. She stands on the open balcony and braces herself against the piercingly cold ocean winds. Living on a tight budget, she rushed the renovations and decided not to enclose the balcony. When she first visited the place in early summer, the serene blue stretch of sea captured her heart immediately. Now, that luminous blue is gradually turning into a greyish blue, and with the changing of the seasons, the greyness will only intensify. She stops her thoughts from continuing down an ominous path, turns back inside, and opens the fridge. It is completely empty. It was only delivered yesterday and needs to sit unplugged for at least twenty-four hours for the compressor oil to settle. She plans to clean it thoroughly over the coming weekend before putting any food inside.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It takes her until nearly seven o’clock in the evening to return to her new place from work every day. She drives a tiny hatchback. She is always careful to stay in the slowest lane of any road and to turn up the volume on the GPS to the highest level. Before she bought the apartment, she had purchased the car with a measly budget of 50,000 yuan, which allowed her to afford a cheaper, roomier place away from the city centre. She had chosen a snow-white colored car, imagining how beautiful it would look, floating like a cloud against the brilliant blue backdrop of sea and sky. Though in reality, only someone outside the car would be able to appreciate such a sight. Most of the time, she feels like a tired seabird, darting back and forth between her home and work. No, actually, the seabird analogy isn’t accurate. She identifies more with the kind of weary domestic fowl that struggles to fly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">What to eat for dinner? She hasn’t had chance to explore any nearby farmers’ markets, nor look up restaurants on Meituan, the popular food delivery app. She vaguely remembers that someone on one of her local WeChat groups shared an app a couple of days ago called “Meals for One in Qingdao,” which specializes in single-portioned, reasonably-priced meals. Delivery fees are waived since it’s delivery only. She downloaded the app almost immediately. Although it’s chilly on the balcony, she decides to bring out her old wicker lounge chair, which fits the space surprisingly well. She drapes a thick jacket over her shoulders, then lies quietly down on her side to peruse the menu.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The menu selection seems limited at the moment. There are pictures alongside the descriptions of each dish. In the chef’s recommendation area on the homepage, her eyes are instantly drawn to the steamy Japanese sukiyaki hotpots. The simmering pots of savory broth come with a variety of fresh, ready-to-cook ingredients, including thinly-sliced beef, mushrooms, and tofu. There are also clams and shrimps. She usually orders sukiyaki when she dines at a Japanese restaurant. The meal typically comes with a bowl of white rice and a tasty side dish—either sunomono (a sliced cucumber salad) or takowasa (octopus with wasabi). She rarely goes out to eat alone. Ever since her best friend moved from Qingdao to Yantai six months ago, she’s had no one else to dine with. On the app, the sukiyaki looks to be served inside a small disposable aluminum foil pot with a lid. The vendor guarantees to keep the food warm and to deliver it within thirty to sixty minutes anywhere within the parameters of Qingdao city.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">She lives at the southeast end of the city, on a narrow strip of coastal land that can only accommodate a small residential development. After confirming her order, she pays for it with WeChat Pay. As she types in her address, she debates whether to use her real name but in the end decides to use her social media handle “Drowning Fish.” That’s the name she gave herself when she was struggling through the darkest period of her life, when her late marriage was disintegrating and she was tormented by an exhausting emotional seesaw. Imagine how suffocating it would be for a fish to live in the depths of the ocean if it were given a pair of human-like lungs instead of gills. Even now, she is frequently startled awake in the middle of the night with the weight of an elephant on her chest. If she tries to scream, no sound comes out. If she tries to hold it in, she is possessed by an intense, inexplicable fear. Her mouth puckers like a fish’s mouth, then a wet greasy secretion, thick and sticky like re-used frying oil, drips down the back of her throat and mixes with her gastric juices and other bodily fluids.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://paper-republic.org/pubs/read/winter-is-coming1/" target="_blank">Read more</a> ……………………….</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>You can see author Wu Ang and translator Kelly Zhang read an excerpt from ‘Winter is Coming’ <a href="https://youtu.be/-krayIqAdWE" target="_blank">here</a>: </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Check out ‘Winter is Coming’ and all the other stories <a href="https://paper-republic.org/pubs/read/series/food-glorious-food/" target="_blank">here</a>.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></div><p><br /></p><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-65681300548137753762023-07-29T18:08:00.003+08:002023-07-31T21:25:33.817+08:00 Bugis Nights by, Chris Stowers<p> Devika Misra and Chris Stowers discuss his debut travel narrative, <i>Bugis Nights</i>. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPezN3LerJH-ZqpPfVgk8T5t17cIr8BQLJbkrvmiMc--UPIUoTUdAcMb2nuLkpeT1J13o5uIfWDBUOB6_QUJlXWgOqUdqDSdA4n0Lh7b2_U-6zAbktXTaGtOd8JD22BGegRVLZ9YQ2Fw3WYyEy9b6mLif1ZJqN__ApLOyCkAW8uSNjYN0pJ9nSwCWJ5I/s1000/71NDVNVnroL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="647" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPezN3LerJH-ZqpPfVgk8T5t17cIr8BQLJbkrvmiMc--UPIUoTUdAcMb2nuLkpeT1J13o5uIfWDBUOB6_QUJlXWgOqUdqDSdA4n0Lh7b2_U-6zAbktXTaGtOd8JD22BGegRVLZ9YQ2Fw3WYyEy9b6mLif1ZJqN__ApLOyCkAW8uSNjYN0pJ9nSwCWJ5I/s320/71NDVNVnroL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br /><p>It’s taken Taiwan based writer and photo journalist Chris Stowers nearly 35 years to publish his debut travel narrative <i>Bugis Nights</i>. This light but exciting read is part memoir and part fantasy. Stowers chronicles his journey on both land and sea as a young backpacker across Asia in the late nineteen eighties. Basing much of his story on diaries and photographs, Stowers harks back to a time when travel, he says, was “simpler, easier slower”…essentially more fun!. But Stowers’ story is about far more than the trials and triumphs of a young naive explorer. It is an endearing and perceptive observation of human behaviour in tough circumstances. With quiet humour, Stowers illustrates the courage, optimism and openness of the itinerant backpacker.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>I recently spoke to him about the challenges of recounting events from decades ago. For this, he credits his mother!</p><p>CS “I've always kept a diary every day. So, in fact, the voyage was all from one diary. ….I actually have to thank my mother for telling me to write a diary just in case you know, anything interesting happened on the way because without that…that backup, I really don't think I could have started to recount this journey.”</p><p>Many “interesting things” did in fact, happen. His narrative alternates between an arduous trek across Tibet and a treacherous oceanic voyage across the Java seas which he is able to detail in nautical precision.</p><p>CS “It's quite shocking to go back to them (the diaries) because you realise, one, how naive you were, but also, how much you thought was very sure and set in your mind. You know, somebody said this to me…I did this on this day and it was wrong. It's completely wrong. It's proven wrong because right in front of me is the written account of what was actually happening. So I had quite a lot of this finding out that the mind plays tricks on you.”</p><p>The young adventurer’s sea voyage took place on a traditional wooden sailing vessel…the type made and used by the famous, much feared and rather isolated Bugis sea pirates of Indonesia. Stowers’ however felt no fear dealing with them.</p><p>CS “I think trusted them implicitly….I felt like while we were on that island that they had this unwritten sort of law to look after us. So I felt not in danger at all on the island. I felt much more in on the boat afterwards, with only nature to attack us.”</p><p>Nature, did in fact attack, but somehow the beautiful teak sailing vessel Stowers’ had so blindly put his faith in, was eventually able to withstand the winds and waves that almost tore it asunder.</p><p>Did he have any idea how treacherous the voyage would be?</p><p>CS “No, not at all…not at all. No, the boat looked beautiful. It was huge. I've since looked back at some video that we actually shot at that time. And I was really surprised how big the ship was, like, 70 ft long. It's twice the size of the normal yacht and really wide as well. I was just trying to get to Singapore for cheap because I had very little money. And, it seemed like an adventure….I would have felt very disappointed to have not joined the voyage, I'd have felt like I'd been left behind. I'd have missed out on something. Of course, inside there's an element of what are we doing here? But when you were young and, uh… we had Pascal as a captain, and he was 28. I mean, now I look back at that, I think, My goodness,I'm done with that age. Now, what did he know? But he seemed like an adult….I was willing to trust anything he said, you know?...Of course, we're gonna make it there. Don't worry.….so you look up to the older father figure as a younger kid. I was 20…21 actually at the time….everybody else was older than me and Frank.”</p><p>He did make it to Singapore…but only just. The Lion City will forever hold a special place for him. He describes the moments leading up to shore and safety.</p><p>CS ”We were sort of just drifting by that point. I've looked at the video we have of that period and there was hardly any wind in our sails and it was the sunrise. And we… we've been up all night on (and were) stressed….stressed out and very, very tired by this time. But of course, there's this element of Well, here we are. We've actually made it and look at us. We're a bunch of pirates. Isn't this cool?....but we were drifting up past Chinese Sailing club. I guess eventually we would have just run around in Malaysia somewhere, which would have been not very good.…luckily, there's a floating shell station opposite from the Changi Sailing Club where they have diesel for boats. And there was a tug refuelling there. So we whistled and waved and it came over to investigate, and it towed us back by that against the flow of the current to the Chinese sailing club.”</p><p>This mad cap journey led to the writer finding his calling. He went on to have a successful career as an Asia based photojournalist…but that is a story for another time.</p><p>CS “There are actually two books and there will be a third one and that was actually quite important because I didn't want to just have this book as a one off without anyone seeing the fact. Actually, there's a lot more written already, and there's a lot more potential because it's all based on diaries.”</p><p><b>Details:</b> <i>Bugis Nights </i>is published in paperback and eBook by Earnshaw Books (Hong Kong) priced in local currencies.</p><div><br /></div>Rosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-65289559973359085822023-07-27T17:00:00.008+08:002023-07-27T17:06:38.552+08:00Eternal Summer of the Homeland: Agnes Chew talks about writing a story collection and being the Asia Winner of the CSSP<p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_5zcdHXGb5fPE7CrEvb6hT-dTOkor34mN-OyMLsS3DJ-Z1k6579vEwwEScdSh74-C0Ha34L5_nOuqLvQ-_YivvWURP43vibk15o_s507QXqbyR7R0dGl44hotPb5UtiT3iIV2ED672hARgAP3RCWpqb2SR5SqHD6fEFKX_P3jBbMK_e6KL85I4Jb3Nw/s2339/37C1EA6B-E56C-4E15-B284-722F755898FA.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2339" data-original-width="1524" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_5zcdHXGb5fPE7CrEvb6hT-dTOkor34mN-OyMLsS3DJ-Z1k6579vEwwEScdSh74-C0Ha34L5_nOuqLvQ-_YivvWURP43vibk15o_s507QXqbyR7R0dGl44hotPb5UtiT3iIV2ED672hARgAP3RCWpqb2SR5SqHD6fEFKX_P3jBbMK_e6KL85I4Jb3Nw/w260-h400/37C1EA6B-E56C-4E15-B284-722F755898FA.jpeg" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Author</td></tr></tbody></table><u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Book Synopsis</b></span></u><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The stories in Agnes Chew’s first fiction collection illuminate the complexity of choice when duty and desire collide, and what a person is willing to sacrifice. A daughter grapples with an unexpected discovery in the aftermath of her mother’s death. A husband struggles to understand his wife’s reaction to her pregnancy. An adolescent and a domestic worker exchange secrets whose weight they find they cannot bear. And in a corner of Changi Airport, a nondescript office cubicle, a patch of open forest, others strive to find meaning and home.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><br /></b></span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_Qy0-QTssFAq0FCFwx_pZCrkvUtapLxaK1OxqAPe0306PB0alOfgL4G7WCdMkLar4ugqadQGlhxdRmQ0O-tE9-SmbwKA7pzzQD1TCl9osGG-snAfBeGQ0olBPUI4b_Pp0rONhuzry9g9HGXOYn6_j4LMkO5c9wnAbfu5L4-sffO0WkloZ20I7ix3qXE/s2140/4C192A30-072A-49E2-A1D5-1F358C7351B0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2140" data-original-width="2140" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_Qy0-QTssFAq0FCFwx_pZCrkvUtapLxaK1OxqAPe0306PB0alOfgL4G7WCdMkLar4ugqadQGlhxdRmQ0O-tE9-SmbwKA7pzzQD1TCl9osGG-snAfBeGQ0olBPUI4b_Pp0rONhuzry9g9HGXOYn6_j4LMkO5c9wnAbfu5L4-sffO0WkloZ20I7ix3qXE/w400-h400/4C192A30-072A-49E2-A1D5-1F358C7351B0.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Author</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Author Bio:</b></span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Agnes Chew is the author of <i>Eternal Summer of My Homeland</i> (2023) and <i>The Desire For Elsewhere</i> (2016). Her work has appeared in <i>Granta</i>, <i>Necessary Fiction</i> and <i>Litbreak Magazine</i>, among others, and her story, ‘Oceans Away from my Homeland’, won the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize (Asia Region). She holds a Master’s degree in international development from LSE; her prize-winning dissertation, which examines inequality and societal well-being in Singapore, was featured in <i>Singapore Policy Journal</i>. Born and raised in Singapore, she is currently based in Germany. </span></p> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">_________________________<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: Agnes, welcome to <i>Asian Books Blog</i>, and congratulations on being the Asia Winner for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize as well as the publication of <i>Eternal Summer of My Homeland</i>. Let’s start with this: what draws you to the short story? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">AC: Thank you so much, Elaine, for your kind words and for this opportunity! I actually started out writing creative nonfiction, and when I ventured into the realm of fiction writing, the short story form felt like a natural (and conceivable) choice. The more short stories I wrote, the more I found myself drawn to the form. I appreciate its requisite focus on purity and intensity—the way it compels you to distil meaning within a compact space. It’s also a thrill to be able to write a short story within a feverish span of hours or days, especially when I compare it to the far longer process of writing a novel, which I’m now working on.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />EC: How long did this collection take to write and put together? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">AC: I began writing the stories in this collection in 2020, and the entire writing and revision process took about three years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: I’m intrigued by the long expanse of time covered in quite several of the stories, where decades pass, or an entire childhood and growing up years elapse, challenging the contemporary notion of the short story as a window into time, usually condensed into intense, vivid moments. How do you navigate the tension between short and long expanses of time in your short stories to keep readers mired in the conflicts of your protagonists? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">AC: To be honest, it’s not something I actively thought about when I started writing these stories. At the beginning, I was simply following my characters on their journeys, trusting that they would lead me to each story’s natural ending, oftentimes not knowing how much time would elapse as the narratives unfolded. And so it all happened rather organically. In hindsight, I suppose my being guided by the preoccupations faced by my protagonists meant that my stories closely traced the development of my characters’ interior worlds and conflicts. In this way, time serves as an underlying yet essential engine that carries the stories forward in what I hope to be the most resonant ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: I was struck by the stories dealing with physical ailments: the girl with scoliosis; the boy sacrificing his suono soloist performance at the Esplanade because of dental braces; the hidden cancer suffered by a wonton mee seller for decades. As well, your </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://granta.com/oceans-away-from-my-homeland/" style="color: #954f72;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Commonwealth Short Story Prize-winning story</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> also deals with illness. To what extent do physical ailments ‘displace’ us from a mode of being and cause us to mourn futures not to be?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">AC: I believe illness holds the capacity to spark profound spiritual change. Many of us go about our everyday lives, as though we had eternity within our grasp, and then one day, we experience an acute pain in the abdomen, or find a lump in a breast—and everything seems at once changed. If the diagnosis proves severe, our realities are cleaved into two: before and after the discovery of the illness; what was once possible can no longer remain so. In the face of this sudden circumscription of possibilities, we cannot help but mourn all the dreams yet to be fulfilled. The list of countries we haven’t yet travelled to becomes unbearably long. The once close friends we have lost touch with emerge painfully in our minds. The struggle to remember the feeling of raindrops on our skin induces within us ache and fear in equal measure. Not only does illness force us out of our quotidian existence to confront the consequences of the choices we’ve hitherto made, it also allows us to see anew the possibilities life affords.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: Simultaneously, I was struck by the stories of nostalgia and homesickness, the stories of displacement, those signalling arrivals and departures, specifically that which featured Changi Airport as a terminal for the homeless. This crossing of nostalgia with an awareness of time is fascinating. To you, does nostalgia for our homes left behind also make us mourn possible futures not to be?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">AC: To me, nostalgia entails some form of suffering; we ache for that which we can no longer return to, for that which no longer exists the way it used to. And I think this knowledge heightens our awareness of the present moment and the power of our present choices to affect our possible futures. In the story “Home”, the protagonist who finds herself spending her days at Changi Airport looks back on the home and life she has left behind; while she feels a certain regret for the decisions she has made (or not made), she becomes aware of her autonomy of choice, however restricted it may be, and the possibilities of forging a path forward that her future self could live with.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: All the food references made me very hungry and homesick for our part of the world, as does the familiar references to the heartland, liberally weaved into your stories, from the Paya Lebar MRT to the red plates used to serve food in hawker stalls to fish soup noodles. I’m curious how you see the relationship among memory, writing, and displacement since you wrote these stories in Germany while sowing what Cyril Wong, in his praise of the collection, has termed ‘the keenly drawn’ ‘familiar tropes of our island city life’? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">AC: <i>Eternal Summer of My Homeland </i>is a book that emerged out of my yearning for home. I started writing it shortly after I relocated from Singapore to Germany in 2020, during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, when I was unable to travel back despite my father being hospitalised. I found that writing stories about the people and food and places I longed for, but had extremely limited access to at that time, was deeply cathartic and helped greatly in assuaging my feelings of displacement.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: Tell us about your story that won the Commonwealth Story Prize. What was the inspiration for it, and how has winning it impacted your writing? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">AC: “Oceans Away from My Homeland” is about a Singaporean living in Germany, for whom a health scare is one of the multiple changes she is trying to confront in her life. As a Singaporean who has been living in Germany for over three years, I wanted to explore through my story the cultural complexities of living away from one’s home country, and how that experience can shape one’s notions of identity and belonging, especially from a female perspective. In particular, it was a visit to a German clinic that sparked the genesis of the story.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Writing is often a solitary journey; you spend long stretches of time alone, in your head, with your characters, not knowing how others would react to your work. And so the win feels like a massive validation. While I’m immensely grateful for its affirmation of my work, I don’t think it has impacted my writing per se.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EC: Now that you are based in Germany, has there been a personal evolution in terms of how place seeds itself into your stories? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">AC: Definitely. My first book is a collection of travel essays set all over the world, and it was only after I moved to Europe that I found myself truly able to write about Singapore. Without that time and distance away, I don’t think <i>Eternal Summer of My Homeland</i> would have come into being.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />EC: Thank you for your words, and for coming on board AsianBooksBlog. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">_____________ </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">** <i>Eternal Summer of My Homeland </i>is available at <a href="https://epigrambookshop.sg/products/eternal-summer-of-my-homeland" style="color: #954f72;">Epigram Bookshop</a> and local bookstores in Southeast Asia at local prices, including Books Kinokuniya.<i></i><o:p></o:p></span></p>E.P. Chiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952934075736969157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-88855086698176196662023-07-15T07:39:00.002+08:002023-07-16T02:34:13.851+08:00Play the Red Queen - A Vietnam War Crime Thriller<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Saigon 1963 – multiple
American military advisers and South Vietnamese Army officers are gunned down
by the mysterious Red Queen, a deadly Vietnamese assassin. Two MP detectives,
Ellsworth Miser and Clovis Robeson, are called in to investigate but find
themselves stumbling into a mystery that's much deeper with international
implications.</span></p><p><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHmFSwdffqqtNYbgxx08l5ewpGYfvJjwazJ3h8tWXujyN4wwk-yoiuZ-bCIyPmDXe9zdCy5lD_FPtI5LLrwh5vFva_F7JqQ-DRez-4JT6oI4ii2Lr3O5srM62Dq5EyG4XMxmkYqhyzAzVo8iw92kHk5Pnp3Ci0duzhCK_EpZyum47mNW-nt3LzhAOEVmm/s1000/Play%20the%20Red%20Queen%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="667" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHmFSwdffqqtNYbgxx08l5ewpGYfvJjwazJ3h8tWXujyN4wwk-yoiuZ-bCIyPmDXe9zdCy5lD_FPtI5LLrwh5vFva_F7JqQ-DRez-4JT6oI4ii2Lr3O5srM62Dq5EyG4XMxmkYqhyzAzVo8iw92kHk5Pnp3Ci0duzhCK_EpZyum47mNW-nt3LzhAOEVmm/w230-h346/Play%20the%20Red%20Queen%20cover.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Play the Red Queen</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> is a tight thriller
novel by Juris Jurjevics, himself a Vietnam Veteran and the founder of Soho Press,
an independent publisher. Told in first person, the novel reads very much like
a gritty 80s buddy cop movie, though less like <i>Lethal Weapon</i> and more like
the unsung thriller <i>Off Limits</i>, starring Willem Dafoe and Gregory Hines.
There is an air of dread and cynicism that pervades the writing, along with stifling heat.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The story begins
with Miser and Robeson bent over the corpse of Major Furth, an American military
adviser, shot dead by the Red Queen. Dressed in a traditional <i>aoi dai</i>
and riding a scooter, she has a distinctive calling card. The theory is that
she’s a Communist assassin, working on behalf of the Viet Cong. The trail
eventually leads to a Vietnamese Communist defector from the Red Queen’s unit,
who’s supposedly imprisoned. But when they inquire at the prison itself, the defector
isn’t there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">More troubling are
two rumors. The first is that the Red Queen plans on killing the “Old Fox,” who’s
either South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem or US Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge.
The second rumor is that some South Vietnamese generals are plotting a coup
against the Diem regime.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">As they dig deeper,
they uncover that Major Furth was investigating corruption regarding the US aid
to South Vietnam. Everyone is getting their beaks wet with the unlimited cash
flow, even the Viet Cong. The Communists don’t want it to stop, since US aid,
weapons, and supplies, are also funding their guerilla war against Diem.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Miser and Robeson
also track down the Red Queen’s origins, as the daughter of a religious sect, persecuted
by the Diem regime. It should be noted that President Diem was a staunch
Catholic, whose heavy-handed repression against religious minorities led to the
infamous “burning Buddhist monk” protest. It appears that Diem’s
authoritarianism not only killed the Red Queen’s family, including her brother but pushed her into the arms of the Communists. Miser and Robeson put the clues
together as the clock ticks down to an explosive climax.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Play the Red Queen</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> is a great thriller
and one set in an overlooked era of the Vietnam War, that being just before major
American involvement began in 1965. Check it out for a tight read that’s loaded
with politics and history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Matthew Legarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06541411598345441029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-66169180449519354432023-07-05T16:18:00.003+08:002023-07-09T18:35:42.683+08:00Singaporean writer Soon Ai Ling's stories are translated, transcreated and adapted by Yeo Wei Wei. An interview with Nicky Harman<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNX1zMCikwuPR5CTYL5eshm7bWUkLfX6V5IpjX05b7pLCzLheI3Bvo5cgLmJYMVXOF_dwIuVOMgaKlhOrPt-NiM9hOc2szfUeEoKPvCwDFLuluP3b-aIQqdJv7AUNx0rkJGimtlDvHVYIciWxtcw9EUOLJSmwhrQVlaOSAMz9LssnIe5tzpQ-MIWRU_aas/s320/ABB49-WW.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="213" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNX1zMCikwuPR5CTYL5eshm7bWUkLfX6V5IpjX05b7pLCzLheI3Bvo5cgLmJYMVXOF_dwIuVOMgaKlhOrPt-NiM9hOc2szfUeEoKPvCwDFLuluP3b-aIQqdJv7AUNx0rkJGimtlDvHVYIciWxtcw9EUOLJSmwhrQVlaOSAMz9LssnIe5tzpQ-MIWRU_aas/s1600/ABB49-WW.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="https://balestier.com/books/" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Diasporic</span></i><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Clan</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://balestier.com/books/" target="_blank"> </a>are two
volumes of short stories by the sinophone Singaporean writer Soon Ai Ling, translated,
transcreated and adapted by Yeo Wei Wei. </span><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yeo has done a translation of Soon
stories in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Diasporic</i>, and then </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">transcreated and
adapted </span><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">them
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Clan</i>. As a translator myself, I
was intrigued by this adventure in story-telling</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">, so I asked Yeo Wei
Wei to tell me more.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NH:
could you tell me how you came across Soon's stories and what attracted you to
them?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WW:
I received an email from Ailing one day out of the blue whilst I was in Norwich
doing my MA in Creative Writing. She had asked Eva Tang about my translation of
the subtitles and song lyrics for Eva’s documentary The Songs We Sang. She
liked my translation very much and wished to approach me to ask if I would
translate her fiction. After I finished my MA, I returned to Singapore and
I looked for Ailing’s book of short stories in the National Library. I read
them and I also watched Eva’s short film that was based on Ailing’s story “Chef
Tham”. Ailing’s stories are set in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and
Singapore. The Chinese diasporic contexts in these different countries are the
basis of the rich story worlds found in her fiction. She is unique for this
reason, amongst Singaporean Chinese authors. I was also attracted to the
predicaments of her protagonists. Very often, her stories deal with the private
struggles of men and women in traditional Asian family settings. They are
individuals torn between personal desires and family history, hierarchy, family
values and expectations. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;"> <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBRfkv-Oh8vLcDMQD-_CtWjNdEI_5fnlC0RJ6yA_lye-We0gELWFiROHIF7w84hMxS0yQ6x6Hhl5_f157yo8-fFmPUQNHp8VlFPoCATLVo7KPzKOke65Syt4y_4cnyPyCCjmpn25cI07oxJn2nj4-pfVIr0kJrmdJTW4-_HfHYD7z9eGrhe5xlNQb7cYL/s763/ABB49-1.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="495" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBRfkv-Oh8vLcDMQD-_CtWjNdEI_5fnlC0RJ6yA_lye-We0gELWFiROHIF7w84hMxS0yQ6x6Hhl5_f157yo8-fFmPUQNHp8VlFPoCATLVo7KPzKOke65Syt4y_4cnyPyCCjmpn25cI07oxJn2nj4-pfVIr0kJrmdJTW4-_HfHYD7z9eGrhe5xlNQb7cYL/s320/ABB49-1.jpeg" width="208" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NH:
As a translator I was intrigued by your calling <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Clan</i> a <u>transcreation </u>and <u>adaptation</u>.
Could you tell me how each process differs from the other and, most
importantly, from the process of <u>translation</u>?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WW:
Years ago I signed up for Japanese lessons because I wished to read Haruki
Murakami in Japanese. I was curious about the sound of his voice in Japanese. I
had read him only in translation — in English and in Mandarin. He sounded
different in the Taiwanese and mainland Chinese translations. This was what
piqued my interest in transcreation. The translator is a living and thinking
person, so no matter how hard they try to not be present in a translated text,
they cannot help but be present. <i>Clan</i> seeks to draw attention
to this aspect of the translation process. It isn’t often talked about openly
for obvious reasons. I don’t have any Russian and when I read Gogol or Chekhov
orTolstoy, I don’t want to think that I am not reading them. I want to believe
that I am reading Gogol, Chekhov, Tolstoy, even though as a translator myself,
I often experience the untranslatability of literary texts. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
adaptations were a very big experiment for me. I wrote them because I wanted to
hear more from the main characters, all female except for Ninth Uncle, and in
that latter case, the chorus of women who act as narrators are, for me, the
real heroines of that tale. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-13XdbfBQJVkOxVbJNh_ad0NJ9e-20A3gF1JjU8Zg6b9HthRulOX-P-EtWdtuek9NT8sVDUP3TbmKAAaiFlni1tWnAV-2ZoI_MVuuYj1vkL8YmlYTbR7IwH4WrX233EBkLqaUPpm00zpEYYhbdOOW5vskPXfLxP2gyk1jg-MaiqU-xPG65y_b__3r0YZv/s765/ABB49-2.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="495" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-13XdbfBQJVkOxVbJNh_ad0NJ9e-20A3gF1JjU8Zg6b9HthRulOX-P-EtWdtuek9NT8sVDUP3TbmKAAaiFlni1tWnAV-2ZoI_MVuuYj1vkL8YmlYTbR7IwH4WrX233EBkLqaUPpm00zpEYYhbdOOW5vskPXfLxP2gyk1jg-MaiqU-xPG65y_b__3r0YZv/s320/ABB49-2.jpeg" width="207" /></a></div><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">Here’s
an </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">example of my translation and adaptation of Ailing’s story </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="color: #222222; font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt;">《白香祖与</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">“</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="color: #222222; font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt;">孔雀图</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">”</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="color: #222222; font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt;">》</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Bai Xiangzu and Her Embroidered Peacocks</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">Ailing wrote a story about
a teacher and her apprentice’s reunion. It contains many details about the
world of traditional Chinese embroidery in Guangzhou. Both the teacher and
apprentice married well (the teacher married the owner of the embroidery studio;
the apprentice married a school principal). What got me thinking that there
could be another way to tell this story? It was that the apprentice (Madam Bai)
had accomplished something no other girl in the workshop did — she made an
extraordinary piece that won a big prize and was exhibited around the world.
But after her achievement, she was married off by her father. The match
was deemed to be a very good one for her. But what if there’s another way to
look at this situation? I went into the mind of the teacher, and I came up
with the adaptation by changing the given circumstances. In this sense, my
adaptation is a new story, completely independent of Ailing’s story except the
former also germinated in the world of traditional Chinese embroidery in Guangzhou.
</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">My adaptation
departs from the source-language text by imagining a situation of unrequited
passion between the women. The teacher is in love with her pupil, and in fact,
she worships her. She believes that her apprentice is the reincarnation of the
founder of their school of embroidery, a deity. The teacher in my adaptation is
also different from the character in Ailing’s story in that she believes in the
right of women to be more than just accessories to men. The story becomes a
feminist tale through adaptation. Here’s one paragraph.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">THE
ORIGINAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">师</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">傅不安地往老</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">赵</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">那里站,窗口的光</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">线</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">射在那</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">绣</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">版上,那孔雀儿在白香祖精心刺</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">绣</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">下,不但做到平、光、</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">齐</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">、均、和、</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">顺</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">、</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">细</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">、密的工夫,而且虚</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">实</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">交</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">织</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">浓</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">淡相宜。托出</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">轮</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">廓,使那孔雀形象更</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">鲜</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">明。</span><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">”</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">《</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">白香祖与</span><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">孔雀</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">图</span><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">”</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: DengXian; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">》</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">, p. 174)</span><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">YEO’S
TRANSLATION in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Diasporic</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Master Teacher stood beside Old Zhao, feeling
uneasy. The light came in through the window just then and fell upon the work
on the embroidery frame. The art that Bai Xiangzu’s gifted hands had produced
became apparent: there was evenness, brilliance, neatness, balance, harmony,
smoothness, fineness, and tightness in all her stiches. There was absolutely
nothing to fault. Most wondrously, she had managed to give depth and volume to
the peacocks, which made their image even more vivid.’ (“Bai Xiangzu and Her
Embroidered Peacocks”, p. 88)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">YEO’S
ADAPTION in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Clan</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">‘When there was only one </span><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">fanned tail left to sew, Xiangzu got
up and went to the window. She seemed to be resting her eyes, but I could see
the blood on her fingers. Master Yong and Old Chao seized the opportunity to
examine her work. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Even though her stitching is
unconventional, I have to say, this girl is a genius! She’s managed to make
their feathers look so real, so glossy! And look, if you look at it from where
I’m standing, you’ll see how wondrously she’s mixed the tones. I simply adore
her choice of colours! Especially the blend she’s chosen for the breast. I
don’t know how but somehow she’s created the effect of the creature’s little
heart going beat-bippity-beat,” Old Chao gushed. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">None of us had ever heard such a
great volume of praise from him before, not unless it was about himself. Many
remembered that day for this reason. Not me. I tended to her poor fingers later
on and she let me kiss them.’ (“Dreaming of Madam Bai and Her Noble Peacocks”,
p. 49)</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">NH:
Was there a particular reason why you didn't write a Translator's Foreword or
Afterword, explaining these points to the reader?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;">WW:
I had discussed the possibility of writing a Foreword for Diasporic and Clan
with Roh (my publisher at Balestier Press). We decided against it in the end
because we felt that it was best to let the reader approach the stories without
any pre-conceptions. We also agreed that an essay where I reflect on the
process of moving from translation to transcreation and adaptation would be
best suited for a literary journal. I do want to write this essay. That was the
plan we had made back in 2022 but there have been unforeseen circumstances this
year which have made the plan quite difficult to execute. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NH:
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and creative processes with us, Yeo
Wei Wei! Both volumes of short stories are available from <a href="https://balestier.com/books/" target="_blank">Balestier Press</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-SG" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-60191676252852483752023-06-29T08:30:00.002+08:002023-06-29T12:43:45.226+08:00Ghost Girl, Banana: Elaine Chiew Chats With Acclaimed Debut Novelist Wiz Wharton<p><b><u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></u></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></u></b></div><b><u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJ0katMiP5PZm01BlEtNbnzgOfg1UYkge2Xcy6o4EesQkw4OvSFLomRSnFsbpcA7QniFN_dSJ2GcascKON5EUuinpac6kz8vqjPqhqMOKVPSQUiwLst3gHXt2-PbKK-aLAPpCNBtk9ZMhHdTjFR5owqNGNTAEgVam0hqfcngJl3qT-S5yJWpNi6KJ578/s1162/Screenshot%202023-06-26%20at%2021.17.22.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="766" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJ0katMiP5PZm01BlEtNbnzgOfg1UYkge2Xcy6o4EesQkw4OvSFLomRSnFsbpcA7QniFN_dSJ2GcascKON5EUuinpac6kz8vqjPqhqMOKVPSQUiwLst3gHXt2-PbKK-aLAPpCNBtk9ZMhHdTjFR5owqNGNTAEgVam0hqfcngJl3qT-S5yJWpNi6KJ578/w264-h400/Screenshot%202023-06-26%20at%2021.17.22.png" width="264" /></a></div><br /><br /></u></b><p></p><p><b><u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">About the Book:</span></u></b></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 15.6pt;"><span style="color: #333333;">Set between the last years of the “Chinese Windrush” in 1966 and Hong Kong’s Handover to China in 1997, a mysterious inheritance sees a young woman from London uncovering buried secrets in her late mother’s homeland in this captivating, wry debut about family, identity, and the price of belonging.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 15.6pt;"><span style="color: #333333;">Hong Kong, 1966. Sook-Yin is exiled from Kowloon to London with orders to restore honor to her family. </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0f1111;">As she strives to fit into a world that does not understand her, she realises that survival will mean carving out a destiny of her own.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0f1111; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span><span style="color: #333333;">Thirty years later in London, having lost her mother as a small child, biracial misfit Lily can only remember what Maya, her preternaturally perfect older sister, has told her about Sook-Yin. Unexpectedly named in the will of a powerful Chinese stranger, Lily embarks on a secret pilgrimage across the world to discover the lost side of her identity and claim the reward. But just as change is coming to Hong Kong, so Lily learns Maya’s secrecy about their past has deep roots, and that good fortune comes at a price.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 15.6pt;"><span style="color: #333333;"> Heartfelt, wry and achingly real, Ghost Girl, Banana marks the stunning debut of a writer-to-watch. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>About the Author:</b><o:p></o:p></span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 20.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCW3KSVZtUMfxSYYmV9p7vInS4F1sW6PCWsspCi0YkaVc7ufTFwGJO2LsCo54eKSeqDBaiFHdScZj7EaEfZDrDcaoQZNPwEpt_tkgpnGoXqUyWOc1PAsMBeVEQtVN97-dHsJPxqQDYit8nCurG9GUcdyw_EEj1Kza7yI321LwW8U8XM2Tlqd8hItbzCg/s2175/7860077F-DB6D-4562-A1A5-52F60ED38BD1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1450" data-original-width="2175" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCW3KSVZtUMfxSYYmV9p7vInS4F1sW6PCWsspCi0YkaVc7ufTFwGJO2LsCo54eKSeqDBaiFHdScZj7EaEfZDrDcaoQZNPwEpt_tkgpnGoXqUyWOc1PAsMBeVEQtVN97-dHsJPxqQDYit8nCurG9GUcdyw_EEj1Kza7yI321LwW8U8XM2Tlqd8hItbzCg/w400-h266/7860077F-DB6D-4562-A1A5-52F60ED38BD1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wiz Wharton, Courtesy of Author</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 20.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Wiz Wharton was born in London of Chinese-European heritage. She is a prize-winning graduate of the National Film and Television school, where she studied screenwriting under the filmmakers Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears and Kenith Trodd. <i>Ghost Girl, Banana</i> is her debut novel. Adaptation rights have also been optioned by a leading UK production company. She lives in the Scottish Highlands. Her twitter handle is </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://twitter.com/Chomsky1" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #e73e15; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">@Chomsky1</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and Instagram is </span><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #e73e15; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/wizwharton/?hl=en" target="_blank">@wizwharton</a></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">_________________________<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC: </b>Congratulations on your debut novel, <i>Ghost Girl, Banana</i>, which has just launched to much critical acclaim in the UK. In your acknowledgement, you mentioned the story’s inception as ‘the discovery of some old-fashioned floppy discs in a box’. Can you tell us about how a whole novel was borne out of this discovery? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /><b>WW: </b>Yes, so this happened back in 2020 when I was moving house and discovered the discs in a box of my late mum’s possessions. Initially, I had no idea what they were, and it was only later that I discovered they were transcriptions of her diaries, kept since she arrived in the UK in the early sixties as an immigrant from Hong Kong. Although painful to read in parts, they were also transformative in revealing so many of her experiences which she had never really spoken about during her lifetime. That stoicism is germane to many women of that generation, I think, as much as it’s also a cultural thing, but I remember wondering how many other hidden stories there were out there, and what a tragedy it was that they weren’t more represented in the British fiction space. As much as a novel is always an ambitious creative project to embark upon, I had a whole wealth of information in front of me to draw upon, so I was very fortunate in that respect.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC: </b>I imagine the process of delving into such personal history must not have been easy. What has the process of writing the novel been like? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>WW: </b>Obviously, there were all the usual insecurities that authors go through - is it any good? Will anyone want to read it? Will I ever finish it? I’ve been writing for quite a long time now, and that imposter syndrome never quite leaves you, not least because each new project feels like you’re starting from scratch. It didn’t help that I’d chosen a particularly ambitious dual timeline/dual narrative structure, either! But of course, there were specific challenges to writing such a personally inspired book and I’ve spoken quite a lot recently about art and responsibility. Putting your work into the public sphere is always a vulnerable act, but when it’s informed from a very real place you have to be mindful, both in terms of self-care and the care of others who might one day read it. That’s not to say that your truth isn’t valid, but simply that you can’t be exploitative in that truth which is why I chose to write a novel rather than a memoir.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Throughout the process, I’ve been extremely lucky in terms of the people I’ve had around me - agents, editors, friends and family - who have all championed the book from its early stages. There’s a much stronger movement now towards own voices that wasn’t around when I first started writing, and that’s been wonderful to see, even though we aren’t <i>quite </i>there yet in terms of true equality of representation. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC:</b> As you said, there was a dual narrative structure, viz, the two alternating perspectives in the book: Lily in 1997 (daughter) and Sook-Yin in 1977 (mother). Tell us why you decided to structure it this way, and was it hard to keep their voices distinctive? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>WW: </b>When I first began the book, I fully believed that it would be Sook-Yin’s story exclusively. It was only about halfway through the first draft that I started to reflect on the parallels with my own journey growing up - the attempts to assimilate both sides of my cultural heritage - and came up with the idea of doing a dual narrative/timeline. As soon as that moment happened, the whole novel really opened up to me and became much more about the generational legacy of trauma and secrets within families. I built in so many thematic and visual mirrors on the back of that creative decision, because as much as Lily has a lot more choice in her life in terms of her gender and economic/sexual freedoms, the issues around her identity and belonging endure. I thought that was such an interesting dynamic to explore, not least because it’s a reflection on how far we still have to go in society in terms of acceptance and tolerance of otherness. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Keeping the voices distinct was very much helped by the thirty-year difference that separates the women and the fact that Lily was born and raised in the UK. Of the two however, Lily was definitely the most challenging to get right. Part of this came from handling her strand in first person which for me is always the most intimate point of view. It requires a willingness to be especially vulnerable, a fearlessness about mining those dark places in your own experience in order to be emotionally authentic. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC: </b>I’m intrigued that you mention Lily’s personal history and how it parallels with your own. In fact, Lily’s search for personal history, identity, and lineage also dovetails poignantly with the Handover of Hong Kong. I especially love that one moment you describe of Lily watching the pomp and solemnity on TV – the moment the Union Jack was lowered, but the Chinese standard hadn’t yet been raised, and Hong Kong for that few seconds ‘belonged to nobody’. This juxtaposition really folds the personal within the collective, and I’m curious as to how you see national identity and history influencing personal identity and history for your characters. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>WW:</b> I’m so glad you asked this! For me, the whole essence of the novel is about that search for identity and belonging, but also how we define the word “home”. Is home an emotional or a physical state, and who decides this? The central tension for most of the characters in the book is “I want to belong but I also want to be true to myself” but that’s especially pertinent for Lily and Sook-Yin, who go from a place of having their identities defined by others to a position where they are defining themselves - as women, as sisters, as daughters, as both not half. In the same way, Hong Kong was for decades defined by its colonizers, for good and for ill, and there are some people who welcomed its return to China and the erasure of that indentured history. But for a lot of the younger generation now, Hong Kong is its own thing. Territories may exist as possessions in the eyes of the law, but the people within them are much more than their perceived nationality; they are the sum total of their experiences and their beliefs and their cultural legacies which may be drawn from a whole gamut of influences. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC: </b>Food depicted strikingly in two places reminds me of how integrally tied it is to not just identity but also the idea of nourishment and refuge (when Sook-Yin’s brother in law brought her red bean paste buns in the hospital after she gave birth to Lily), belonging and identity and a sense of home (Sook-Yin’s happiness in sharing a sumptuous meal of rice and rainbow trout, choy sum, bitter melon with dried shrimp with her friend’s family). Why do you think food brings out so much cultural meaning?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b> </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>WW: </b>When I was growing up, food was the sort of love language of our family and I think this is something very common to many cultures around the world. It’s not only a marker of both identity and memory, it’s often our first experience of being nurtured by our loved ones and so yes, in the book it represents familiarity to Sook-Yin and an anchor to everyone and everything she has left behind. There’s a passage later on where she tries to cook moo-shu pork for her English husband’s family and their rejection of it is a metaphor for their refusal to accept <i>her</i> in many ways; a sort of fear response of losing their own identities by eating it. Similarly, Lily’s appetite and willingness to try the unfamiliar food of Hong Kong is, in part, a desire to reconnect with her late mother, to absorb her through that potent emotional currency. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC:</b> I want to talk about the men in this novel. Sook-Yin’s husband emerged as weak; Sook-Yin’s brother cruel, and even the love of Sook-Yin’s life, though true enough in his affections, cowardly. The effect though is to bolster the women’s quiet strength and dignity. Was this intentional?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>WW:</b> It’s very true that the focus of the book is on the quiet strength and resilience of its central women, something which for Sook-Yin’s generation was rarely acknowledged, or only through the usual markers of success such as wealth, a fortuitous marriage or educational attainment. But it’s also true that Lily is undervalued in the novel for similar reasons, especially when compared to her older sister Maya, so it’s not entirely a gender-based bias.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I do agree however, that the men <i>are </i>by and large pretty horrendous, although I hope people can also read them through the lens of history and culture. Many societies were, and still are, patriarchal by definition and the onus on men to be the breadwinner and decision-makers of the family was ingrained by their elders. It would have been incredibly emasculating for men of that time to be outshone by their wives or sisters, emotionally or materially. Daniel represents a younger generation of men who want to be seen as more hopeful and less regressive in that regard. It’s incredibly interesting to me that older readers have been much more accepting of the status quo reflected in the novel whilst younger readers have been totally outraged, but to me this is the beauty of reading books; that everyone comes to them with their own individual experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>EC:</b> What has been the best thing for you about writing this book?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>WW: </b>The very best thing has been staying true to my original intentions for it, which was to shine a light on the hidden women of my mum’s generation and to pay tribute to their incredible and unacknowledged contributions to society. My mum passed away very suddenly and I was unequipped emotionally to say everything I wanted to in the immediate aftermath. I hope that the novel redresses that imbalance. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The other – totally unexpected – result of writing the book is that it went to auction for the adaptation rights last year and that I’ve been invited to adapt it as a limited series for television. Before turning to long-form I was a screenwriter and so it feels as though my life has come full circle to some extent. I’m currently writing the pilot episode and we’ve already had interest on the back of the book, so fingers crossed that it gets picked up! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">By far the best consequence, however, have been the messages from readers thanking me for writing something in which they finally feel seen. Nor has this been limited to British-born Chinese readers or readers of mixed east or south-east Asian heritage, but also those from other diasporas now living in the UK. As someone who never saw themselves reflected in the mainstream fiction space growing up, that is honestly the greatest privilege I could ever hope to have.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">NB:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Ghost Girl, Banana is available worldwide at all local stores at local prices. Support your independent stores!</span></p>E.P. Chiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952934075736969157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-82525451713247667642023-05-26T19:58:00.004+08:002023-05-26T20:05:32.420+08:00Now Boarding: Experiencing Singapore through travel 1800s–2000s <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_ibjDuUC64gQ-bfNdwpL0ExewNOKghsSgJpsruuMOkI1t7vP-ydO_yIT1fqeRZ3PpzrooYl3Eg2qYG1lRu7-52HBhzRBvqRfGKyOOeY2FaDvIINYi08gzzyJB72Khk-hwRiE145Rg8Hr0ehZwgETIRhhEmraHophXpdPFiK4nHZPL2sKWE7FHi_j/s1200/1318704.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="801" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_ibjDuUC64gQ-bfNdwpL0ExewNOKghsSgJpsruuMOkI1t7vP-ydO_yIT1fqeRZ3PpzrooYl3Eg2qYG1lRu7-52HBhzRBvqRfGKyOOeY2FaDvIINYi08gzzyJB72Khk-hwRiE145Rg8Hr0ehZwgETIRhhEmraHophXpdPFiK4nHZPL2sKWE7FHi_j/s320/1318704.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />T.A.Morton gives a sneak preview of <i>Now Boarding</i>, an exhibition opening on May 27 at the National Museum, Singapore. <p></p><p>In 1956, writer W. Somerset Maugham permitted Raffles Hotel to use his words for their latest marketing campaign. His words were, 'Raffles Hotel stands for all the fables of the exotic East.' Such a testimony from a well-known writer was priceless and Raffles promptly used them in their advertisements, on their menus and matchboxes. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>Various hotel chains have since used this idea of the "exotic East" over the years, including the Singapore Hyatt in 1971, who wrote in their advertisements, 'If Somerset Maugham were alive today, our Islander Room would be his second home.' There was this sense that Somerset Maugham encapsulated something unique and romantic about Singapore, an alluring part of the world where one would experience adventure. </p><p>The new travel-themed exhibition at the National Museum, <i>Now Boarding,</i> aims to encompass that feeling of adventure and rediscovery. It is a welcome distraction after years of the pandemic when travel was impossible. It seeks to look at Singapore's role, first as a travel hub and how it has transitioned to becoming a dynamic, cosmopolitan tourist destination. The exhibition contains over six hundred artifacts and there is a sense that by looking back, it wants to highlight how much it has moved forward. The Singaporean landscape alters quickly, and this exhibition allows for playful reflection, encouraging visitors to contemplate how Singapore identified itself to others and evolved. </p><p>On arriving at the National Museum's main entrance, one of the former Terminal 2 Changi Airport Flipboards greets you. It is an impressive sight. If you wait a few moments, you will hear the flip and click of the board as it changes destination. It invites you to check in, where you will be presented with a boarding card as your ticket. First class, and so begins your journey, transforming you into another time. Singapore has turned the mirror on itself; how did it see itself, how did others perceive it, and how did it alter to suit cosmopolitan travellers over the years? Using five common themes found within an ordinary travel guidebook, Getting Here, <i>Getting Around, Places to Stay, Eating out</i> and <i>Sights and Shopping</i>, the exhibition cleverly uses a colourful array of images, items, sounds and thoughts to evoke feelings of amusement and nostalgia. </p><p>In the first room, guidebooks from different decades are presented behind glass. The oldest dates to 1887; its title reads, <i>Picturesque and Busy Singapore</i>. There is an immediate feeling that Singapore has always been depicted this way, a luscious green city busy with traders, travellers, and life. As you move down the line of guidebooks, you see how Singapore was presented throughout different time periods. Landscape photographs of the city, Raffles Hotel and pretty smiling local girls wearing handcrafted rattan hats are illustrated on various cover pages. </p><p>Vintage posters of the former Malay railways and P&O ships line the walls in <i>Getting Here</i>. Headphones filled with oral testimonies lie underneath the vibrant commercial posters of cruise ships, giving an insight into the long, arduous journey from the West towards the East. It becomes obvious that the European traveller was the main focus of the tourist industry in the early twentieth century. Singapore Airlines is naturally featured, showcasing one of their First Class Suite seats from 2007, the iconic Singapore girl uniform and the vinyl record of the Singapore girl song, 'A great way to Fly.’ Reminding us of their vital role in making Singapore an easy place to get to. </p><p>In <i>Getting Around</i>, Singapore’s crowded and chaotic streets are seen in black and white photographs. There is a touching mention of the traffic police (angels in white) that carefully directed traffic flow before the arrival of traffic lights. A fun addition is a well-preserved trishaw. It is a relic of the past, reminding us that rickshaws and trishaws were once the most common transportation in Singapore. Crowding the streets, they became a hindrance once more cars were on the road and dropped in popularity. A vibrant display of the old Transit Link cards illustrates the many designs over the decades, from celebrities to landmarks and the outlines of the MRT. Getting around Singapore has changed over time, yet it is evident it always wanted to ensure that it was accessible and easy for all. </p><p>Raffles Hotel is highlighted today, as the oldest hotel in Singapore and one of the most well-known hotels in the world. In <i>Places to Stay</i>, Raffles has donated two staff uniforms from two different times; a room service uniform from the 1950s and the modern-day doorman's uniform that appears to be more formal almost military attire. The Raffles doorman's job is to keep non-guests out of the hotel, yet now tourists seek him out making him one of the most photographed people in the world. Dishware and silver from the old Europe hotel showcase the luxury of the past where hotels wanted to encapsulate the desires of the society, from the roller-skate rink that was set up in a hotel lobby to the rich resort living at the Shangri La in Sentosa, to the world-famous MBS. The hotels of Singapore have been leading the rest of the world in how to cater to those that can afford them. </p><p>Food is often considered Singapore's favourite pastime; from the arrival of Chinese immigrants setting up the hawker centres to the fine dining experiences of the grand hotels, there is something to interest everyone. In <i>Eating Out</i>, you can browse through the menus of the past, filled with different local dishes and see the emergence of international cuisines that filtered through to satisfy foreign tastes. In addition, there is an arrangement of old cooking utensils used in the hawker centres and an imaginative circular arrangement of old branded coffee cups and soda bottles that bring a sense of longing for a time that once was but has now passed.</p><p>Singapore has always been known for its <i>Sights and Shopping</i>. During 1970/80's, shopping for electronic items in Singapore was world-famous; cheap cassette players, VCRs, watches, and good deals were to be found. With the vibrant signs from the former Neptune Theatre, once the largest dining theatre in Singapore, and Zouk, the nightlife hotspot, we are taken back to the days of amusements and parties. Sightseeing highlights include forgotten tourist attractions such as the Crocodile farm with a tannery where you could design your leather goods. And Haw Par Villa, formerly Tiger Balm Villa, which has been present since 1935 and falls in and out of popularity. Here there is a sense that Singapore directs tourists to what they want them to see. Today Gardens by the Bay, the Merlion and MBS dominate the guidebooks; in the past, many guidebooks recommended renting a car and taking a road trip to explore the island in its entirety and all its offerings. </p><p>The exhibition is like visiting an old friend, reminiscing about the past; there is a lightness and a sense of humour with its pop-up disco room based on the clubs of the 1980s. By looking back to go forward, it reexamines itself, emphasising that Maugham's ‘exotic East’ belongs to another time and that Singapore has fully emerged from no longer being considered just a travel hub destination but a destination to rival any great modern city. </p><p><b>Details, Now Boarding </b></p><p>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When: May 27, 2023, till Nov 19, 2023.</p><p>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Where: Exhibition Gallery, Basement, National Museum Singapore.</p><p>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Timings: 10 am to 7 pm daily (last admission at 6.30 pm)</p><div><br /></div>Rosie Milnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15017297903569479806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-31520579160047315742023-05-25T14:24:00.003+08:002023-05-26T20:18:52.372+08:00Elaine Chiew Interviews Khanh Ha, author of prize-winning short story collection All The Rivers Flow Into The Sea.<p><b>About the Book:</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnD5gy-WUV2KspuEcho3vHP8lmhBe_AgCnApJemWmRjUoTs1WFhhdG-EUhBi0RgrEXHsK-huXVtRyA-68Mtgyo0DfG0mxeH26J2hgt56Dzyg_e-bAUBkJh2nb1kUtvBu0FfyRp6RyPnr3m0bKP0jLauQFqJoRdDCxV8WID6eThZ1Bh1G4YN0hXspkV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1216" data-original-width="852" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnD5gy-WUV2KspuEcho3vHP8lmhBe_AgCnApJemWmRjUoTs1WFhhdG-EUhBi0RgrEXHsK-huXVtRyA-68Mtgyo0DfG0mxeH26J2hgt56Dzyg_e-bAUBkJh2nb1kUtvBu0FfyRp6RyPnr3m0bKP0jLauQFqJoRdDCxV8WID6eThZ1Bh1G4YN0hXspkV=w280-h400" width="280" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: 12pt;">From Vietnam to America, <i>All the Rivers Flow into the Sea</i> is a short story collection, jewel- like, evocative, and layered, brings to readers a unique sense of love and passion alongside tragedy and darker themes of peril. The titular story features a love affair between an unlikely duo pushing against barely surmountable cultural barriers. In “The Yin-Yang Market,” magical realism and the beauty of innocence abounds in deep dark places, teeming with life and danger. “A Mute Girl’s Yarn” tells a magical coming- of-age story like sketches in a child’s fairy book.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Bringing together the damned, the unfit, the brave who succumb to the call of fate, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">this collection </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">is a great journey where redemption and human goodness arise out of violence and beauty to become part of an essential mercy. It </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">was selected as a winner of the 2021 EastOver Prize for Fiction and received much advanced praise.</span></span></p></div></div></div><p><b>About the Author:</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigCj9BbT0XY7n_4A2BqYTQjlahkgWM3LgDKcrtzX_U5sd_cbSeWyhy0R23rxzMVosnl-YpWzBuwedPAPUT40En4gSP_zW8wMsBCZ2XuCiG6U1aBtPOZhdXVstwLO0QTY0RzQVdER1RW2Cq4HHZY8-GeNmDWE4jRm7_zwJGotuvfcryLahE0QnwZXMg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="701" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigCj9BbT0XY7n_4A2BqYTQjlahkgWM3LgDKcrtzX_U5sd_cbSeWyhy0R23rxzMVosnl-YpWzBuwedPAPUT40En4gSP_zW8wMsBCZ2XuCiG6U1aBtPOZhdXVstwLO0QTY0RzQVdER1RW2Cq4HHZY8-GeNmDWE4jRm7_zwJGotuvfcryLahE0QnwZXMg=w393-h400" width="393" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times;">Award winning author Khanh Ha is a nine-time Pushcart nominee, finalist for The Ohio State University Fiction Collection Prize, Mary McCarthy Prize, Many Voices Project, Prairie Schooner Book Prize, The University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize, Prize Americana, and The Santa Fe Writers Project. He is the recipient of the Sand Hills Prize for Best Fiction, The Robert Watson Literary Prize in Fiction, The Orison Anthology Award for Fiction, The James Knudsen Prize for Fiction, The C&R Press Fiction Prize, The EastOver Fiction Prize, The Blackwater Press Fiction Prize, The Gival Press Novel Award, and The Red Hen Press Fiction Award.<span> </span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">_____________________________________</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span>EC</span></b><span>: This collection was a finalist for several prizes and a winner of the EastOver Prize, and your stories have been nominated for the Pushcart nine times: how did you select the particular ones to include in this collection amongst so many others you’ve written? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">KH:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> The short stories in this collection go back as far as ten years. In that span I had written and published about thirty stories, several of them having won fiction awards, e.g., <i>The Woman-Child; Night, This River; </i>and <i>A Mute Girl’s Yarn</i>. Then a few years ago I had thought of putting them together in a collection. That thought entertained me for a while and I left it there for my busy schedule of writing a novel. After the novel was finished, I revisited the idea of the short-story collection. I asked myself, what stories should I pick? I took time to review the stories and found a number of them sharing something in common—a motif. Love and its heartbreaking loss. I decided to use those stories as the mainstay of the collection for their common thread. Then I was faced with another question: What other stories should I bring in to round it up? In the end I chose three stories, namely, <i>The Dream Catcher</i>, <i>The Devil’s Mask</i>, and <i>A Mute Girl’s Yarn</i>. In them you have the nostalgia for one’s beloved country now lost; love and compassion for someone deprived of his human dignity; and love and sympathy for someone physically handicapped. And that’s the genesis of this collection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span><span style="font-family: times;"></span></span></p><!--more--><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span>EC:</span></b><span> The history of the Vietnam War figures heavily in many of the stories. Are there insights with representing the burden of this history that you’d like to share?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">KH:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> I researched most of my stories until I felt confident that I could write them. The rest came from a novelist’s imagination, and this is where you must separate your journalist’s self from your novelist’s self: you research to write fiction—not non-fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: times;">I’m a perfectionist and the harshest critic of myself. I have to know everything about what I’m going to write before I ever pen the first word. For these stories, I took time to research the locales I was writing about. All I needed was time to absorb all the details from my research and let them crystalize into an image full of shades and colors and ambiance, which sets up the mood for the stories.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span>EC:</span></b><span> One story strategy I’ve noticed you employ was in the titular story, <i>All the Rivers Flow into the Sea</i>, where the burden of representing war history was sifted through the lens of a love story. This story embeds the lesser-known violent history often inflicted on American officers working with the USAID pacification programme in the skirmishes with the Viet Cong. Would you like to say a few things about the juxtaposition of war history with love stories?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="color: black;">KH:</span></b><span style="color: black;"> The human touch manifest in a man-woman relationship exists in all of my novels, i.e., <i>Flesh, The Demon Who Peddled Longing, Mrs. Rossi’s Dream</i>—and in the forthcoming award-winning novel <i>HER: The Flame Tree</i>. Much as good versus evil is juxtaposed with the violence of war stories, I can’t resist bringing in the tender side of a love story in all the various shades of human love. Perhaps I’m more attracted to the man-woman love relationship in the complex spectrum of human love. Call me a romantic. In the back of my mind always percolates the love story in <i>A Farewell to Arms</i> and <i>Love in the Time of Cholera</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span>EC:</span></b><span> My favourite story, <i>The Yin-Yang Market</i>, has a fabulist bent to conclude what’s one of the saddest stories I’d read. It gives such hope to leaven this sadness. Is the <i>Yin-Yang Market</i> invented or drawn from Vietnamese mythology? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;">KH:</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;"> As a child, I lived in Huế, the former ancient capital of Vietnam, living in its mysterious atmosphere, half real, half magic. I used to walk home under the shade of the Indian almond trees, the poon trees. At the base of these ancient trees I would pass a shrine. If I went with my grandmother, she would push my head down. “Don’t stare at it,” grandmother said. “That’s disrespect to the genies.” I shared with my readers the Vietnamese folktales in <i>The Yin-Yang Market</i>, its essential narrative being part of the magical realism I inherited from my grandparents and my parents. I never wondered what’s real and what’s unreal when I read <i>One Hundred Years of Solitude</i>, because I found myself immersed in its phantasmagoria.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span>EC:</span></b><span> Do you often employ mythology in your stories, and what narrative power do you think it lends?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">KH:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> You can’t embrace this type of culture if your vision of a novel does not fit it. You can’t write it if your fictional taste is someplace else. If you are brought up in a culture full of magical realism like that of Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, you will feel blessed and find yourself appreciating <i>One Hundred Years of Solitude</i>, or <i>A Place Where the Sea Remembers,</i> more than ever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span>EC:</span></b><span> Your prose is so clean that images rise out in sharp relief, and the first story <i>The Woman-Child</i> as well as the titular story, particularly remind me of Mishima’s style. Who are your literary influences? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">KH:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> I love books populated with characters that make me care as a reader. I read literary fiction. I might read trash here and there, but as I read them, I make mental notes of how trashy they are so I can be aware of such pitfalls. A writer must write from his heart out of love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice as William Faulkner once said. As the writer builds his make-believe world, he must write about the truth in his fabricated lies. Books that deal with truth, deal with the human heart and the individual self-realization. Those who write about them with all their soul and compassion have influenced me as another writer. I hope I can uphold such truth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: times;">But I believe that writers have an influence on one another. Influence, not inspiration. Maybe someday what I wrote might influence some aspiring writers. But influences change with a writer’s age. For me there were two books I read at the age of nine: <i>Pinocchio</i> and <i>The Count of Monte Cristo</i>. I always trust my childhood memory, and for many years the vivid images from those books weren’t erased— real characters, human nature, human twists of fate. As a teen, I read <i>The Izu Dancer</i> by Yasunari Kawabata, <i>Rain</i> by Somerset Maugham, and <i>The Snows of Kilimanjaro</i> by Hemingway. They haunt like a good long book. I read <i>The Sound and the Fury</i> by Faulkner and found myself envying him. All these have influenced me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span>EC:</span></b><span> I really enjoyed the sense of familiarity I got from reading about the painstaking way an opium pipe was prepared or the peddling of snake gallbladder as traditional Chinese medicine. It’s not first-hand experience; I suppose this familiarity is bequeathed through research into one’s cultural heritage. How important do you think it is to tell our own stories, and how do you see them traveling across cultural dimensions (is it bridge or gate?)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">KH:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> Ambiance is the sheer force in a novel. Without it, a story, a novel feels barren. The mood brings fiction to life, and what flame the mood are tastes, touches, smells, sights, and sounds. All five. The practice of Eastern medicine or the surreal atmospheric setting of an opium den in the Far East will come through to reinforce one’s cultural heritage only if a writer can deliver it successfully through the five senses. If done right, he will impart his creative imagination to his readers, regardless of cultural barriers.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span>EC:</span></b><span> You’ve also written three novels, <i>Mrs. Rossi’s Dream</i> (The Permanent Press, 2019), <i>The Demon Who Peddled Longing</i> (Underground Voices, 2014) and <i>Flesh </i>(Black Heron Press, 2012). To your mind, how is writing a novel different from short stories? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">KH:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> When writing short stories, you work in a confined space; so everything should be concise and economical, much like journalism writing in that aspect. In short stories, you deal with a small cast of characters and a small number of scenes. If you start out as a short story writer then later on try your hand at writing a novel, you will carry with you those virtues that you’ve acquired previously—being concise, economical, and to the point. However, what you will learn in writing novel is patience. Do not look forward to finishing it in three days. You will also learn to be the manager of a much larger cast of characters, to get to know them, and to make them relatable to your readers. If you start out as a novelist then switch to writing short stories, you must discard the bad habits you’ve acquired from writing a novel. You can’t ramble. You can’t be redundant. There is a great adjustment you must make moving from novel to short story; but in the end you’ll come out a better writer. I must say a true writer is one who can write novels and short stories, and is equally good at both.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">EC</span></b><b><span style="color: black;">:</span></b><span style="color: black;"> What’s next on your project radar, Khanh?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="color: red; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">KH:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"> It’s a novel about the siege of Dien Bien Phu, one of the most talked-about battles of the Vietnam conflict against the French Union. And nested in it is a love story. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><br />* NB: All The Rivers Flow Into the Sea can be bought at the following outlets:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><a href="https://eastoverpress.com/books/fiction/all-the-rivers-flow-into-the-sea-other-stories-by-khanh-ha/" style="color: #954f72;">EastOver Press</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1958094021/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4/" style="color: #954f72;">Amazon</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-the-rivers-flow-into-the-sea-khanh-ha/1141585653" style="color: #954f72; font-size: 12pt;">Barnes & Noble</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>E.P. Chiewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952934075736969157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4661058817690396064.post-84942621107705544812023-04-24T23:57:00.007+08:002023-04-25T00:00:56.649+08:00Sensing Visual Forms: Tse Hao Guang’s 'The International Left-Hand Calligraphy Association'<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b>Editor's note: </b>We're delighted to feature a review of Tse Hao Guang's latest collection</i><i> by another gifted Singapore poet, Mok Zining. Tse was previously featured on the blog <a href="http://www.asianbooksblog.com/2022/06/making-scene-literary-magazines-and.html">here</a>, and has also written for us <a href="http://www.asianbooksblog.com/2022/10/aphrodisiac-foods-from-distant-lands.html">here</a>. Thank you both for gracing our poetry column! </i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvYvouWl-XQ5rvnLl3CZqwQdKzs00cDh7WK--A8MNiO6cobqk2Pd3e5pdUCpOijkN5mwaFkxEYWHBo7QpdVDTYnHWW2FREGUSMRsI_uhMEQGHr_Kr8TeXsySeSaHJNcedkLg3aZCHDOlqtDIb4GaKyVUi8kJ2bQvx3Lp_pNDvo2U_tsyrJR1sAG0b/s2236/9798986757308.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2236" data-original-width="1408" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvYvouWl-XQ5rvnLl3CZqwQdKzs00cDh7WK--A8MNiO6cobqk2Pd3e5pdUCpOijkN5mwaFkxEYWHBo7QpdVDTYnHWW2FREGUSMRsI_uhMEQGHr_Kr8TeXsySeSaHJNcedkLg3aZCHDOlqtDIb4GaKyVUi8kJ2bQvx3Lp_pNDvo2U_tsyrJR1sAG0b/w216-h343/9798986757308.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The International Left-Hand Calligraphy Association
is a real place,” read the epigraph. “Please come in and touch everything.” Turning
the page, I stepped in, finding a miscellany of things hanging suspended in the
shifting light: a dragonfly wing, the words of Simone Weil, a landfill of
folded plastic triangles, a Chinese idiom unstrung and reworked, rust
disappearing at the oxidation of starfruit juice.</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial;">Such was my first impression of <i><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-international-left-hand-calligraphy-association-hao-guang-tse/19738018">The International Left-Hand Calligraphy Association</a></i> (Tinfish Press, 2023), a collection rendered
with lightness and light. This second full-length collection by Tse Hao Guang contains
poems composed in a visual form that evokes fluidity and looseness; rather than
verses of lines, each poem looks more like a constellation of words and phrases
bounded by the page. Seen through the lens of the collection’s title, the
visual form of these poems evokes the brushstroke movement in certain styles of
Chinese calligraphy, in particular the cursive and semi-cursive scripts.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-US">At the same time, these visual forms also call to mind
such modernist poetic interventions as erasure and collage, as well as the
Fluxus experimentation with concrete poetry, of which John Cage’s ‘Lecture on
Nothing’ is a precursor. Notably, Tse does not seem interested in the practice
and idea of Chinese calligraphy as a “traditional” art form or pinnacle of
Chinese classicism. This decentering of a uniformly defined Chinese cultural
inheritance is evidenced by poems like and ‘is Chinatown your burden? limitless
like the universe?’ and ‘two minute Buddha Jumps Over the Wall’. Rather, <i>Calligraphy</i>
seems more interested in the possibilities that can be opened by rendering
these found objects and languages in the intermediate spaces Tse occupies. A
poem that demonstrates this generative stance is ‘this moment’, a free
translation of the Chinese poet An Qi’s </span><span lang="ZH-CN">《此刻》</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial;">(cike),
excerpted here: </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9u_h5D_Im4e6nIutiHmkNFfWTOdoXZoGztISh5ZL5ll_s_Xlmp-UrW-8WbAoWvlp1MzK3BRIWQ_sE6_603oS2uGHbcA0NoMYOSHCnrqNm9eWUSbpE7A9TfNMAy-DwIzcqgYKkeV87et3aqbIHmUS4npLGSiM8A0tUXVMHIVpqn8Ps7q_AZMUwjn0/s812/p1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="516" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9u_h5D_Im4e6nIutiHmkNFfWTOdoXZoGztISh5ZL5ll_s_Xlmp-UrW-8WbAoWvlp1MzK3BRIWQ_sE6_603oS2uGHbcA0NoMYOSHCnrqNm9eWUSbpE7A9TfNMAy-DwIzcqgYKkeV87et3aqbIHmUS4npLGSiM8A0tUXVMHIVpqn8Ps7q_AZMUwjn0/w350-h550/p1.png" width="350" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial;">I was struck by how naturally the syntax of this poem,
though very much inflected by the Mandarin, fit in <i>Calligraphy</i>. This free
translation also brings a visual dimension that isn’t found in the original,
lineated text. In their delightful mirroring of the sunlight “threading/
through” the rooftop, the words “17<sup>th</sup> floor/ 16<sup>th</sup> floor/
15<sup>th</sup> floor” themselves seem to direct the eye to fall, as light,
upon the architecture of the poem. Like ‘this moment’, Tse’s two other “free
translations” of An Qi’s poems, ‘so & so’s terrace’ and ‘hands part when
day is not yet light’, are certainly highlights of the book.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Calligraphy </span></i><span lang="EN-US">signals quite a
departure from Tse’s first full-length collection, <i>Deeds of Light </i>(Math
Paper Press, 2015), which featured the poet at ease in a range of formal poems.
Revisiting <i>Deeds </i>for this review, however, I was struck by the
pertinence of its epigraph, taken from Goethe’s <i>Theory of Colours</i>:
“Colours are the deeds of light, its deeds and sufferings.” What carries over
from <i>Deeds</i> is Tse’s visual sensibility – his careful attention to the
quality, color, and movement of light falling on an object or a landscape.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial;">In <i>Calligraphy</i>, this sensibility is heightened
and made performative. Images mutate and transfigure effortlessly. Reading ‘this
morning I woke up w/ a quick laugh like the sun’, for example, I found myself
thinking it read almost like a script or storyboard for a video poem:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpG5g2fiuvGxEQARuyl6kh7NHJaFHxrIQzQZyDj7E8Z_4lJ_-NSp6R3xh0KkZn1JT4Cufb7zsQhR8vNMBMmtlYflOaEckwbxUCYnrxXZy4M0t4wDGTL_mkRUkFw091XXoCb2uURG7eWYIUckoou48Awo19u3etJy_L8nmX5kk7WAB6l-cWCFqcXgO-/s853/p2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="542" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpG5g2fiuvGxEQARuyl6kh7NHJaFHxrIQzQZyDj7E8Z_4lJ_-NSp6R3xh0KkZn1JT4Cufb7zsQhR8vNMBMmtlYflOaEckwbxUCYnrxXZy4M0t4wDGTL_mkRUkFw091XXoCb2uURG7eWYIUckoou48Awo19u3etJy_L8nmX5kk7WAB6l-cWCFqcXgO-/w349-h550/p2.png" width="349" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the space of a page, Tse weaves together a poem that
morphs effortlessly from the image of nails (intimate, mundane) to the sun and
moon (celestial, symbolic, grand) and back to dust (infinitesimal).
Facilitating this cinematic effect is the loose visual form, which enables an
image to shape-shift by unsettling the fulfilment of the poetic line.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
visual effect is more impressionistic in other poems, with their abilities to
craft a sensation of visual form. A good example is ‘which is when charcoal was
passed from her body to mine’:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZp6PNEKyG7JK8IkDRBQdQ6HJtTIDkf71YFdw7hDIv19Bj51MTFXXFocl13VgyMoFdnnmHi0LQ77yWuA81CX7068Ip2rPQlsikj7M4fhUHE4b2bAhWLU-vCNMXOLMqBDkFUKKcjJ_886qRy0PbCNGXINcPg6s7SrKdtQs60fUy_1qYDsb8OMkiQfV/s772/p3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="489" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZp6PNEKyG7JK8IkDRBQdQ6HJtTIDkf71YFdw7hDIv19Bj51MTFXXFocl13VgyMoFdnnmHi0LQ77yWuA81CX7068Ip2rPQlsikj7M4fhUHE4b2bAhWLU-vCNMXOLMqBDkFUKKcjJ_886qRy0PbCNGXINcPg6s7SrKdtQs60fUy_1qYDsb8OMkiQfV/w357-h564/p3.png" width="357" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial;">While reading this poem, I felt as if images that
rhymed visually – “chalk-lines,” “a solitary stroke,” the land “between river
and river,” “that narrow stroke/ of road,” and the very action of paring – were
rising to the fore of my mind. Unlike ‘quick laugh’, ‘charcoal’ uses few
transitions and connecting words to create visual development. Tse instead
pares each fragment down to its visual bone before composing them in a
stream-of-consciousness logic. Indeed, the experience of reading <i>Calligraphy
</i>feels like we are following the speaker’s mind as it moves about the world,
picking up on and stringing together a range of found languages and images –
including AlphaGo, Stephen Chow films, the work of artists like Ivan David Ng. The
book’s title is in this sense less an overarching representation of the project
than one of the many found poems gathered for this collection, as <i>Calligraphy
</i>takes its name from an organization in Katong Shopping Centre that supports
left-handers who wish to learn the art of Chinese calligraphy.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial;">Something could probably be said here about how the
collection exhibits a sort of “lefthandedness” in its occupying of the space
between media, between Sinophone and Anglophone poetic traditions, and between
languages. However, this was also where I, a maximalist, found myself wondering
if there was an opportunity for the collection to experiment more with visual
form in this intermedia space. What might a visual composition that plays with
the type of typographic research undertaken in the concrete poetry movement and
Chinese calligraphic scripts (which include not just cursive and semi-cursive
scripts, but also the oracle bone and seal scripts) look like, for example? What
are some possibilities between typographic poetry and the work of artists like
Wu Guanzhong or Lim Tze Peng? What if the collection took its own epigraph at a
more literal level and referenced not just the name of the organization, but
also its locale in Katong? Still, <i>The International Left-Hand Calligraphy
Association </i>contains many moments of brilliance, beauty and whimsy, and I
would be interested to see how its experiments with the visual might shape poetic
practices in Singlit. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="AlrightSans-Regular, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1f2632;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCnhMEI1tmSZa-XyjTYl5wGUWZwCby6pMKefuvEVUjtNDFwa_BHuNFUS6WepJmJ9W971gqQK8gAWQtEqEx2dRMdlmmUsxsrc6pNm1wIFXP7fIQ5v0XNRtx6cCOWER3DWVuvjH9k-85fMIQieScnYr2dQjsyub4Ty22Oj2doaPiy_f-ksdbnWLhswOG/s3264/Mok%20Photo300.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCnhMEI1tmSZa-XyjTYl5wGUWZwCby6pMKefuvEVUjtNDFwa_BHuNFUS6WepJmJ9W971gqQK8gAWQtEqEx2dRMdlmmUsxsrc6pNm1wIFXP7fIQ5v0XNRtx6cCOWER3DWVuvjH9k-85fMIQieScnYr2dQjsyub4Ty22Oj2doaPiy_f-ksdbnWLhswOG/s320/Mok%20Photo300.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"><b>Mok <span class="il">Zining</span></b></span> is obsessed with random things: orchids, arabesques, sand. Her first book, <i>The Orchid Folios</i> (Ethos Books 2020), was shortlisted for the 2022 Singapore Literature Prize in English Poetry. Currently, she is at work on an essay collection, <i>The Earthmovers</i>.</div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com