Sunday 17 August 2014
Monday 11 August 2014
500 Words From Harriette Rinaldi
500 Words From...is a series of guest
posts from authors, in which they talk about their newly-published
books. Here Harriette Rinaldi explains the background behind Four Faces of Truth, published by Fireship Press.
Harriette Rinaldi, an American, had a
long career with the Central Intelligence Agency. During her time as a spook
she undertook many challenging overseas assignments, and held several
leadership positions – she founded the CIA’s Women’s Leadership Forum.
Four
Faces of Truth is Harriette’s first novel. It is
set in Cambodia, from the early 1960s until the present day – so including the
time of the rise and dominance of the Khmer Rouge. It interweaves the stories
of four narrators; like the four faces which stare out from the towers of the
famous Bayon temple, at Angkor Thom, each narrator views the world from a
different perspective.
Hem Narong, a former Buddhist monk,
serves on the staff of General Lon Nol, the first President
of the Khmer Republic. He sees how the General’s ineptitude and failings as a
leader facilitate the rise of the Khmer Rouge.
Sophana, a young graduate of an elite
secondary school, joins the Woman’s Communist Organization. She is ultimately betrayed by the revolution
she once supported, loses her entire family in the killing fields, and
continues to be haunted by brooding shadows and visions of the horrors she has
witnessed.
Eng Maly, a practitioner of traditional
Chinese medicine, specializes in diseases of the mind. Maly treats Pol Pot’s
wife, Khieu Ponnary, for paranoid schizophrenia and accompanies Ponnary on
dangerous treks across the country on behalf of the revolution. Maly witnesses Ponnary's malign influence on her husband.
Marcel Blanchette, a French-Canadian
archaeologist restoring ancient temples, must today contend with the damage
inflicted on Cambodia’s architectural heritage and natural resources by the
Khmer Rouge. He decries efforts by contemporary Cambodian rulers to foster national
amnesia regarding the crimes of the Khmer Rouge, which he terms patriacide - the attempted annihilation of an entire country and its people,
including its collective memory.
So: 500 Words From…. Harriette Rinaldi
Why did I decide to write this novel now, almost forty years after the
Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia? Because too many people throughout the world are
either unaware of or have forgotten about the horrible crimes of the Khmer
Rouge. There are important parallels and lessons that apply to what is
happening elsewhere in the world today.
I lived in Cambodia during the 1970s,
met key government as well as Khmer Rouge personalities (including the sister
of Pol Pot’s wife), and was able to travel to many parts of the country despite
the ongoing war between government and Khmer Rouge forces. I had a unique
opportunity to observe the folly of U.S. policies and the failings of Cambodian
government leaders, and the beauty of Cambodia’s amazing natural resources, in
contrast to the looming specter of a nightmarish regime intent on destroying
everything and everyone in its path.
I used the vehicle of historical fiction
to tell this story and to present it through the voices of four fictional narrators whose lives often intersect, forming a unified mosaic.
Books by historians about the Khmer Rouge are largely inaccessible to lay
readers, while memoirs by Khmer Rouge survivors are often devoid of any wider
historical context. My goal was to enable the lay reader to understand not only
the suffering of the Khmer people, but also the overarching
political and cultural influences that led to the rise of the Khmer Rouge.
To write this book, I had access to
unique source material, including the recently declassified correspondence
between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Cambodian President Lon Nol. I also
enjoyed full access to the treasure trove of information found in the Khmer
Rouge secret archives in the 1990s by a Yale University team led by historian
Ben Kiernan, who encouraged me to write this book.
Another topic briefly touched upon by
historians and journalists is the extent to which Pol Pot was influenced by his
wife, who is usually described as mentally unstable or emotionally fragile. In
fact, she suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. I used material from a
variety of sources, including doctors who treated her in Beijing, to demonstrate
just how she enabled her husband’s descent
into evil while she was gradually consumed by madness.
Friday 8 August 2014
New & Notable (Asian Publishers)
New from Ethos Press, in Singapore, Troublemaker is a collection of
journalist and blogger Bertha Henson’s columns. They represent her take on the
news of the day, spanning political and social happenings in Singapore from the
middle of 2012. Sometimes serious, sometimes hilarious, Bertha brings a questioning eye to news commentary, zooming in on issues
that provoke controversy.
About the Author
Bertha Henson worked in the Singapore Press Holdings
(SPH) stable of newspapers for 26 years, finally as Associate Editor of The Straits Times, Singapore’s national
English-language broadsheet. In 2012, she left the organisation to start her
own media consultancy,
Newsmakers, and to teach at the National University
of Singapore. She started her blog, Bertha Harian (Bertha's Daily) the day after she left
SPH, and launched Breakfast Network,
a semi‐professional news and views
website with friends and undergraduates in early 2013. The website closed at the end of the year because she and fellow editors declined to meet registration
requirements then newly-imposed by Singapore’s Media Development Authority.
ISBN: 978‐981‐09‐1473‐8
Price: local currencies
Format: Paperback / eBook
Thursday 7 August 2014
Looking Back At Byron...
The 2014 Byron Bay Writers Festival has just finished.
Byron turned on mostly perfect winter weather for the Festival, attended
by thousands of readers who reveled in relaxed literature by the beach at many
of the sell-out sessions.
Festival Director Edwina Johnson is thrilled her first Festival Program
was so well received by the local and wider community.‘The whole event ran
incredibly smoothly, our volunteers once again doing Byron proud.’
According to Johnson the convivial 2014 tone was set by the gregarious
Festival authors from Opening Night at the Byron Bay Surf Club. ‘Delta Kay’s
welcome to country was incredibly moving – you could hear a pin drop in the
room and Tim Eddy’s short film summarising our Five Writers, Five Towns in
Five Days regional literary tour was a triumph. People didn’t want to
leave.’
Johnson says the audience for Jeanette Winterson’s Keynote Address was
so large it spilled out the back of the marquee for 10 metres.
‘Jeanette’s speech, The Stories We Tell captivated the estimated
1000 people at her session and moved many to tears. She received a rousing
standing ovation and afterwards, the book signing queue stretched out and
around the bookshop.’
The crowd at the Andrew Denton and Andrew Knight conversation with Geoff
Lemon also spilled out of the tent. ‘Bringing the Andrews together for a
session has been a long-held dream of Festival Founder Chris Hanley and it was
worth the wait,’ says Johnson. ‘The tent continuously erupted in laughter as
the privileged audience listened in on the conversation between these two
extraordinary men.’
Collins Bookseller Gabi Calder says the quality of the program and the
willingness of the audience to engage with authors and their work resulted in a
roaring trade for the book store. ‘At the end of our first day Womankind Magazine was our biggest
seller. Jeff in Venice by Geoff Dyer, Why Be Happy When You Could Be
Normal by Jeanette Winterson and The Stellar prize-winning book The
Forgotten Rebels of Eureka by Claire Wright were also top-drawcards.
In fact, all of Jeanette Winterson’s books sold incredibly well all
weekend.’
‘Bob Brown was the biggest seller of any Festival book we’d ever had,’
says Calder. ‘Rabia Siddique’s memoir Equal Justice sold
incredibly well. Malcolm Fraser’s Dangerous Allies was also a big hit and the
engagement during his book signing was wonderful to watch. The Festival vibe
was just buzzing and it is great to see patrons being inspired to buy so many
books.’
Johnson says nearly all of the off-site feature events sold out. ‘We
were still being inundated with requests to attend the sold out Liner Notes as
we opened the doors. It was the talk of the Festival on Saturday morning – a
brilliant literary cabaret led by the hugely talented Michael Nolan.’
It seems the Byron Writers Festival is not only a favourite for
festivalgoers but also with authors. ‘So many authors pulled me aside over the
weekend to tell me Byron was their favourite festival,’ says Johnson.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author David Finkel found the
surroundings astonishing and humbling. ‘Come for the books, stay for the
weather’, Finkel says. ‘It was nice to see how thoughtful people are here. It's
been great. I’m glad I came.’
One of Antony Loewenstein’s Festival highlights was seeing the keynote
address. ‘Jeanette Winterson was eloquent, funny and witty. She’s a writer who
makes listeners love literature. Set in the beautiful, mostly sunny, Byron,
authors discussed everything from Palestine to Gaza, to disaster capitalism,
engaging audiences who get angry and are passionate.’
Kathryn Heyman says her biggest highlight was swimming in the ocean with
Claire Wright early one morning. ‘I found the whole Festival experience to be
be utterly blissful. On my way to do Salvation through Story session
with Alex Miller, Shady Cosgrove with Geordie Williamson, I found myself
feeling uttering transported. I was in a state of bliss. The conversation with
Geordie was really fabulous, it felt rich and meaty.’
Local writer Martin Chatterton enjoyed the Evening with John Safran
and Father Bob Maguire held in Lennox Head. ‘It’s great to see the Festival
spreading its wings and reaching new audiences. This was the best ever
program.'
The Festival also welcomes many publishing executives. Beverley Cousins
from Random loves the relaxed atmosphere of the Byron Festival. ‘This is my
first time in Byron and I love the way you can move easily between sessions and
dip into different topics. It feels very inclusive.'
Johnson says she has so many ideas for the 2015 Festival. ‘Even as
I close the marquee flaps on this event, my mind is churning with all the
exciting ideas for next year. I can’t wait to start inviting authors.’
Tuesday 22 July 2014
AP Writers Conference by Vanessa Deza Hangad
Last
Thursday, over 100 participants met at the Arts House in Singapore for the Asia Pacific Writers and Translators (AP Writers) 2014 conference, four days of discussion
with the theme Bridging Cultures: creative writing and literary translation. Vanessa Deza Hangad reports.
The
idea of links across differences prevailed. There were representatives from
Singapore and all over Asia, including India, Pakistan, mainland China, Hong
Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Australia, New
Zealand, the US, Canada, Italy and the UK were represented as well. Then there
were the global citizens. The hyphenated Asians - Filipino-Australian, Asian-American,
Singaporean-Canadian - who lined up for cordials and cakes along with a
prominent American translator who had been living in Indonesia for over thirty
years and an Australian travel writer based in Thailand. Clearly, the
participants themselves were the living embodiment of bridges, people for whom nationality and identity are not always fixed points but figurative places to be
traversed by the written word.
Topics
discussed were similarly diverse, and encouraged a vigorous exchange of ideas.
Among
Thursday’s roundtable topics were What is
Literature, Gender Politics: forcing
the issues, and Poetry: art and soul
of it. Regional-specific discussions
included Indonesian Literature Today
and Conversations on Writing Today from
Pakistan.
On
Friday, the roundtable discussions included Changes
to the Literary Landscapes and New Publishing Opportunities, How Translation Transforms both the Text and
Translator, and The Teaching of
Creative Writing in English and the Influence of the Mother Tongue.
On
Saturday, roundtables included Language
and Politics: new dynamics, and Writing
for Children.
Published
authors led the workshops, which were informative and constructive. Freelance
writer Damyanti Ghosh, a veteran of many conferences, said she thought AP
Writers’ workshops were high-quality and worth the money, adding: “They have a concrete
focus. The workshop leaders have a precise brief of what they are supposed to
do.” She particularly liked Tim Tomlinson’s Links,
Fragments and Continuity and Sally Breen’s Editing Your Manuscript. For myself, I found both the writing
exercises from Tim Tomlinson, and also Dr Tony Burch’s Creative Writing Fiction relevant and on-point.
At
least 15 book were launched, with readings interspersed through all four
days. Launches included those for Agnes
S. L. Lam’s Becoming Poets: the Asian
English experience, Linda Jaivin’s new novel, The Empress Lover, set in Beijing, and Kulpreet Yadav’s novel Catching the Departed.
At 2 performance events Singapore OutLoud #1 / #2,
emerging writers shared the spotlight with more established ones. Contributing
authors S. Mickey Lim, Sarah Salmon and I read from Rojak: stories from the Singapore Writers’ Group. The spirit of
reaching out to developing writers was echoed in the Annual General Meeting
held on Saturday, where representatives from Australian literary magazine Griffith Review called for submissions
for the upcoming issue Twenty Under Forty
In the Asian Century.
It was
a packed agenda. Rousing keynotes were given
by Singaporean author Suchen Christine Lim, Filipino-Australian writer Merlinda
Bobis, and Australian writer and translator Linda Jaivin. There was an evening literary
walk with Singaporean writer Rosemary Lim, and a fundraiser of music and the
spoken word organised by Marc Nair, poet and artistic director of Lit Up
Singapore. With so much going on, some attendees felt they were in danger of
missing key events!
As
well as Suchen Christine Lim and Marc Nair Singaporean writers were represented
by poet Joshua Ip, who moderated one of the Singapore OutLoud events, and Lydia Kwa, who launched a re-published
edition by Ethos Books of her novel Pulse.
Many emerging writers based in Singapore also attended. Nevertheless, there was
a desire for even more local representation and participation. Dipika
Mukherjee, whose novel Thunder Demons
was long-listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize, felt that this was a young
festival with its heart in the right place, but expressed concern that “not
more Singaporeans are involved.” She wanted to see a separate panel that
featured Singaporean writers.
Whilst
the conference was taking place, Singapore was rocked by controversy because the
National Library Board decided to remove and destroy some children’s books depicting
alternative families. Suchen Christine Lim addressed this in her opening
keynote. She was like a high priestess with her arms extended, invoking
inclusion with: “May you be loved. May you be treasured. May you be visible for
the children of Singapore who do not come from traditional families - the one
man, one woman and their children model.” Suchen made the powerful point that the model being upheld marginalises all families that don’t fit the
definition, such as single-parent and other alternative households. Her words
brought light and warmth into the cavernous room of what used to be Singapore’s parliamentary debating chamber. When we all stood up with her, we were in
effect building that bridge to celebrate diversity.
I
spoke with Nury Vittachi, Chairman of the AP Writers, as he was looking for
volunteers to read poetry, dance, and sing for Sunday’s closing ceremony. He said:
“Governments are realising that the creative industries are the least polluting
and least resource using industries in the world. So gatherings of creative
people are signs of progress.”
Monday 21 July 2014
Inaugural print edition of the Asian Review of Books
The
Asian Review of Books, previously available only online, has
launched in paperback, through Chameleon Press, Hong Kong. The first print edition carries material from
April-June 2014, covering fiction, non-fiction and poetry from Japan to Iraq and most places in-between. Edited by Peter Gordon, and priced
at just under US$19 (or equivalents in other markets), it is now available from
Paddyfield.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and other
booksellers.
Sunday 13 July 2014
Message from Jane Camens
Next week, from from 17-19 July, Singapore is hosting the 2014 conference of the Asia Pacific Writers’ & Translators’ Association (AP Writers). One hundred and fifty
writers from around Asia and Australia will be attending Bridging Cultures:
Creative Writing and Literary Translation in Asia Today.
Jane Camens, acting executive director of AP Writers, has this message for readers of Asian Books Blog.
Jane Camens, acting executive director of AP Writers, has this message for readers of Asian Books Blog.
AP Writers began almost 10 years ago with a mission to bring
to Asia some of the tremendous resources available to emerging writers in other
parts of the world which, at that time, were not available here.
Singapore now has or brings in many of the resources that were
missing a decade ago. We are honoured that the City-State is hosting our conference
this year as part of its efforts to facilitate writers and help grow networks
around Asia and beyond.
Click here for the Bridging Cultures program, which gives a sense of the fascinating and provocative talks and
discussions running from next Thursday to Saturday.
Each day starts with a keynote talk by an established author who
has gained great respect for her work. Singaporean author Suchen Christine Lim
kicks off the event. Her talk, Bridging/Misrepresenting
Cultures in Writing & Translation questions the conference’s
premise of bridging cultures through writing. We then bring together the other two keynote
speakers, Linda Jaivin and Merlinda Bobis, for a free-for-all discussion, What is Literature For?
Don’t miss the sessions on what women in Asia write about today and the two sessions on new publishing opportunities.
Authors are also invited to use our conferences to launch their
latest books. This year in Singapore at least 15 books will be launched into local and
world markets.
Meanwhile, only one of our workshops still has space, so if you haven’t
already registered you might have missed out. This is such a great opportunity
to work with international mentors.
This year we also gave registered participants the chance of a
one-on-one consultation with one of the most successful literary agents in our
region, Kelly Falconer. Next year we hope to offer this again, so have your
manuscripts in shape by then!
AP Writers events are excellent
opportunities to make writer friends around our region - perhaps to get
yourself invited to speak or read on other platforms!
If you can’t join us this year, I hope you’ll try to join us in
the years ahead. Next year we’ll be in Manila. The year after…we should know
after our annual general meeting on Saturday 20th July.
If you are not yet a member of AP Writers you can join at the conference - see me or Ian Smith.
Our Singapore conference would not have been possible without
the support of the National Book Development Council of Singapore and The Arts
House, with support for a number of visiting writers provided by the Australian Council
for the Arts, the Cultural Fund of Australia’s Copyright Agency, the Prince
Claus Fund of the Netherlands,Yale-NUS, Istituto
Italiano di Cultura, Melbourne PEN and Closetful of
Books. On behalf of AP Writers, I thank
all of them.
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