2008-2009 Announcements
Rasiah Halil (IWP, 1995) has conveyed the sad news that the Malay writer Masuri Bin Salikun (IWP, 1986) has passed away this year.
Vivienne Plumb (IWP, 2004) is working on a new series of poems about a historic missionary house in New Zealand. In addition, she is collaborating with Adam Wiedemann (IWP, 2004) on a joint poetry collection in English and Polish, and with Rajeevan Thachompoyil (IWP, 2004) on an anthology of New Zealand poetry for South Indian readers.
Sukrita Paul Kumar (IWP, 2002) is Contributing Editor for the current issue of the literary journal Muse India. The issue is dedicated to modern Hindi literature.
Iowa City welcomes back Mani Rao (IWP, 2005) who returns in February 2006 as the International Programs' Writer-in-Residence.
Tang Ying (IWP, 2004) has been made director of the first non-state-owned theatre in Shanghai and has already brought to the stage the physical work, "Tongue's Memory of Home," by Zhang Xian (IWP, 2004). Tang Ying will publish two novella collections in 2006 and is also at work on a new novel.
Ahmed Alaidy (IWP, 2004) is having a great year. The English version of Being Abbas Elabd may be released as early as next fall from The American University in Cairo press. A movie he has co-writen will be filmed early next year. A comic strip he helped author has recently been resurrected and found a new audience. In November and December he will participate in the International Writers' Workshop in Hong Kong. And his publishing house early this year published Pahlaniuk's Fight Club. Ahmed writes, "Maybe we'll arrange for Chuck to attend next year's book fair." Here's hoping.
Sadly, word has reached us of the death of India's Nirmal Virma (IWP, 1977). Dilip Chitre (IWP, 1975) has this appreciation.
We regret to announce the death of Aurel-Dragos Munteanu (IWP, 1970-71), whose battle with cancer ended May 30, 2005. Mr. Munteanu was a fiction writer, the Romanian representative at the UN after the Ceaucescu regime was overthrown, and later the Romanian Ambassador to the US. In his memory we are posting a 1971 interview he gave to the Cedar Rapids Gazette and an article from the New York Times about his first days as Romanian Ambassador. A website dedicated to his work can be accessed here.
Yu Hua's (IWP, 2003) new novel Brothers is receiving good reviews in China. He had suffered ten years of writer's block on the project and could not complete the manuscript until his return home after the 2003 residency.
Congratulations! to Narlan Teixeira (IWP, 2002) on receiving a full scholarship to pursue his Master's Degree at The University of New Mexico.
Update: And the good news keeps coming for Narlan: He has now won the Media-Poetry Award.
Julio Monteiro Martins (IWP, 1979) has written to say he will be guiding creative writing workshops in Peralta, Italy, in collaboration with Da Vinci Capers Studios. Julio is the founder of the creative writing school Scuola Sagarana in Lucca: http://www.davincicapers.com/studio.html#writing