is currently finishing his studies in French language and literature in Sarajevo. He has translated French novels by Rachid Mimouni and Kenize Mourad, and written a short story collection to be published later this year. He has also written plays—Podigni visoko baklju (Raise your torch!, 1996), and the prize-winning Zaista? (Really?, 2001) which was broadcast on Bosnian National Radio.. His participating through the courtesy of the Trust for Mutual Understanding. writing sample.
2002
fiction writer
graduated in 1981 from the Chinese Department of Taiyuan Normal College and later studied at Beijing University. Her first published story, “Wo de liangge nuer” (My Two Daughters), marked the beginning of the Wound Literature movement in Shanxi. Since then, Ms. Jiang has published widely. Xianchang taoyi (Escape from the Scene, 1998), the third of her four story collections, was translated into French as Delit De Fuite (2001); and her five novels include Shanshuo zai nide zhitou (Shining on the Top of Your Tree, 1998) and Wo de leilu (My Interior Land, 2001). She is participating courtesy of the University of Iowa Chinese Community.
2002
fiction writer, poet
has won awards for his fiction and critical work and is a two-time recipient of the Colombian National Poetry Prize. He has translated Shakespeare, writes regular columns on film for several magazines, and is soon to publish both a novel, La Sombra del Incantropo (The Werewolf’s Shadow), and a volume of poetry, Escrito en el Tiempo (Written in Time). He is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
2002
fiction writer
; fiction writer; Ghana b. 1956, Koforidua) is the author of the critically acclaimed Beyond the Horizon. The Housemaid , the second of her titles to appear in English, was published in the African Writers Series in 1998, the same year that she won the Ghana Book Award. A former Fellow at the Cambridge Seminars, Ms. Darko has recently contributed “The Color of Poverty” (2001) to a collection by Amnesty International-Germany. She is participating courtesy of the National Resource Center for International Studies and the University of Iowa.
2002
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
is the author of Follen’s Heritage: A German (Hi)Story (1986), The Man Who Comes Again (1990), Café Europa (1994), and Kropp: A Revenge (1996), as well as many short stories, essays, and poems. He has been writer-in-residence at New York University and artist-in-residence at the University of Erfurt/Thuringia. He is participating courtesy of the Max Kade Foundation.
2002
fiction writer, poet
has written thirteen books about, in his words, “the daily life of village people and what they are fighting for.” A former magazine and newspaper editor, and a founding member of four magazines as well as the Lao Writers Association, Mr. Bounthanong is at work on a new novel about a young woman who leaves the rice fields to face life in the city. He is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
2002
fiction writer
(Burma b. 1946, Mandalay) through more than twenty novels has made Burmese history and Buddhist culture come alive for Burma’s younger generations. His novelization of the “Ramayana”—in which the villain Dasigiri becomes the protagonist—is regarded as a classic. Chit Oo Nyo (U Kyaw Zwa’s pen name) is working on a novel about an 18th century member of the Royal Court, U Po Hlain, a figure known for his radical ideas. U Kyaw Zwa is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
2002
fiction writer, playwright, poet
is the editor of Egoist Magazine, and the author of several screenplays, including Truth or Dare (2001) which won the national contest for Best Screenplay on Channel One. More than fifty of her poems, short stories, and essays have appeared in literary magazines and other periodicals. She is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
2002
fiction writer, journalist
is a highly accomplished journalist and fiction writer. He is the chairman of Four Star Books and host of the Radio New Zealand program “Book Club.” He has also hosted two New Zealand network television magazine shows, edited Bateman’s New Zealand Encyclopedia, provided the New Zealand questions for Trivial Pursuit, and was president of the New Zealand Society of Authors. He has written more than eight books, including political commentaries. He is participating courtesy of Creative New Zealand and the University of Iowa.
2002, 2003 Alumna/Alumnus
fiction writer, playwright
is a writer quickly gaining international recognition. He has had five plays produced, most recently an adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers . His novel Observatory Mansions, a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Prize, is appearing in ten different countries. This novel, and his new novel Alva and Irva (2003), contain original artwork by the author.
2003 Resident
fiction writer, journalist
(b. 1970, Santiago) is an active figure in the Chilean literary scene, having facilitated much-acclaimed creative writing workshops at the University of Chile and Catholic University of Chile as well as many other private cultural centers. She has published three novels and one book of short stories, Malas noches (Bad Nights, 2000). Her first novel, En voz baja (A Low Voice, 1996), won the Gabriela Mistral Literary Games Award. Her second novel was Ciudadano en Retiro ( Citizen in Retirement ,1998), and her third novel, Cansado ya del sol (Already Tired of the Sun, 2002), was a finalist in the Planeta Argentina Award in 2000. Many of her short stories have been adapted for theater production and published in anthologies, including Se Habla Español. Ms. Costamagna currently writes book reviews for Santiago Culture Magazine , contributes to the literature section of the Chilean Rolling Stone, and maintains a column in the Journalist. She is participating courtesy of the U.S. State Department.
2003 Resident
fiction writer, poet, visual artist
/ 严力 (painter, poet, fiction writer; China b. 1954, Beijing) was a member of a group of artists known as "The Stars," famous for their daring exhibition of works tinged with abstraction and surrealism; as a writer, he is identified with the Misty Poets, a group that gained notice in the late 70s for their subversion of social realism via personal emotions and private imagery. In 1987, he founded Yi-Hang (First Line) in New York, a quarterly journal that features the works of contemporary Chinese poets as well as translations of American poems. His work has been translated into French, Italian, English, Swedish, Korean and German. He has held many exhibitions and published numerous books, most recently a novel titled Meet with 9.11 (Literature & Art Press, Shanghai, 2002). He is participating courtesy of the Freeman Foundation.
2003 Resident
fiction writer
(b. 1968, Seoul) published his debut novel Nanen nareul pagiohal gweolliga itda [I Have a Right to Destroy Myself] in 1996. The novel was translated into the French as La Mort a Demi-mots (Editions Philippe Picquier, 1998). A prolific writer, he has written more than seven books as well as a significant number of essays and film reviews. In 1999, he won the 44th Contemporary Literature Prize for the novel Dangsine Namu [Your Tree, 1999]. He is also the host of a daily radio show on books and authors. He is participating courtesy of The Korea Literary Translation Institute.
2003 Resident
fiction writer, poet, scholar
(b.1939, Kansint) (U Win Pe) won the National Literary Prize in 1964 for his collection of poetry, Poems of Red and Blue (1964). A well-known scholar and writer, his poems, short stories, book reviews, and articles on Mayanma (Burmese) literature and art have appeared in various journals, magazines, and newspapers since 1958, often under the pen name Maung Swan Yi. He has lectured on literature, at schools, town halls, churches, and monasteries, since 1962 and has also devoted himself to the preserving of Burmese culture, conducting extensive field research on Burmese folklore and folk music. He is participating through private sponsorship.
2003 Resident
fiction writer
(novelist; China b. 1960, Hangzhou) published his first book in 1984, Shibasui Chumen Yuanxing (Leaving Home at Eighteen) which was followed by several more novels and collections of short stories and essays, most notably, Huo Zhe (To Live), made into a film by renowned director Zhang Yimou, winning the Grand Jury Prize and Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994. Trained as a dentist, Yu Hua left the profession after five years to become a writer. His works have been translated into numerous languages; To Live (Random House, trans. Michael Berry) appeared in English in 2003, followed by Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (Pantheon, trans. Andrew F. Jones) also in 2003. Considered avant-garde and controversial, his fictions place him in the forefront of China's literary scene. He will be participating courtesy of The University of Iowa Chinese Community.
2003 Resident
fiction writer, poet
( poet and fiction writer; Hungary b. 1966, Budapest) belongs to the third generation of postwar Jewish Hungarian writers, who came of age after the period of silence about Jewishness that characterized the experience of their parents' generation. Szántó has a degree in political science and jurisprudence from Eötvös Loránd University and is editor in chief of the Jewish cultural monthly Szombat, founded in 1989. He published his first volume of stories, A tizedik ember (The tenth man), in 1995. A volume of two novellas, Mószer (The Informer ) appeared in 1997 and appeared in German as In Schuld verstrickt (1999). Szántó has also published poetry and essays and a novel: Keleti pályadvar, végállomas (Eastern station, last stop). His short stories and essays have been translated in Italian, English, and German. He is participating courtesy of the U.S. State Department.
2003 Resident
fiction writer, poet
(b. 1962, Aalesund) was trained as a librarian but since her debut in 1991 with the book of poems, Bilde Av Menn (Pictures of Men), she has published eleven books in a wide range of genres, including novels, translations and children's books. She has translated, from English to Norwegian, a selection of Rita Dove's poetry entitled Det Rosa Er I Oss (The Pink Is in Us, 1996), Edith Wharton's famous novella Ethan Frome (2002) as well as selections of Adrienne Rich and H.D. In 1998, her novel Tvillingfeber (Twin Fever) won the Natt og Dag Award for Best Oslo Novel. Her latest novel, Landfastlykke (Mainland Happiness) won The Melsom Prize and the Sigmund Skard Scholarship. She has worked as a newspaper editor, a translator, and consultant for her publisher Samlaget and was a member of the Literary Council of the Norwegian Author's Union from 1996-2000. Most recently, she has been working with the interplay between poetry and dance. She is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
2003 Resident
fiction writer
(b. 1976, Ascot) is the author of The Ship of Fools (2002, Sceptre), which he also helped translate into French. He holds a BA from Oxford University in English Language and Literature as well as a classical acting degree from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His awards include a Writer's Award from the Arts Council of England in 2003, and a BBC "Making Waves" award at the Brighton Festival in 2000. He has acted on television and written plays for radio. His new novel, Arts and Wonders, will be published in 2004. He will be participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
2003 Resident
fiction writer, poet, translator
(b. 1963, La Plata) is among Argentina's most prominent writers. His first novel, Tejiendo Agua (Knitting in Water, 1985) won the Fortbat Prize. Inglaterra. Una fábula (England. A fable, 1999), a novel about an English company of Shakespearean actors who travel to Patagonia to play in front of the same Fuegian tribes who inspired the character of Caliban, won the most important Argentinean prize, the Premio Clarin de Novela. He has also published a collection of short stories (Los que llegamos más legos, 2002), a collection of poems (Fado, 1995), a collection of interviews (Historia de un deseo, 2000), the first Argentinean anthology of fiction on homosexuality, and three books about creative writing. Writers he has translated include Flannery O'Connor, Henry James, and Guy de Maupassant. Currently, he teaches creative writing, contributes to the two most important Argentinean newspapers (Clarin and La Nación), and is writing a novel which takes place in Lisbon during WW II. His works have been published in Portugal, Spain, Germany, Brazil, and France. He is participating courtesy of the U.S. State Department.
2003 Resident
fiction writer, scholar
(b. 1951, Tokyo) moved to the US when she was twelve, studied French literature at Yale but later returned to Japan to dedicate herself to fiction writing. She is now a prominent member of Japan's literary establishment. All her novels pay homage to Japanese literary tradition while breaking new ground. Zoku Meian (Light and Darkness Continued, 1990) finished the unfinished final novel of Natsume Soseki, a figure revered as the greatest modern novelist in Japan . Shishosetsu from Left to Right (An I-Novel from Left to Right, 1995) made use of a bilingual text and horizontal print to question the notion of a Japanese national literature. Her most recent novel, Honkaku Shosetsu (An Orthodox Novel, 2002), is a retelling of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights in postwar Japan , featuring Heathcliff born to a Japanese woman raped by a Chinese bandit. Her novels have received critical acclaim and awards including the distinguished Yomiuri Literature Award. She has taught at Princeton, the University of Michigan and Stanford. She is participating courtesy of the Freeman Foundation.
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