(born in Perak, 1948) began writing fiction on her return to the National University of Singapore for a literature honours course and after teaching some years in a junior college. The result was a novel, Ricebowl (1984); in 1986, she co-authored a prizewinning short play, The Amah: a Portrait in Black and White. Her second novel, Gift from the Gods, appeared in 1990, and in 1992 she was the first writer to receive the Singapore Literature Prize for her third novel, Fistful of Colours. While studying for her post-graduate diploma in applied linguistics, she co-edited a literature series for secondary schools. She is presently a curriculum specialist in the Singapore Ministry of Education, and has also written teaching materials and several children's stories. Ms. Lim is here on a Fulbright grant through the Council for International Exchange of Scholars.
(born in Lome, 1945) is one of his nation's well known human rights activists. He is head of the division of academics in the registrar's office at the University of Benin, where he previously headed the department of philosophy, and continues to lecture in philosophy. Dr. Kuakuvi teaches the history of philosophy, moral and political philosophy, the philosophy of nature and ontology. He was educated at the University Urbaniana de Propaganda Fide in Rome, and received the M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Paris-Sorbonne. He belongs to the Association of Writers of Togo, the Human Rights League of Togo, and the Union of African Human Rights Leagues. He is interested in the American government system and how individual and collective rights are guaranteed and protected; his other interests include African American literature. He is here through the US Information Agency.
(born in Buenos Aires, 1956) teaches Greek at the Jujuy National University and writes essays, articles, poems and short fiction for two newspapers in northern Argentina, El Pregon and El Tribuno. He studied literature at the Catholic University in Buenos Aires and attended a year-long seminar on folkloric literature at the University of Urbino in Italy. He is the author of two poetry collections, Punk y circo (1989) and Golja (1995); five short story collections, among them Dia de pesca ("A Day of Fishing", 1990); Cuarteto en el monte ("Wild Country Quartet", 1993); and El mejor tema de los '70 ("The Top Hit of the Seventies", 1996); and an award-winning theatre work, Chingoil Compani, Surinam ataca (1996). He has appeared in more than ten anthologies. Among his honors are the first prize for Dia de pesca from the Banco de Accion Social, the 1996 "Iris Marga" prize for drama, and numerous awards for his books for children. He also translates from classical Greek and Latin; in addition to his native Spanish, he speaks German, Italian, and Quicha. His participation is supported jointly by the Fundaci-n Antorchas, the US Information Agency, and the IWP.
(fiction writer, poet and children's author, Malawi; born in Ntcheu, 1971) is considered one of his country's bright and promising writers. His children's novel, Fleeing the War, won the British Council Write a Story competition and was published by Macmillan Malawi in 1996. He is presently editorial assistant for educational materials at the Malawi Institute of Education, acting president of the Malawi Writers Union, and was chairperson of the 1997 Malawi Book Fair & Literary Festival. He also belongs to the Copyright Society of Malawi and the Malawi PEN organization. A teacher by training and freelance journalist, Mr. Sharra has taught in primary schools and contributed articles to various publications and the radio, including the BBC. He is interested in familiarizing himself with US literary history while he is at the University of Iowa. His participation is supported by the US Information Agency.
(born in Athens, 1966) is considered the new star of Greek letters. His novel, The Wise Kid (Athens, 1993; sixteenth edition in September 1996), is being made into a film in English, a step toward worldwide recognition. He is a member of the Education Council of the Center for Diplomatic Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is also an attorney-at-law; he graduated from the law school of the University of Athens in 1990. He is a regular contributor to the magazine Elle, where his interviews with famous authors, political figures, and scientists appear. Mr. Homenides is the IWP's first author from Greece in over a dozen years, and his participation reestablishes a strong Greek presence exemplified by such writers as Costas Tachtsis, Thanassis Valtinos, Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke, and Odysseus Elytis. The US Information Agency is providing the support for his participation.
(born in Stockport, 1959) has been described by England's Daily Telegraph as "one of the most brilliant novelists of his generation." His parents, both professional basketball players, emigrated from Hungary to England in 1956; Tibor Fischer grew up in Bromley, South London, and studied Latin and French at Cambridge. He subsequently worked for television companies and newspapers in England, and in Budapest from 1988 to 1990. His first novel, Under the Frog, was rejected by 50 British and 12 American publishers before it came out in 1992; it won the Betty Trask Award the same year and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1993. Granta magazine listed him as one of the twenty best young British novelists of 1993; his second novel, The Thought Gang, published to wide acclaim in 1994, is being made into a movie. His work moves rapidly to ever expanding recognition: his most recent novel, The Collector Collector, is a "literary lions" selection in the July 1997 Book-of-the-Month Club listings. This novel narrated by a 6000-year-old self-proclaimed "bowl with soul" is enjoying wide distribution in this country through Henry Holt. The US Information Agency is providing Mr. Fischer's support at the IWP.
(fiction writer; born in Ilha de Mozambique, 1935) is one of her country's best known writers; her works have been translated into English and appeared in African and Mozambican anthologies. She is also known for her participation in Mozambique's liberation movement: armed with a bachelor's degree in social work from Portugal, she was poised to lend a hand to a struggling post-colonial government at a time when there were few professionals in the country. She represented her country in numerous international meetings on cultural issues, including the UNESCO General Assembly in Paris. As the current president of the Mozambican Writers' Association (AEMO) General Assembly, she works actively toward promoting female authors and civic education. Her writing career spans the colonial, socialist and democratic cultural contexts of her country. Her literary publications include two novels, Neighbours (1995) and the forthcoming The Eyes of the Green Cobra, and a short story collection, Nobody Killed Shuhura (1989; subsequently translated into Italian and English). Her short story "Slum Dwelling" won the first prize in the literary contest of the centennial of Maputo in 1987. She is at the IWP through the US Information Agency.
(fiction writer, Russia; born in Moscow, 1963) is assistant professor of Russian literature at Moscow State University, and is considered one of the most interesting contemporary writers in Russia. Still in his early thirties, has has already received considerable recognition in Russia's literary circles; he was a winner of the Anti-Booker Prize in 1995 and received awards from the Moscow magazine Oktyabr (October) and from the German club Lege Artis e V. He has written three books and has published short stories prolifically in Moscow as well as in Germany and Japan. His works are also forthcoming in Great Britain and the Netherlands. He is a graduate of the department of Russian language and literature at Moscow State University, and is now one of the leading specialists in the department. He has served as visiting professor at the University of Rostock (Germany) and the University of Ghent. In addition to English and his native Russian, he speaks Spanish and French. He is at the IWP on a grant from the US Information Agency.
(born in Michoacan de Ocampo, 1940) is senior professor of American and English literature at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and as a highly placed mentor to several generations of students, he has been instrumental in developing a good number of his country's current scholars, authors, translators, and researchers of American and British literature. He studied at Trinity College in Cambridge. He is the author of many scholarly texts, including The English Novel: Four Eighteenth Century Authors (1978); "Shakespeare: The Mirror and the Target" (1979); "Irony and Humor in Medieval Literature" (1983); currently in press is The Hero in the American Novel: from Herman Melville to Russell Banks. Prof. Quintero is presently working on a nonfiction work addressing life in big cities. His first novel Semper Fidelis (1994) is described as a Mexican novel about Vietnam, and tells of a Mexican student on scholarship at a US university who, to thank the United States for its generosity, enlists in the US Army during the Vietnam war. His participation in the IWP will be his first extensive visit to this country, and is supported by the US Information Agency.
(born 1947, Ankara) published 4 collections of short stories that explore issues of feminism and gender before publishing her first novel, Dagin Oteki Yuzu (The Other Side of the Mountain), in 1996. The novel won the prestigious Orhan Kemal Prize that year, and is currently being translated into English. Her latest short story collection is titled Tas Ustune Gul Oymasi (Roses Engraved on Marble), and experiments with the short story genre in the context of feminist discussions of art, history and social change. Dr. Atasü currently works as a free-lance writer, and was formerly a professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy at Ankara University, where she received both her B.A. and her Ph.D. Her participation in the IWP is supported by the United States Information Agency.
(born 1960, Rio de Janeiro) is a reporter and critic for Brazil's major daily newspaper. He is also a freelance consultant and translator for a prestigious Brazilian publishing firm. He is the author of three novels, Teatro (1998), Os Bêbados e os Sonâmbulos (1996; French edition, 1998); Onse (1965), and a collection of short stories, Aberração (1993; French edition, 1997). Educated at the Universidade de Sao Paulo and the Pontifica Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Mr. Carvalho holds an M.A. in Arts and Communications, with a dissertation on German Romanticism and the New German Cinema. In addition to Portuguese and English, he speaks and writes fluent French and understands Spanish. His participation in the IWP is supported by the Vitae Foundation.
(born 1969, Binh Dinh Province) won the award for story of the year from Youth Magazine for his most recent collection of short stories, Aco Mot Nguoi Nam Tren Mai Nha (A Man Lying on the Roof, Writers' Publishing House, 1997). He is the author of three other collections of short fiction, including the prize-winning Nhung Linh Hon Lac (The Lost Souls, Youth Publishing House, 1995) and Quan 'O Rung (The Wild-Beef Restaurant, Youth Publishing House, 1995). Many of Mr. Hai's short stories have been translated into English for Vietnam News, the Vietnamese English-language newspaper. He currently works as Assistant to the General Manager of Nissho Iwai Corporation in Ho Chi Minh City. His participation in the IWP is supported by the United States Information Agency.
(fiction writer, poet, Lithuania; born 1959 Panevezys) began writing and publishing her prose and poetry at a very early age. Her first novel was published in a state magazine when she was 17; around the same time she was one of the winners of the Soviet Union's children's literature competition. In medical school, she was an active participant in the movement of Lithuanian medical poets. In addition to working as a psychiatrist, Dr. Sucylaite currently works as a member of the Lithuanian Writers' Union and publishes her work in many magazines and newspapers. She first published a book of essays in 1990, followed by three poetry books, in 1992, 1994 and 1996. Sher participation in the IWP is supported by CEC ArtsLink Residencies.
(born 1970, Kwang-ju) began her writing career in 1993, with the publication of a number of poems. The same year, she graduated from Yon-sei University, where she studied Korean Language and Literature. In 1994, her poems won a prize in the annual literary contest held by Seoul-Shinmun, the national newspaper. Since then, however, Ms. Han has been concentrating more on fiction than on poetry. After publication of a number of her texts, her first book of short stories, The Love of Yeosu, was published in 1995. Her first novel, The Black Deer, was published this summer. Her participation in the IWP is funded by the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation.
(born 1958, Leova) has been the director of Contrafort magazine, renowned as the strongest cultural periodical in Moldava, for the past 4 years. He has published one novel (The Witness, 1988) and two books of poetry (Sick Landscape, 1988 and Character in the Forgotten Garden, 1992), and his poetry can be found in various anthologies, including the French Une Antologie de la Poésie Moldave and L'Esprit des Péninsules, the German Neue Literatur, and the Italian Young Romanian Poetry. Mr. Girnet worked as an editor in the publishing house Hyperion from 1983-1990, and then as editor-in-chief of the same publisher from 1990-1994. He currently serves as Moldova's representative to the International PEN Organization. His participation in the IWP is supported by the United States Information Agency.
(fiction writer, Switzerland; born 1943, Wald) has published seven novels, most recently Kilchenstock, der Bergstruz in den Köpfen (Limmat Verlag, 1996), and numerous children's books, collections of stories and essays, among them Die Fabrikglocke, Vom Aufstand der Glarner Stoffdrucker gegen die Zeit (Limmat Verlag, 1994), Sanduhren im Fels, Erzählungen und Reportagen (Limmat Verlag, 1994), and Der Computerdieb (Benziger Verlag, 1986). Mr. Zopfi is the author of nine radio plays as well. His work is much acclaimed in Switzerland, and his many awards include Cultural and Literary Awards from the Swiss Alpine Club, Canton and City Awards of Zurich, a National Award for Children's Story and an award from the Pro Helvetica Foundation. Mr. Zopfi currently works teaching creative writing workshops. His participation in the IWP is supported by the Swiss government.
(born 1977, Scherzingen, Switzerland) began working as a freelance journalist for the Südkurier/Korstanz when she was very young. Since that time, she has worked as a journalist for two newspapers, the Südkurier/Singen and the Tagesspiegel/Berlin. She has published her prose in various magazines in Germany, including Kabeljau, the magazine of the Literaturinstitut, where she got her Diploma in Prose and Poetry. Ms. Kobow has also written prose for radio production. She has received prizes and fellowships from the Leipziger Literaturstipendium and the Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg. Her participation in the IWP is supported by a grant from Joan E. Vander Naald Egenes, the Deutscher Literaturinstitut Leipzig, and by the German government.
(fiction writer, Burma/Myanmar; born 1949, Rakhine State, Myanmar) has published over twenty-five books of fiction, non-fiction, and translated works, including, among many others, Those Who Sell "Things" for Human Use and other stories, winner of the 1995 National Literary Award. Some of his other original and translated works include On Death and other short stories (1993), Normal Mind and Normal Behaviour (a collection of articles on Applied Psychology, 1993), Ward Number Six (translation 1977, original by Anton Chekhov) and First Love (translation 1988, original by Ivan Turgenev). Mr. U was educated in medicine at the Institute of Medicine in Yangon, and in journalism at the Indochina Media Memorial Foundation in Bangkok. He worked as a medical practitioner for 11 years, and now serves as editor for two publishing houses, Sarpaylawka Bookhouse and Myanmar Book Publishing House. His participation in the IWP is supported by the IWP. His name is pronounced /oo/ /pay/ /myent/.
(born 1960, Lodz) is widely published as a translator from Polish and French into English. Some of her numerous translations include Oni by Teresa Toranska (Collins-Harvill), Poverty by Bronislaw Geremek (Blackwell), Tales from Lailonia by her father, Leszek Kolakowski (Chicago), and a book of essays by Leszek Kolakowski which is forthcoming from Penguin. Her translations have appeared in numerous magazines, both popular and academic, and she has published articles and reviews in such journals as The Salisbury Review and The Times. Ms. Kolakowska was educated in Philosophy and Classics at Yale University, Columbia University, and The University of Cambridge, and has spent the last decade working on various education projects in Eastern Europe. She is fluent in English, French, Hebrew, and Polish, and also speaks and reads German, Greek, Italian, Latin and Spanish. Her participation in the IWP is supported by the Jurzykowski Foundation.
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