Participants by Genre

Germán CARRASCO (born 1971, Santiago) is the author of Brindis (1994), which received a prize in the House of the Americas Contest in Cuba; and La insidia del sol sobre las cosas (Ediciones Dolmen, 1998). His works have also appeared in various anthologies, including Chilean Poetry Translated by Chilean Poets (1996), two publications from the University of Chile, and Perrrera Arte (1997, Lom Ediciones). His writing received, among other awards, the 1997 Jorge Tellier Prize from Dolmen Editions and the Municipalty of Las Condes and the University of Chile's Contest of Unpublished Works. Mr. Carrasco was educated in Languages and British Literature at the University of Chile, and was chosen for participation in literary workshops under José Donoso (also an IWP alumnus), the Pablo Neruda Foundation, and the Chilean Writers' Association. His participation in the IWP is supported by the Fundación Andes.

Fabián CASAS (born 1965, Buenos Aires) is a permanent contributor to the cultural section of Argentina's largest daily newspaper, Clarín, and is editor of the literary supplement; he formerly served as editor of the prestigious cultural magazine of Argentina's only leftist newspaper, Página 12. His first volume of poems, Tuca (1990), was chosen as the Poetry Book of the Year by Diario de Poesía en Argentina. Mr. Casas received first prize from the Argentina Authors' Society in 1992 and first prize from Columbia's Prometeo Foundation in 1994. His other publcications include El Salmón (The Salmon, 1995), Un Angulo del Mundo (One Angle of the World, 1994) and works in the anthologies Argentine Authors of the End of the Century and 70 Poetas Argentinos. His participation in the IWP is supported by the United States Information Agency.

Jurate SUCYLAITE (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.

Mirela Ramona CIUPAG (born 1972, Miliasi) teaches philosophy, logic, economics, psychology, and civic education at the R. Cernauti High School in Iasi. She holds the B.A. in philosophy from Al. I. Cuza University, with research specialization in the philosophy of Benedetto Croce. She is the author of an unpublished poetry collection, Tight Fists, her poems and essays have appeared in the Iasi literary magazine, Outopos. Her poetry is described as allusions to the deeper emotions underneath quotidian concerns, often using irony. She created a documentary, Thresholds, broadcast on Romania National Television. She is attending the IWP as a Fellow of ArtsLink Residencies, and she will be at the University of Iowa from late October through early December.

NGUYEN Thi Chau Giang (born 1975, Hanoi) is a writer and editor at Kim Dong Publishing House, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. At 24 years of age, Ms. Nguyen is already recognized nationally as one of the most prominent young authors in Vietnam. She started writing when she was four years old and has published nine volumes of short stories (three have won national awards) and many short stories and poems in literary journals and magazines. In her works, she tends to focus on the complexities of modern life typical of a developing society, such as family breakdown and generational conflicts, social disorders, and the feelings of human solitude now plaguing many Vietnamese youth. Her writing tries not only to raise the reader's awareness of these problems, but also seeks ways to cope with them. In addition, Giang is a well-known painter whose works have been included in national as well as international exhibitions. Recent publications of short stories include The Game, 1999; Childhood Summer, 1997 (National Award); Short Hair, 1997 (National Award); Sleepless, 1997; The Beautiful Blue Bird, 1996; and Love Market, 1996. The US Information Agency supports her participation in the IWP.

Titilola Alexandrah Atinuke SHONEYIN (poet, short story writer, scriptwriter, Nigeria; born 1974, Ibadan) started writing at an early age. Now, at 25, her poetry and fiction have received four National Awards from the Association of Nigerian Authors. Her first poetry collection, So All the Time I Was Sitting on an Egg (Ovalonion House, 1998) was followed by a second, unpublished collection, Matters of Grave Persistence, which received the first prize in the competition of the Ono chapter of ANA. She is currently editor of the Ovalonion Publishing House and marketing manager for the literary journal, Glendora Review. A former student of IWP alumnus Niyi Osundare, Lola holds the MA in literature from the University of Ibadan and the BA (Honours) in English from Ogun State University. Her poetry, newspaper articles and scripts for television sitcoms and the radio soap opera "B.T.Street" are popular; her poems and short fiction have appeared in Glendora Review, the Association of Nigerian Authors Review, and in various Nigerian newspapers and magazines. She plans to establish a non-governmental organization and creative writing school, Rising World, that will stimulate and encourage other young writers. The US Information Agency is providing the grant for her participation in the IWP.

Konstantine (Kote) KUBANEISHVILI (born 1951, Tbilisi) is a freelance professional poet and writer; translator of Russian writers, among them Maiakowski and Mandelshtam; and host of a radio program in Tbilisi, "Darchi Norchi" (Stay Young). He is also a playwright at the State Rustaveli Theatre and Youth Theatre. Among his publications are Damoukidebloba (Independence) with A. Darchashvili, 1999; poems in XX Century (the Georgian literary journal), 1998; German folk ballad translations, 1997; and a selection of English sonnet translations, 1997. Mr. Kubaneishvili has been the most active and outspoken player in the changing world of Georgian poetry in the past decade. He appeared on the literary scene in 1990 with his book Reaktiuli Klubi (The Reactive Club), which is a collection of poems and radio plays. His poetry touches upon general issues of mankind, as well as describing everyday routine. Also reflected in his poetry are the tensions in the political and public life of Georgia. With the release of his book came T-shirts with logos and slogans distributed widely among young people and the general public. Mr. Kubaneishvili also translates the works of international writers and poets, and through poetry and performance uses his fluency in English, Russian, and German-as well as in Georgian-to make provocative statements about humanity and world civilization at the dawn of the new millennium. Mr. Kubaneishvili is the IWP's first representative from the Republic of Georgia. He is attending the IWP through a grant from the US Information Agency.

HWANG Jaewoo writes under the pen name Hwang JiWoo. He is professor and chair of the Department of Playwriting at the Korean National University of Arts. He led a new wave of deconstructionist poetry in the 1980s, which was part of the new "rhetoric of resistance" in Korean literature. His subsequent work is described as embodying a native spirit, with its Korean Zen Buddhist traditions interwoven with paradox, vitality and wit. He is the author of six poetry collections, among them Even the Birds Leave the Land (1983), A Lotus in the Crab's Eye (199), I'll Sit Alone in a Darkened Pub (1998); four plays, including A Diary on the Fat Sofa (staged in 1994), Thirty Days in Prison, staged in 1999), and Bride May (2000). Hwang Jaewoo studied aesthetics and art history at Seoul National University. His education was interrupted by a forced enlistment in the army following his imprisonment for student activism against the military dictatorship. His work has received numerous national awards, including the Contemporary Literature Prize of 1991 and the DaeSan Foundation Prize in 1999. Recently, he published a play, A Materialistic Man (2003), and a translation of his poetry, Even Birds Leave the World (trans. Christopher Merrill and Won-Chung Kim), is forthcoming from White Pine Press.

Hulkuntemath Shivamurthy Shastry SHIVA PRAKASH (poet, playwright, India; born 1954, Bangalore) is the author of four books of poems in Kannada; eight plays which were staged and published; two books on literary and theatre criticism, and two books of poetry translations. H.S. Shiva Prakash has taught English in several colleges in Karnataka, and is currently English editor for Indian Literature at the Sahitya Akademi in New Delhi. His poetry, plays, and translations have received awards from the Karnataka Sahitya Academy, and the productions of several of his plays have received national recogntion in India. Prof. Shiva Prakash has been actively involved in workshops for young playwrights and poetry translation, and his lectures on Indian theatre have brought him to Berlin, Cambridge, and the Nehru Centre in London. His most recent works include the play "Shakespeare's Dream Ship," anthologized in Same-Sex Love in India (St. Martin's Press, 2000). He earned the Ph.D. from Bangalore University in 1998. His participation in the IWP is supported by the University of Iowa.