Sabata-mpho MOKAE (poet, nonfiction and fiction writer; South Africa) is the author of the poetry collection Escaping Trauma (2012) and the biography The Story of Sol T. Plaatje (2010). His debut novel in Setswana, Ga Ke Modisa [I’m Not My Brother’s Keeper] (2012) won the M-Net Literary Award for Best Novel in Setswana as well as the M-Net Film Award; the youth novella Dikeledi [Tears] was launched in 2014. In 2011 he also won the South African Literary Award in the literary journalism category. He is a columnist and a journalist, and a co-founder of the annual Sol Plaatje Literary Festival. He participates courtesy of the U.S. Consulate General in Cape Town.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, journalist, non-fiction writer, poet, translator
2014 Resident
poet
Ali Cobby ECKERMANN (poet; Australia) is the author of six books, including the poetry collections Little Bit Long Time (2009), Kami (2010), Love Dreaming and Other Poems (2011), and Ruby Moonlight (2011), the verse novel His Father’s Eyes (2011) and a poetic memoir, Too Afraid to Cry (2013). Her awards include the Australia Poetry Centre’s 2008 New Poets Award and the 2013 Book of the Year for Ruby Moonlight. She co-edited Southerly Journal’s 2012 Aboriginal issue titled A Handful of Sand. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, poet
Gerður KRISTNÝ (fiction writer, poet; Iceland) is the author of five poetry collections, two novels, nine books for children, a travelogue and one biography. Widely awarded, her work has been translated into 21 languages. In 2011 the musical [The Ball at Bessastadir], based on her fiction, was staged at Iceland’s National Theatre. Kristný has worked in broadcasting, and is the former editor-in-chief of a literary monthly. Her participation is made possible by The Paul and Hualing Engle Fund.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, poet, translator
Ahmed SHAFIE (poet, fiction writer, translator; Egypt) is the author of the poetry collection [and Other Poems] (2009) and the novel [The Creator] (2013). He has translated Charles Simic, Billy Collins, Lucille Clifton, and an anthology of Afro-American poems into Arabic. Shafie writes for the poetry translation blog ‘Aswast men Honak’ [Distant Voices], and blogs at ‘Qera’at Ahmed Shafie,’ [Readings of Ahmed Shafie]. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
poet, translator
Anja UTLER (poet, translator; Germany) is the author of the poetry collections jana, vermacht (2009), brinnen (2006), münden – entzüngeln (2004), aufsagen (1999), and of the poetological essay plötzlicher mohn (2007). Her latest book, ausgeübt. Eine Kurskorrektur, is a poetic exploration of prose. Translated into a dozen languages, her poems and essays circulate widely. An English translation of Utler’s poetry collection, engulf – enkindle, was a finalist for the 2012 Best Translated Book Award. She participates courtesy of the Max Kade Foundation.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, poet
YEOW Kai Chai (poet, fiction writer; Singapore) is the author of poetry collections Secret Manta (2001) and Pretend I’m Not Here (2006). His poems and stories have been widely published and anthologized. He is an editor at the Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, and has been an editor and music critic for The Straits Times. His third poetry collection, One to the Dark Tower Comes, is forthcoming. He participates courtesy of the Singapore National Arts Council.
2014 Resident
poet
Natasha TINIACOS (poet; Venezuela) is the author of the poetry collections Historia privada de un etcétera [Private Story of an Et Cetera] (2011/2015) and the award-winning Mujer a fuego lento [Woman at Low Heat] (2006). Her work appears in Venezuelan and Spanish journals and magazines; she translates poetry for the site The Verbatim Project and is the editor in chief of BACKROOMCaracas, a platform for contemporary Venezuelan art. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
performance artist, poet
Daren KAMALI (poet, performer; New Zealand) began performing as a musician and street poet, later putting out the albums Immigrant Story and Keep It Real. He is the author of poetry collections Poems and Songs from the Underwater World (2011) and Squid Out of Water (2014), two parts of the trilogy Squidluminaries, forthcoming in 2015. He has facilitated writing workshops and poetry slams, and worked as a music director and youth mentor. A co-founder of the South Auckland Poets Collective, he participates courtesy of Creative New Zealand.
2014 Resident
poet, translator
Omar PÉREZ (poet, essayist, translator; Cuba) won Cuba’s National Critics’ Prize for the collection of essays La perseverancia de un hombre oscuro (2000), and the 2010 Nicolás Guillén Award for Poetry for Crítica de la razón puta. His other books of poetry include Algo de lo sagrado (1996), ¿Oíste hablar del gato de pelea? (1999), Canciones y letanías (2002) and Lingua Franca (2009), with two of them appearing as bilingual editions (Something of the Sacred and Did You Hear About the Fighting Cat?). His recent work moves across media, especially music and collage. He has been an editor at Letras Cubanas, and translates contemporary literature from Italy, Africa, UK and U.S. He participates courtesy of the William B. Quarton fund through the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, playwright, poet
Binayak BANERJEE (fiction writer, poet, playwright; India) is the author of the novels [A Year with Sohagini] (2008), [The Winner] (2009), and [Star Harbor] (2011), the poem collections [You My Life, You Alien] (2008), and [One Hundred Love Poems] (2013), and, in 2013, the play [Rabindranath Public Limited] (2013). He writes for Bengali literary magazines, is engaged with the Shakespeare Society of Eastern India, and teaches English at the Sri Ram Roy School and the Syamaprasad College in Kolkata. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
poet
TANG Siu Wa 鄧小樺(poet, essayist; Hong Kong) is the author of two poetry collections [A Bottle Unmoved and The Opposite of Sounds], two volumes of prose writing [A Motley of Banalities and Just Like Nothing Happens], and a collection of interviews [Asking Directions from the People]; she is the editor of the collections [Wait and See: Collected Works of Six New Hong Kong Writers], [The Tomb of Film] and [The Same Darkness Befalls Dawn: Hong Kong June Fourth Poetry]. Tang Siu-wa is a founding editor of the literary magazine Fleurs des lettres and a co-founder of the House of Hong Kong Literature; a literary organizer and human rights activist, she teaches creative writing at various Hong Kong institutions, and contributes columns and criticism to a variety of local media. She participates courtesy of the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.
2014 Resident
playwright, poet, translator
Mujib MEHRDAD (poet, playwright, translator; Afghanistan) is the author of the poetry collections [Gladiators Are Still Dying] (2007; winner of the Afghan Civil Society’s literature contest), [The Fishes Have Fled Our Veins] (2008), and [Audience] (2009), and of the collection of essays [The Rain Passed]. He has translated Ginsberg, Plath, Langston Hughes, Mayakovsky, Tagore, and others, into Dari. He is a board member of the literary organization Kashane Nawesendagan [House of Authors] and teaches Persian literature at Albironi University in Kapisa. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, poet, translator
Laurynas KATKUS (poet, fiction writer, translator, essayist; Lithuania) is the author of the novel Judantys šešėliai [Moving Shadows] (2012), the essay collection Sklepas [The Basement] (2011), and the poetry collections Balsai, Rašteliai [Voices, Notes] (1998), Nardymo pamokos [Diving Lessons] (2003) and Už septynių gatvių [Behind 7 Streets] (2009). His writing has been widely translated, appearing New European Poets: an Anthology, Absinthe, The Drunken Boat and elsewhere; he translates from the English, German and Spanish. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
poet, scholar, translator
Sadek MOHAMMED (poet, translator, scholar; Iraq) is the co-editor of Flowers of Flame: Unheard Voices of Iraq (2008), which received a 2009 IPPY/Independent Publisher Book Award. His literary work has appeared in Atlanta Review, Best American Nonrequired Reading and elsewhere; he also has a scholarly volume on translation practice and theory. He has translated Maya Angelou’s poetry into Arabic and the collection Ishtar's Songs: Iraqi Poetry since the 1970s into English. Mohammed is the Dean of the College of Arts at the University of Imam Jaafar Al-Sadiq in Baghdad. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, poet, publisher, translator
MYAY HMONE LWIN (poet, fiction writer, translator; Burma/Myanmar) is the author of the poetry collection Se ma lar [Wanna Ride?] (2010), the short story collection Yangon tayeiksanyone mha pyan yaggaun lootnay [An Otter Sneaked Out From the Yangon Zoo] (2014), and the novels Nhit phie da pine [One By Two 1/2] (2011), Khu (2011), A yate ta kyi kyi [Watch Out Your Shadow] (2012) and Kyat sar ko khae pyat nhit pyat ywae ma ya [What Has Been Written on the Stone Can’t Be Erased by an Eraser] (2013). He owns a publishing house and printing press, and is on the Board of Directors of PEN Myanmar. His participation is privately funded.
2015 Resident
critic, editor, poet
CHENG Ching-hang Matthew 鄭政恆 (poet, editor; Hong Kong) is the author of the poetry collection [The First Book of Recollection], co-author of [Wait and See:The Collection of Six Hong Kong Young Writers], and the editor of [An Anthology of Hong Kong Poetry of the 1950s], [Hong Kong Short Stories 2004-2005], and [Hong Kong Cinema Retrospective 2011], among others. The former Vice-Chair of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, in 2013 he received the Hong Kong Arts Development Award for Best Artist (Arts Criticism). He participates courtesy of the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet
Rachel ROSE (poet, nonfiction writer; Canada) is a recipient of the 2013 and 2016 Pushcart Prize, and of the Pat Lowther Poetry Award and the Audre Lorde Poetry Award for 2013. Her poetry books include Notes on Arrival and Departure (2005) and Song and Spectacle (2012); her creative nonfiction essays have appeared in a number of anthologies, including Double Lives: Writing and Motherhood. Rose regularly contributes to literary journals and magazines, including the Malahat Review and Prism International. She participates courtesy of the British Columbia Arts Council and Canada Council.
2015 Resident
poet, translator
Guzal BEGIM (poet, translator; Uzbekistan) is an editor at the Uzbeki children’s magazine Ghuncha, and a reporter. She has three poetry collections, the most recent being Majnunsoat (2012), and a number of poems in international anthologies. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, poet
Rochelle POTKAR (fiction writer, poet; India) is the author of The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories, and has three works in progress—a novel, a book of prose, and a book of poetry. Widely published online and in print, Rochelle is the co-editor of Neesah magazine, and an active member of Poetry Couture, which hosts poetry readings at cafes across India. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet
Anas ATAKORA (poet, fiction writer, nonfiction writer; Togo), currently a PhD candidate at Dalhousie University in Canada, has had his third poetry collection, En attendant le poème, appear in early 2015. The upcoming Tante Béa will be his first short story collection. In 2008, Atakora received the ‘Plumes émergentes’ award from the University of Lomé. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
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