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 ] Yawo
Weka ALADJI (fiction writer, Togo; b. 1941, Hanyigba-Duga)
is
assistant professor of the sociology of communications in the
Department of Philosophy at the University of Lome, and director and
publisher of Editions Haho. Dr. Aladji was formerly head of the
publication section of Togo's Ministry of Information and was a journalist
at Radio-Lome.
His publications include La Voix de l'Ombre (1985) and La Mediation des Conseils
de Presse
et Organismes Similaires dans l'Afrique en Transition: Annales de l'Université du
Benin (1998). The US Department of State is providing his
participation in the International Writing Program. His name is
pronounced [YAH woh WEH kah ah LAH jee].
 ] Torunn
BORGE (poet, Norway; b. 1960, Oslo) is already considered
an
established and well-respected figure in Norwegian literary circles.
She is a freelance writer and translator of articles, children's
books and cartoons. Her most recent publication is the nonfiction
work Fear of God (2000); her poetry collections include An Infinite
Durability (1999) and The Interval (1997). She is taking part in the
IWP through the US Department of State. Her name is pronounced [TOH roon BOR
guh].
 ] Marius
BUROKAS (poet, Lithuania; b. 1977, Vilnius) is a project
manager and editor in Lithuania's largest public relations company,
Viesuju Ryiu Partneriai; he is concurrently completing graduate
studies in Lithuanian literature at Vilnius University. He is the
author of the poetry collection Ideograms (1999); his poems have
appeared in various Lithuanian, Finnish, and Russian journals. A
second book of poems, Planning a Murder, is forthcoming in the autumn of 2001.
The US Department of State is supporting his residency at
the IWP. His name is pronounced [MAHR yoos boo ROH kas].
 ] Andrey
Stanislavovich BYCHKOV (fiction writer and scriptwriter,
Russia; b. 1954, Moscow) is the author of Lovets (2000), which was
short-listed for the prestigious Russian "Anti-Booker" Prize. He
received the Einsenstein Prize in German in 1994, and his short
stories have appeared in his country's most distinguished journals;
his works can also be found on the website: http://bychkov./rema/ru.
He is attending the IWP on a grant from the US Department of State.
His name is pronounced [AHN drey stah nees LAH vo veetch BEESH kof].
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 ] Rocco
CARBONE (fiction writer, Italy; b. 1962, Reggio Calabria)
is a
literary critic and cultural commentator for Rome's Il Messagero and
Naples' Il Mattino, and L'Unita. Dr. Carbone's novels include Agosto
(1993), Il Commando (1996) and L'Assedio (The Siege), 1998, and The
Apparition, to be published this year. ). He is taking part in the
IWP through the US Department of State. His name is pronounced [ROK
koh car BOH neh].
 ] Norge
ESPINOSA (poet and playwright, Cuba; b. 1971 Santa Clara)
is the author
of the poetry collections "Las breves tribulaciones" (1989) and "Los
pequeños
prodigios y Estategias del páramo" (2000) and of plays including "Romanza
del
lirio" (1996). Two of his poems, "Vestido de novia" (bridal
gown) and "Dejar
la isla" (leaving the island) are among the most widely anthologized poems
by
younger Cuban poets. Espinosa is the director of the bookstore Libreria El
Ateneo, works as a production assistant for Revista Tablas, and is one of the
leaders of Teatro El Publico. He has also been the organizer for the last
three years of the Semanas del Arte Homoerotico, a weeklong gay and lesbian
cultural event in Havana.
 ] Vince
FORD (fiction writer, New Zealand; b. 1969) has already
won two
awards for his two novels for children. His first book, 2Much4U
(1999) received the 1998 Tom Fitzgibbon Award for best children's
fiction by a previously unpublished author. He is currently working
on a novel for a more adult audience. Scripting, managing, and
presenting video productions is Mr. Ford's current occupation. He
has previously worked as a Jackaroo on a 400,000 acre Australian
property and a laborer in salt mines. More information on his works
can be found at www.vuw.ac.nx/nzbookcouncil/writers/fordvince.htm.
He lives in Gisborne on the East coast of New Zealand. He is taking
part in the IWP through a grant from the Arts Council of New
Zealand/Toi Aotearoa, and through the IWP.
 ] Joy
GOSWAMI (poet, India; b. 1954) writes in Bengali, and (since
his
debut with the collection Christmas and a Bunch of Winter Sonnets at
23), he has written over 800 poems that have been compiled in
seventeen books; his other writing includes eight novels, and a
collection of essays on modern poetry in India. He has twice
received the Ananda Purashkar literary award: for his 1990 poetry
collection Leaves of Fire, Are You Sleeping? and his novel written in
verse, Those Who Were Wet By the Rain (1998). ). He is taking part
in the IWP through the US Department of State. His surname is
pronounced [go SWAH mee].
] Nikolai
Lachezarov GROZDINSKI (fiction writer, Bulgaria; b. 1973,
Sofia) is part-time lecturer in Tibetan language, history, and
culture at the New Bulgarian University. He holds the diploma in
musical composition from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. His
collection of short stories Lives of Idle Men and Lost Mystics , a
bestseller, received a grant for a first publication from the Open
Society Book Program in 2000; a novel, To Have a Nap on the Lap of
the Great Sameness is in process of publication. The State
Department is supporting his participation in the program. His name
is pronounced [NEE koh LAI lah CHEZ a rof gorz DEEN skee].
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] Etgar
KERET (fiction writer, Israel; b. 1967, Tel Aviv) has written
books, short stories, and comedy for Israeli TV, and is a lecturer at
Tel Aviv University's Department of Film. All his books have been
bestsellers. His two short story collections have sold more than
100,000 copies, and over 40 short films have been produced based on
his stories. His movie Skin Deep won the Israeli Oscar as well has
first prize at several international film festivals. A film based on
one of his stories received the 1998 American MTV Prize for best
animated film. The US-Israel Educational Foundation is providing Mr.
Keret's participation in the IWP. His name is pronounced [ET gahr
KEH ret].
 ] Chris
KEULEMANS (1960) lives in Amsterdam, Holland. He is a writer
of
prose, essays, plays and journalism. He has published three books.
His novel 'A short walk in the hills' was longlisted for the Dutch national
book award 1994. Two of his short plays, 'Albanians' and 'Belanov',
were performed by independent theatre groups in Amsterdam and Utrecht.
'Lands', a radio-drama, was this year's Dutch entry to the Prix d'Europe.
From 1995 to 1999, he was managing director of De Balie, centre for culture
and politics in Amsterdam. Since then, he has traveled extensively, visiting
countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Poland
and the USA. His travel stories appear in de Volkskrant, a leading Dutch daily.
Currently, he is working on a novel/website/tv-documentary, titled 'The
American I never was'. Having been raised in American schools in Bagdad and
Jakarta during the sixties, he now tries to imagine the life he would have
lead had he grown up in America, not Holland.
 ] Man-sik
LEE (poet, Korea; b. 1953) is deputy professor at Kyungwon
College and is currently writing a doctoral dissertation on T.S.
Eliot at Korea University's Department of English Literature. Mr.
Lee has written extensively on deconstruction as literary theory, and
his translation of Jonathan Culler's On Deconstruction was selected
as one of Korea's Best Scholarly Books of 1998. He has published two
poetry collections: God's Baseball Game Ticket (1997) and On Poetry
(1994). The Korean Culture and Arts Foundation and the University of
Iowa are supporting his participation. His name is pronounced [mahn
sheek lee].
 ] Medy
LOEKITO (poet, Indonesia; b. 1962, Surabaya) is the
Executive Secretary of the Shimizu Corporation, and the President
of the Multimedia Literature Institute. Her poems have appeared in more
than 15 anthologies, such as In Solitude (1993); Resonansi Indonesia (2000);
Graffiti Gratitude (2001), and in many journals in Indonesia, as well as
in Brunei Darussalam and Australia. Representative of the Republic of
Indonesia in the Conference of Asian Foundations and Organizations
since 1999. Her most recent project involves participating in research
on the traditional Machiya wooden houses of Kyoto, together with scholars
from 4 other Asian countries. She is taking part in the IWP through the US
Department of State. Her name is pronounced [meh dee loo kee toh].
 ] Antonia
LOGUE (fiction writer, Ireland) is the author of Shadow Box
(Grove/Bloomsbury Press), which won the Irish Times literary prize
for fiction and was short listed for the John Llewellyn-Rhys Award
and the Hawthornden Prize. Show holds the masters degree from
Trinity College in Dublin, and is a freelance journalist and literary
critic for the Guardian, the Times, the Scotsman, the Irish Times,
and the Sunday Independent. She is taking part in the IWP through
support from the University of Iowa.
 ] Aida
NASRALLA (poet, Israel; b. 1958, Uhm el Fahm) is the pen
name of
Mahammeed Nasra. She teaches at the High School for the Arts in
Naamat, and organized and ran a weekly salon for women poets and
writers, serving as mentor for Arab women in Israel who wish to
experiment with poetry and fiction. Most recently, she was the
driving force behind an art exhibit, "Common Threads," that displayed
the work of Jewish and Arab women artists side by side at the
prestigious gallery of the Tel Aviv University. She has published
over 40 short stories and 60 poems in various Arabic publications in
Israel. The US Department of State is providing her participation in
the IWP. Her name is pronounced [EYE dah naz RAH lah].
 ] Khin
Lay NYO. MBBS (fiction writer, Myanmar/Burma; b. 1953, Taunggyi)
is public relations officer and content specialist of the Behavioral Change
Communications Department for Population Services International in her
country, and is an ophthalmologist by training. An author since 1979, Dr. Nyo
has written more than a hundred short stories, articles, and poems, and
published 25 novels. She has successfully broached highly sensitive subjects
such as AIDS, using her novels as vehicles for incremental change in public
awareness. The US Department of State is supporting her residency.
Her name is pronounced [kheen ley nee YOH].
 ] Thongbay
PHOTISANE (poet, Laos; b. 1960, Svanakhet) directs and edits
the only monthly literary magazine in Laos, and serves as second
secretary of the Lao Writer's Association, editing its newsletter.
His most recent short stories, "The Life of Love," "The Love
of the
Luang Prabang Song," "Life and Family" and "Song of Man" have
appeared in Vannasin magazine, the monthly publication of the Lao
Ministry of Information and Culture; these were also published as a
book. He is the IWP's first representative from Laos. The first
Laotian participant in the program, he is here through the US
Department of State. His name is pronounced [tong BAI BOH tee
sahn].
 ] Mileta
PRODANOVIC (fiction writer, Serbia/Montenegro-Kosovo; b.
1959,
Belgrade) is currently vice dean of the School of Painting at
Belgrade's University of Arts; he is also lecturer in Studies of
Culture and Gender at the Alternative Educational Network in
Belgrade. Since 1980, Mr. Prodanovic has held more than thirty
one-man exhibitions in the former Yugoslavia and in Europe. Most
recent among his ten books are the short stories and travel
fragments The Eye on the Road; two editions, also published in
Croatia, of This Could Be Your Lucky Day; the novels Red Scarf, the
Silk One and Dance the Monster on My Gentle Music. The US Department
of State is providing his grant to the IWP. His name is pronounced
[mee LEH tah pro DAH noh veetch].
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 ] Sergio
Alejandro PUJOL (fiction writer, Argentina; b. 1959, La
Plata), novelist and historian, writes for Argentina's most
influential newspaper, ClarÌn, and is concurrently associate
professor of 20th century history in the School of Journalism and
Social Communication at the National University of La Plata. He is
also the Buenos Aires correspondent for Jazz Notebooks magazine in
Madrid and a member of the Argentine Association of Musicology. His
most recent publications are: History of Dancing: from Tango Dancing
Spots to Disco (1999), Diescepolo: an Argentine Biography (1997);
Valentino in Buenos Aires: the Twenties and Show Business (1994).
His book Jazz Down South was honored in 1995 by the National
Secretariat of Culture in Argentina. ). He is taking part in the IWP
through the US Department of State. His name is pronounced [SEHR hee
yoh ah leh HAN dro poo HOL].
 ] Rehman
RASHID (fiction writer, Malaysia; b. 1955, Perak) is the
author of Malaysia Journey, a best selling book that presents, in
alternating fictional and nonfiction segments, reflections on
Malaysian society since independence, and on the relations among
Malaysia's three major ethnic groups. He also wrote Pangkor:
Treasure of the Straits. He is currently at work on another novel.
As a journalist, Mr. Rashid served as senior writer for Bermuda
Business (Bermuda) and Asiaweek (Hong Kong), and leader writer for
the Straits Times . He holds a bachelor of science in marine biology
from the University of Swansea (Wales). He is at the IWP on a grant
from the US Department of State. His name is pronounced
[REH man rash SHEED].
 ] Ben
RICE (poet, fiction writer, United Kingdom; b. 1972, Tiverton,
Devon) is the 2001 recipient of the Somerset Maugham Award. His first
book, the novella Poppy and Dingan (2000), was very well received
and is published in the US by Knopf, with rights sold in 20 countries
around the world. His travels-through Europe, Asia and the Pacific,
the Mediterranean-also include a year in Maine as a child, when his
father was an exchange professor. At eighteen he taught English as a
second language for a half year in the Czech Republic. He holds the
M.A. with distinction from the University of East Anglia, his
country's most competitive creative writing program. The US State
Department provides his participation in the program.
 ] Dariusz
SOSNICKI (poet, Poland; b. 1969, Kalisz) is editor at Empiz
Publishers, Poznan. He has received several prestigious literary
awards; his first poetry collection was honored as the "Best Debut"
book of 1994. Mr. Sosnicki's second collection is described as "a
weather-and-soul report," and he is regarded as a representative
voice of his generation. His poetry and literary criticism are well
anthologized; they are translated in Czech, English, and Slovenian,
and have appeared in such journals as the Chicagi Review issue on New
Polish Writing (vol. 46, nos. 3 and 4, 2000). He is in the IWP on a
grant from the US State Department. His name is pronounced [DAHR
yoosh shohs NEETS skee].
 ] Sitok
SRENGENGE (poet, Indonesia; b. 1965, Grobogan, Central Java)
is
Program Coordinator for the Utan Kayu Community in West Java; he is
also a lecturer at the Jakarta Arts Institute, a literature teacher
for Eksotika Karmawiggangga and editor of the Kalam Cultural Journal.
His work has appeared in 2001: Secrets Need Words (ed. Harry
Aveling, to be published by the Ohio University Press); the Nonsens
Poetry anthology, and various poetry and short fiction anthologies in
Indonesia. Last year, Mr. Srengenge was cited as one of his
country's leaders in society in culture by Asiaweek magazine. The US
Department of State is supporting his participation in the IWP. His
name is pronounced [SEE tohk shrehn GEHN geh].
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] SU
Tong (fiction writer, China; b. 1963, Suzhou) is the author
of the
novel Rice (Penguin Books). His novella Raise the Red Lantern was
made into an internationally acclaimed film that was nominated for an
Academy Award. Mr. Su graduated from Beijing Normal University with
a degree in Chinese literature. He now lives in Nanjing. The
University of Iowa is providing his participation in the IWP. His
name is pronounced [suh tong].
 ] Viet
Huu TRAN (poet, Vietnam; b. 1963, Hanoi) writes poetry exploring
the sensibility of post-1975 Vietnamese youth, and their complex
attitudes toward contemporary Vietnam in transition. He has received
a number of awards for his careers in poetry and in journalism. He
is Editor of the Sunday literary and arts supplement of the Tien
Phong newspaper, and also writes for other leading journals directed
toward youth. He also works as a literary translator. A miscellany
including critical work is being published early next year. He is at
the IWP through support from the US Department of State. His name is
pronounced [vyet hoo trahn].
 ] David
TURASHVILI (fiction writer, Georgia, b. 1966, Tbilisi) is
lecturer in literary history at Tbilisi State University. In 1989,
he was one of the leaders of the student protest action taking place
at the David Gareja monasteries in East Georgia. His first novels,
published in 1988, are based on the turmoil of those events. The
premier of his play Jeans Generation was held in May this year. Mr.
Turashvili's other publications include the travelogues Katmandu
(1998) and Known and Unknown America (1993), and two collections of
short fiction and movie scripts; his first collection of short
fiction is Merani (1991). The US State Department is providing his
participation in the program. His name is pronounced
[DAH veed too RASH vee lee].
] U
Thu Maung, also known as U Bala (fiction writer, Burma;
b. 1951, Yangon)
has written 32 novels, and numerous short stories and articles.
He received the Mandalay literary award for “My Father’s Mother” in
1999.
The son of Burmese film director U Tha Du, Thu Maung has starred in
43 films and won Burma’s Academy Award for best actor in 1990; he has
also directed five films. He embarked on a career as classical singer in 1975,
and added pop music to his repertoire, becoming well known. He earned
a degree in Diesel Engineering. Since 1996 he has devoted all
his time to writing.
 ] Shashi
WARRIER (fiction writer, India; b. 1959, Ottapalam, Kerala
State) started his career as an economist and a software specialist
in the early 1980s. Mr. Warrier's writing career began in 1994 with
a juvenile fiction work The Hidden Continent (Penguin/Puffin), and he
moved on to thrillers including Night of the Krait and The Orphan .
Sniper was published by Harper Collins in 1999. He has also published
numerous short stories on an Internet site, "Rediff on the Net." He
provides regular reviews for various Indian journals. His
participation in the IWP is through the US Department of State. His
name is pronounced [SHAH shee VAHR yehr].
 ] Marek
ZALESKI (essayist, critic, Poland; b. 1952, Lomza) is deputy
editor-in-chief of the monthly Res Publica Nowa in Warsaw, and a
researcher for the Institute for Literary Research of the Polish
Academy of Sciences. Since 1982 he has published numerous articles
in Polish dailies, magazines, and periodicals. He is the author of
several books of literary history and criticism, including The Second
Avant-Garde Adventure (1984, now in its second edition); Woe or Wit?
and Forms of Memory. His scholarship specializes in the poetry of
Czeslaw Milosz. The US Department of State is providing his support
in the IWP. His name is pronounced [MAH rek tza WES kee].
 ] Antonije
ZALICA (fiction writer, filmmaker, the Netherlands, b.1959,
Sarajevo).
Studied comparative literature and philosophy at Sarajevo University.
Writes poetry, prose, plays. Published a collection of
poems (TILT, Svjetlost, Sarajevo 1984) as well as short stories
in various magazines. His novel Trag zmajeve sape (The Print of a Dragon’s
Paw)
was published in 1995 by B92 in Belgrade, and has been published
translation in Polish, Dutch and German (under the title Yellow Snow).
One of his short stories is published in the anthology of the satirical stories
from
Eastern and Central Europe Een paard dat Pools praat (Soeku, Utrecht
1998).
His short films Travelling Children and Eight Years After (co-directed
with Ademir
Kenovic), parts of the SA-life film collection, were awarded the
Golden Grain Ear at the 1993 Bienale del cinema per la pace in Pisa.
In 1994 his short film Angels in Sarajevo, one of SAGA’s productions,
was
awarded the European Film Academy's Felix Documentary Award.
 ] Ghassan
ZAQTAN (poet, West Bank; b. 1954, Beit Jala) is co-founder
and director of the House of Poetry in Ramallah. He is chief editor
for the Al-Shua'ra (Poets) quarterly and writes weekly columns for
two newspapers in Ramallah and in the Gulf. His poetry collections
include Luring the Mountain in Beirut (1999); Prescription of a
Description in Jerusalem (1998) and Weightless Sky (1980). His
novel, Describing the Past, was published in Jordan in 1995. Mr.
Zaqatan has also written a number of scripts for various film
documentaries. He is currently working on a poetry/prose anthology
whose themeis "roads," comparing paths in life with the physical
environment. His play The Narrow Sea was honored at the 1994 Cairo
Festival. He is taking part in the IWP through the US
Department of State. His name is pronounced [GAH sahn ZAHK tahn].
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