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Biographies
of the 2002 IWP Participants |
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] Sunny
AYEWANU (SUN-nee AI-e-WAH-new; poet, Nigeria; b. 1967, Lagos)
is the author of Flowering Bullets, which was a runner-up for the
1998 Association of Nigeria Author prize for poetry. He has contributed
poems to three anthologies—Trembling Leaves (1999), Cramped
Rooms & Open Spaces (1999), and 25 New Nigerian Poets (2000)—and
is the featured author of Nejma 4: The Writings of Sunny Ayewanu.
Mr. Ayewanu is the president of the Association of West African
Young Writers, one of Nigeria’s oldest literary associations.
He is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
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] BOUNTHANONG
Xomxayphol (bown-thah-nawn sohm-sigh-phon; fiction writer,
poet, Laos; b. 1953, Champassak) 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.
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] Tomas
S. BUTKUS (Slombas) (toh-mahs boot-kooss; poet, Lithuania;
b. 1975, Klaipeda) is an architect who gradutated in 1999 from
Vilnius Gedimino Technical University with a Masters of Science
Degree. Under the penname Slombas, he has authored numerous translations
and original collections of poetry, his most recent being Kas Bos
Parasyta Kaip Siandien (How Today Will Be Written, 2001). He is
also a bookmaker, designer, and editor-publisher at “Vario
Burnos” (Copper Mouths, 1992 – ) which Mr. Butkus calls “a
workshop of concepts.” With his sister, and friends in the
trade, he publishes poetry chapbooks. The latest was The Frankfurt
Chapbooks, a set of 10 poetry chapbooks by Lithuanian poets. His
residence is the “Amber-chamber,” on the outskirts of
Klaip_da, and he is participating in the program courtesy of the
U.S. Department of State.
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] Edward
CAREY (EH-dward KAH-ree; fiction writer, playwright, United
Kingdom; b. 1970, E. Walsham) 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 forthcoming novel Alva and Irva, contain original
artwork by the author. He is participating courtesy of the U.S.
Department of State.
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] Hugo
CHAPARRO (HOO-goh chah-PAR-roe; poet, fiction writer, Colombia;
b. 1961, Bogota) 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.
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] Amma
DARKO (AH-ma DAR-kow(nj); 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.
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] S.
DIWAKAR (DEE-wa-KAR; fiction writer, India; b. 1944, Somathanahalli)
is highly regarded both as a short-story writer and as a translator,
having published many translations of works by Nobel Prize-winning
writers, as well as collections of his own short stories and poems.
Mr. Diwakar is a book reviewer for the prestigious Indian Review
of Books, and an editor in the Office of Public Affairs at the
American Consulate in Chennai. He is participating courtesy of
the South Asia Studies Program at the University of Iowa and the
University of Iowa.
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] Ksenija
DRAGUNSKAYA (KSEN-ee-yuh DRA-goon-SKAI-uh; playwright, Russia;
b. 1965, Moscow) has written more than ten original plays for adults,
two adaptations, and six children’s plays, almost all of which
have been published by the distinguished magazines Playwright and
Modern Playwriting. The plays Forever and Ever (1996) and The Red-Haired
Play (2000) were both short-listed for the Anti-Booker prize, the
latter forming the basis for a television film. She is participating
courtesy of the Trust for Mutual Understanding.
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] Marjorie
M. EVASCO-PERNIA (MAR-joh-REE eh-VAS-koh payr-NEE-uh; poet,
Philippines; b. 1953 Maribojoc, Bohol) is director of the Bienvenido
N. Santos Creative Writing and Research Center at De La Salle University.
She is the recipient of the Philippines 1987 and 1999 National
Book Awards for Poetry; her books include Dreamweavers: Selected
Poems 1976-1986 (1987); Ochre Tones: Poems in English and Cebuano
(1999); and, most recently, A Life Shaped by Music (2001). She
is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
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] Cristián
GÓMES (KRIS-tee-en GOH-mez; poet, Chile; b. 1971, Santiago)
is a professor at Diego Portales University, a regular contributor
to well-known magazines, and a dynamic promoter of poetry, and
the winner, in 2002, of the prize “El Vina Y La Poesia,” sponsored
by Fundación Pablo Neruda and El Mercurio Newspaper. Besides
his three collections of poetry, he has edited the Anthology of
Chilean Poetry (1999), and surveyed his country’s poetic landscape
in his Panorama of Modern Chilean Poetry (2001). He is participating
courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
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] GRIGOROVA
Ina (poet, playwright, fiction writer, Bulgaria; b. 1974, Sofia)
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.
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] Nihad
HASANOVIC (NEE-hahd hah-SAHN-oh-VEECH; playwright, fiction
writer, Bosnia-Herzegovina; b. 1974, Biha_) 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.
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] Mahmoud
Abu HASHHASH (mah-MOOD ah-BOO huh-SHAH-HASH; poet, West Bank;
1971, Hebron) is the Project Coordinator of Culture and Science
at the Qattan Foundation, and an editor at the Palestinian House
of Poetry in Ramallah. Published in many magazines and journals,
he is the author of Waj Al Zujaj (The Pain of Glass, 2001) and
a contributor to Dueof An-Naar Ad-Da’Emoun, a joint publication
of poetry for 13 young Palestinian poets. He is participating courtesy
of the U.S. Department of State.
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] JIANG
Yun (gee-ahng yuun; fiction writer, China; b. 1954, Shanxi)
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.
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] Eddin
Bu-Eng KHOO (AY-din BOO-ENG KOO; poet, Malaysia; b. 1969, Selangor)
has been deeply involved in preserving the heritage of Malay culture,
particularly through his writing. As a journalist with “The
Star,” Malaysia’s largest circulation English newspaper,
Mr. Khoo has written many articles about the arts and traditions
of Malaysia. Currently, Mr. Khoo is working to establish a publishing
firm that would translate literary works into Malay in the next
two years he will publish five new books of his own—works
of translation, criticism, and original poetry. He is participating
courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
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] Marzanna
B. KIELAR (mar-ZHAHN-ah KEE-eh-LAHR; poet, Poland; b. 1963,
Goldap) holds a PhD from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun.
She is an adjunct professor at the Special Education Academy in
Warsaw. Ms. Kielar’s poetry has appeared in many journals
in Poland, Germany, and the U.S. In Den Rillen Eisiger Shunden
(2000) won Germany’s Herman Lenz Preis. She is participating
courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
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] Sukrita
Paul KUMAR (soo-KREE-tah PAWL KOO-mar; poet, India; b. 1949,
Nairobi, Kenya) is an associate professor of English at Zakir Husain
College, University of Delhi. The recipient of many grants and
awards, she has published nearly ten books of literary criticism,
translation, and poetry. Her most recent book of poems is Folds
of Silence (1998). She is currently at work on two new books. She
is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
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] KYAW
ZWA (Chit Oo Nyo) (KEE-aw ZWAH; 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.
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] LI
Rui (LEE Rhuee; fiction writer, China; b. 1950, Beijing) is
best known for a series of stories published under the title Houtu
(Thick Earth), which won the China Times Literary Prize, and gained
him an international reputation. One of his country’s major
writers, Mr. Li has published four novels, three essay collections,
and four story collections. Many of these works have been translated
into Swedish, English, French, Japanese, German, Dutch, and other
languages. His most recent novel is Yingcheng gushi (Tale of Silver
City, 2001); an eight-volume Dongyue Wenku: Li Rui Collection will
be published by Shandong Wenyi Publishing House in 2002. He is
participating through the courtesy of the University of Iowa Chinese
Community.
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] LIU
Jun (Xi Chuan) (see CHWAN; poet, China; b. 1963, Xu Zhou) is
a vice-professor of western literature and English language at
the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Elected in 1996 to the board
of directors of the Chinese Poets’ Association, Xi Chuan (pen
name of Mr. Liu Jun) has published four collections of poems, most
recently Water Stains (2001), in addition to a play and translations.
His poetry has been widely anthologized and translated into more
than ten languages. Among his many prizes is the prestigious Lu
Xun Prize for literature in 2001. He is participating courtesy
of the Freeman Foundation.
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] Guillermo
MARTINEZ (ghe-DZEHR-moh mar-TEE-nez; fiction writer, essayist,
Argentina; b. 1962, Bahia Blanca), who directs the Mathematics
Department at the School of the Sciences at the University of Buenos
Aires, is one of Argentina’s most important contemporary writers.
His first book of stories, Infierno Grande (Vast Hell) winner of
one of the most important literary prizes in Argentina, has become
required reading in many high school literature courses; and several
of the stories have been translated into other languages, including
English. His first novel, Acerca de Roderer (Regarding Roderer,
St. Martin’s Press, 1994) has been included in a collection
of the best Argentinian literature of the century. Two more novels
have followed, The Woman and the Master, and the recently finished
The Oxford Series, both published (like all his books) by Planeta.
His essays, articles, and reviews consistently appear in “La
Nacion” and other major newspapers. For further information,
refer to his web site, www.guillermomartinez.8m.net.
He is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
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] Narlan
MATOS (nar-hlahn MAH-tohs; poet, Brazil; b. 1975, Bahia) is
perhaps his country’s most promising poet. Jorge Amado has
called him one of the greatest young Brazilian poets. Mr.Matos’s
collection Ladies and Gentlemen: the Dawn was awarded the Jorge
Amado Foundation Prize, and published by the same institution.
The collection No Acampamento Das Sombras (At the Camp of Shadows)
won the Xerox Award of Brazilian Literature, the most prestigious
university literature award in Brazil. A translator from English
and Slovenian, and an invitee to some of Europe’s most important
literary festivals, including Druskininkai, Vilenica, and GM Hopkins,
he is also editing the complete works of Dr. Duarte, one of the
mentors of the “Tropicalia” and “New Cinema” movements.
Mr. Matos is participating courtesy of the U.S. State Department.
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] Gordon
McLAUCHLAN (GOHR-dun mik-LAWKH-len; fiction writer, journalist,
New Zealand; b. 1931, Dunedin) 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.
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] MENG
Jing-Hui (muhng jing whooay; playwright, China; b. 1965, Ji
Lin) is a graduate of the Beijing School of Dramatics, and is called
one of the foremost avant-garde playwrights in China. His productions
in Chinese off-Broadway theaters have included The Rhinoceros in
Love, Scandals from One Street, and Beckett’s Waiting for
Godot, adapted for Chinese. His latest film is Chicken Poets. He
is participating courtesy of the Asian Cultural Council.
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] Charles
MULEKWA (CHARLZ Moo-lay-kwah; playwright, Uganda; b. 1966,
Mbale) is very involved in Ugandan theater. A founding member and
co-director of the drama group Teamline, he is a committee member
of the Kampala Amateur Dramatic Society, and an executive member
of the National Theater Guild. His works include A Time of Fire
(1999), Between You and Me, and The Woman in Me. He is participating
courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
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] Nori
NAKAGAMI (NOHR-ee NAH-kah-GAH-mee; fiction writer, Japan; b.1971,
Tokyo) grew up in the suburbs of Tokyo before moving to California
and Hawaii for high school and university. She published her first
book A Red Flower of Ayawaddy in 1999. That same year her first
novel, Kanojo no Purenka, was awarded the Subaru Prize for literature.
Now back in Tokyo, Ms. Nakagami writes articles for major magazines
and newspapers. Her most recent novel, Paradise was published in
2001; another, Akuryo, will be published in August, 2002. She is
participating courtesy of the Freeman Foundation.
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] Freedom
NYAMUBAYA (FREE-dum nyam-oo-BAI-ah; poet, Zimbabwe; b. 1958,
Murehwa) is the author of On the Road Again (1986) and Dusk of
Dawn (1995), both published in English; and co-author of Ndangariro
(1987). Her work expresses ideas few dare voice, given the current
political situation in Zimbabwe. She was once a member of the Zimbabwe
Liberation Army in Mozambique, and now is the program director
for Management Outreach Training Service for Rural and Urban Development.
She is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.
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] Gideon
NYIRENDRA (GIH-dee-un nee-RREN-drah; poet, Zambia; 1963, Ndola)
is a freelance journalist for the “Community Voice” and
the “Zambian Citizen” newspapers in Lusaka. Established
poet, former president of the Poetry Society of Zambia, and dedicated
student of Human Rights Law, Mr. Nyirendra has been helping to
advance every form of Zambian literature. He is participating courtesy
of the U.S. Department of State.
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] Charleson
Lim ONG (CHARL-son LIM ONG, fiction writer, Philippines; b.
1960, Manila) is professor of literature at the Department of English
and Comparative Literature at the University of the Philippines.
He has edited both The China Post (Taipei) and The Daily Globe
(Philippines), and is the author of Men of the East and Other Stories,
Woman of Am-Kaw and Other Stories, Conversion and Other Fictions,
and An Embarrassment of Riches. He received the Philippines 1990
National Book Award for Fiction. He is participating courtesy of
the U.S. Department of State.
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] Alvin
PANG (AL-vin PANG; poet, Singapore; b. 1972, Singapore) is
the author of Testing the Silence (1997) and the co-editor of two
poetry anthologies. His poems and critical essays have appeared
in a number of magazines, journals, and anthologies. Mr. Pang serves
on a number of literary committees and arts councils and as the
editor for several online literary websites, including The Poetry
Billboard (http://www.poetrybillboard.com), which features Singapore
writers. He is participating courtesy of the Singapore National
Arts Council.
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] Arif
Bagus PRASETYO (ah-REEF BAG-oos PRAH-seh-TYO; poet, critic,
translator, Indonesia; b. 1971, Madiun) is an art curator and the
editor of the Jakarta literary journal “Prosa” (Prose).
Winner of the national “Sanggar Minum Kopi Bali Award” for
poetry, Mr. Prasetyo has recently published two volumes of art
criticism, translations of Bharati Mukherjee and Octavio Paz, and
his own selected poems, entitled Mahasukka (2000). He is participating
courtesy of the Open Society Institute.
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] Dorit
RABINYAN (doh-REET rah-BIN-yen; fiction writer, poet, Israel;
b. 1972 Kefar Saba) published her debut novel Persian Brides in
1995. Translated into 15 languages, including English, (George
braziller Publishing, NY, 1997, translated by Yael Lotan), Persian
Brides won the Yizhak Vinner Prize in Israel, The Golden and Platinium
Awards, and The Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Award in London. In 1997,
her television script “Shuly's Fiancé” was directed
by Doron Zabari, and won The Israeli Academy Award as the year’s
best drama. Strand Of a Thousand Pearls, her second novel, was
published in Israel at 1999, translated into 13 languages (Random
House Publishing, NY, 2002, translated by Yael Lotan), and also
received great acclaim, winning the Golden and Platinium Awards,
as well as the Eshkol Award. Ms. Rabinyan is now working on a third
novel. She is participating courtesy of the US-Israel Educational
Foundation.
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] Elie
RAJAONARISON (EH-lee-eh RADZ-ah-OH-nah-REE-sun; poet, Madagascar;
b. 1951 Ambatondrasaka) founded “Sandratra,” an association
of young Malagasy poets, and joined with others to found the Malagasy
National Committee of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments
and Sites). In addition to his work as a poet—Mr. Rajaonarison
has authored many poetry collections, including Voyage Sur Les
Hautes Terres (Trip to the Highlands, 2002)—he makes translations,
contributes to local newspapers, and often appears on radio and
television programs. He is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department
of State.
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] Piotr
SOMMER (pee-OHTR SOHM-mayr; poet, translator, Poland; b. 1948,
Walbrzych) is a poet, critic, and editor of the monthly Literatura
na _wiecie. He has translated the works of John Ashbery, John Berryman,
Seamus Heaney, and numerous other American and Anglo-Irish poets,
while many of his own poems, translations, and critical works have
appeared in publications such as the New Yorker, Ploughshares,
and the Times Literary Supplement. A collection, Things to Translate
and Other Poems (1991), is available in English. His most recent
book is Piosenka pasterska (1999). He is participating courtesy
of the Jurzykowski Foundation.
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] Michael
ZELLER (mi-KHAYL TSEL-ler; fiction writer, Germany; b. 1944
Wroc_aw, Poland) 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.
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