Six international writers read pieces of their works and shared their insights on literature at UIC on 15 November. They were Müesser Yeníay (Turkey), Asma Nadia (Indonesia), Brian Kim Stefans (USA), Minna Salami (Nigeria – Finland), King Ban Hui (Malaysia) and Lin Bai (China).
Prof Mei-hwa Sung, Dean of the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences (DHSS), welcomed the writers, “I’d like to thank the writers for sharing their passion on language, creativity as well as thoughts on life, humanity and human relationships.”
The theme of the International Writers’ Workshop was “The Written World” this year.
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| Müesser Yeníay |
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| Asma Nadia |
Some writers shared their consideration on life sufferings in the workshop. Müesser Yeníay from Turkey talked about her loneliness and pain while creating her work. Lin Bai, a Chinese novelist, expressed her positive attitude towards scars and illness.
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| Brian Kim Stefans |
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| Minna Salami |
Feminism was also a topic that was discussed. Yeníay explored women’s social status and emotional life in nowadays society. Meanwhile, Nigerian-Finnish non-fiction writer Minna Salami focused on African feminism from the mythological perspective of their consciousness.
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| King Ban Hui |
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| Lin Bai |
Relationships of humans and between humans as well as the outside world were illustrated. Lin Bai and Malaysian writer King Ban Hui both described human love in their works, while the latter one also talked about a story between a son and his old father. Another Malaysian novelist, Asma Nadia, described a story about a girl that longed for a window in her house so she could see the outside world. Brian Kim Stefans, the American poet, explored how technology and smart devices influence people’s lives.
One day before the workshop, the writers met year one students of the English Language and Literature Studies Programme. One of the students Zhang Fan said she was impressed by the writers’ stories. “Ms Minna Salami told us that writing is breathing for her. The unique life experiences gave the writers inspirations for brilliant novels.”
Reporter: Zeng Kaishan (CELL, Year 2)
Photographer: Zhou Chunmei, Lancy Zhang
Editor: Wang Keyan (ACCT, Year 3), Samuel Burgess
(from MPRO)
