Manju Kanchuli Tiwari
(Firstly I would like to express my utmost gratitude to the concerned authority for providing me the opportunity to participate IWP. I am very much pleased to be awarded with the title of HONORARY FELLOW IN WRITING by the University of Iowa for participating in the creative activities of the International Writing Program. I could get the opportunity of receiving information, knowledge and unique experiences during my stay in Iowa which I want to share with my friends and colleagues in my country Nepal. I Will try my best to find the publishers to publish my creative works and also translate the original version of Nepali into English. I have written in both the languages Nepali and English and in computerized and hand written forms. I could have created more and better if my attention had not been divided to other charming things of America in the beginning of my arrival there. Still I am satisfied whatever I have done. I am very happy to find a good literary circle there with which I could enjoy my important moments becoming a part of IWP program. I would like to thank the IWP organizers for this kind of noble activities in the field of literature and also the civilians, families and institutions who received us and appreciated our works. I am in my country now with a lot of unwritten creative experiences inspired by the program and Iowa in its abundant beauty. In the beginning I could not write anything after my return. It’s because my mother was seriously ill, she is with me and I had to look after her day and night. She was suffering with acute bronchitis and respiratory problem. Now she is improving better by medications.)
All together thirty seven outstanding authors from different parts of the world participated in the International Writing Program during August 27-November 21, 2005. I was one of them. Most of the participants including myself lived in the Iowa House Hotel. All the other international writers in the courtesy of the Department of States were in the same hotel. We were given time and place to write, read, translate, study, give readings, present papers, take classes etc. and become a part of the community at the University of Iowa. I am very much glad to express that the IWP is my first stay in the United States. All the visiting scholars and writers including myself (except Mona Prince from Egypt) completed the entire program participation activities, in residence at the University of Iowa. My participation was primarily as a writer of fiction and poetry. As I could speak English fluently and sufficiently, I could learn a lot from three-month writing residency. I enjoyed very much with the experience of being in a community of international writers. I received the opportunity to interact with the people from diverse cultures. I could learn the skill to develop the degree of independence and self-motivation utmost.
At first I was afraid that I may not be able to write but almost after two weeks I was so much inspired to write poetry and stories, may be by the literary environment provided by IWP, natural scenario of Iowa (rivers, bridges, forests, hills, winter-sunshine, gardens, trees and corn-field), people, city and village, society, the university, museum, art gallery, concert, drama, film and the libraries. Actually I didn’t make any plan to write particular areas or the limitations but I was engaged mostly to write poetry, short stories, paper for presentation, short notes for teaching in the class of the international literature and also start a novel. I wrote all the stuff in English language except a few stories which is in my native language.
I participated actively in the group literary activities, field trips, social gatherings, readings by IWP writers, American and international writers in the university and Iowa city, informal receptions at homes (IWP director’s home and the home of the president of the University of Iowa) and in the office ( Shambough House), question and answer session in the International Harvest: Connecting Iowa and the World through Writing. I got the opportunity of thirteen days of travel within the United States,(Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC and New York) and I met with translators and publishers. To my mind Chicago is the most beautiful city.
Works of all the participants of the world are the upper level university course of study for the students of International Literature. We and our works are the materials of study for them. Writing excerpts were distributed in advance in the program. I spoke about Nepal, Nepalese literary scenes in my home country, South East Asia and my writing as well. It was two hours long and there were three international writers and their presentations including myself. Natasa Durovicova, the editor of IWP facilitated the program. The class was held in Shaeffer Hall of the University of Iowa on Oct 3, 2005. I am very much pleased with IWP for including my literary work for the course of study in International Writing for upper level in the university.
I presented paper in public panel which presents discussions on several literary issues and on the influences and forces shaping writing around the world. The topic in which I presented the paper was “Books, men and women: does gender matter when one writes?” This kind of Wednesday afternoon discussions drew audiences from across the university and the local community. The audiences asked me many questions related to my personal/family/literary/country affairs which were very much interesting to me and I enjoyed answering them. Prof. Christopher Merril, the director of IWP facilitated the program. The program was held in the hall of the Public Library in Iowa City on Oct. 5, 2005.
Graduate level students worked for their course of creative writing, translation and comparative literature, with the works of the writers of the world. The translation of my work (story) from Nepali to English was presented in the workshop for discussion, looking the translation from
different points of views and polishing it to make ready for publishing. The helping co-worker with me for translation was April Kopp, a graduate level student.
The workshop was held in Shambough House. Prof. Wang Ping, course instructor facilitated the workshop. It was in the participation of more than thirty professional translators from the world.
Shambough House and Prairie Lights Books were settled as reading places for the International Writers in Iowa. The reading of my literary work was held in Prairie Lights Books on Sunday afternoon of Nov.6, 2005. Students of the university of Iowa, poets, writers, community people, civil citizens who were interested in literature were the participating audiences. The program was facilitated by Christopher Merril, the director of the IWP. I
participated in other readings as well in the Open Mike in IMU Meeting-room, previous days with the presence of IWP writers. The audiences seemed to take high interest in both the readings.
Some interested IWP writers participated in the collaborative writing and I was one of them. In the residency Lisa DiFranza visited from Portland, Maine to coordinate four-day collaborative workshop for developing a piece of literature which was performed in November at the Portland Stage Company. The Topic for the collaborative writing was ‘HOME’. All together nine writers from different parts of the world including myself contributed their writings in collaborative form, with various kinds of thoughts, feelings, ideas, emotions and visions of our own. By the way it reminded me of a novel entitled “Aakash Bibhajit chha” written by Nepali writers including myself, in joint venture, long ago.
I was together with other participants in field trips which included sites of local interest: a steamboat ride down the Mississippi, visit to Effigy Mounds Historical Site, the Amana Colonies and the Meskwaki Indian Settlement, hospitality offered by local farming families, trips to Drake University, Des Moines, visit to schools and visit to prison. It helped me to get to know various places and the life of the people there.
This residency program has enlarged my vision. This kind of opportunity provided to me has helped to become the part of writers’ family in the international level which helped me to share experiences in one another. The feeling which has developed as ‘I am not alone’ has become very important to me. Some of us are still maintaining the spirit of ‘keep in touch’. I hope this opportunity of participation in the residency program in America for the Nepalese writer like me has of course helped, to enhance further, the cultural relation persisting between the two countries.
Last but not the least, I am very much pleased that I have been conferred with the decoration of Honorary Fellow Of International Writing by IWP of the Iowa University amidst a party in Shambough House and my writings have been included in the course of studies in the international Writing Course for the higher level of students in the University of Iowa. This kind of participation of a Nepalese writer like me in the IWP of the University of Iowa has helped a lot to introduce Nepal, the status of Nepalese Literature and Nepalese writer in the Global world at present. I would like to express my utmost gratitude to American Center for providing me the opportunity to view the world of literature and American culture by becoming a part of it for three months in US.
