This week I had my first official event as Writer-in -Residence at SOAS. I hosted a public reading by the Malaysian fiction writer and poet, Shivani Sivagurunathan. Shivani read from her recently published short story collection, Wildlife on Coal Island. I loved this collection. While Shivani claimed she never had any intention of writing in the style of the South American magical realists, for me the stories were full of extra-natural  happenings. People talk to animals, trees have curative powers, magic is everywhere. While I knew nothing about Malay culture, her stories landed me right in the middle of their beliefs, their dreams, with humour and heart. I can highly recommend this collection.

In my new role at the University, I was also able to chat with her before the reading, and a bit after at dinner. My trip to SE Asia in the Spring will take me through Kuala Lumpur, and so I hope to  be able to see her there and give a reading of my own at the University Putra Malaysia where she is a Senior Lecturer of Comparative Literature. It really is rather amazing to be in this position now of being able to connect we Western writers with our Eastern colleagues. Who knew that there was such a group of Malaysian writers writing in English? Well, now we do. I wonder if this connection will change our writing in some ways, will influence our own perspectives and use of language. Certainly our worlds will be expanded, and that in itself is an important thing, don’t you think? Plus, I have a new friend. Fantastic.
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And this just in. The next installment of the round table discussion about writing on Lauri Kubuitsile’s column on The Voice is here.  The question is what’s the best and the worst thing about being a writer. I think my post above helps add to my answer…..