The Artist Fellowship Grant is a terrific opportunity from
the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities for D.C.-based writers who've
been resident in the District for at least two years. The Writer’s Center’s
2012 Undiscovered Voices Scholarship recipient Nicole Idar was recently awarded
$9,000 by DCCAH. We asked her about that and much more.
Tell me more about the grant.
The grant offers up to $10,000 and the benefits aren't just
financial—there's a feeling of community from being part of a cohort of D.C.-based
artists working in other fields, like visual arts and performing arts. The
DCCAH offers career development opportunities specifically for grantees—one was
a communications and marketing workshop led by Massey Media, a D.C.-based public relations
company. I'm grateful to the DCCAH and the judging panel for this opportunity
to be a D.C. Artist Fellow.
I've just completed my first novel, a historical fantasy. I
was born and raised in Malaysia, and in my fiction I find that I often draw
inspiration from Asian history. The fantasy part—I grew up reading authors like
Madeleine L'Engle and Ursula K. Le Guin and C.S. Lewis, and I think the
fantastical elements in their works were what first drew me to their books. I
also loved Enid Blyton growing up, and some my favorite Enid Blyton books were
fantastical tales, like the Faraway Tree series; one of the best things
about the Faraway Tree as I recall was that once you climbed to the top you
didn't have to climb down again--there was this slippery slide inside the
trunk, and you could ride on a little cushion all the way to the ground. I
loved that idea and I still do. Fantasy appeals so strongly to the human
imagination; I sometimes find that I remember the fantasy novels I read as a
kid better than the realist novels I've read as an adult.
Right now, I'm working on a collection of short stories and
some essays. I love translating Malaysian literature as well; I've been working
on a couple of translations of works by some of my favorite contemporary
Malaysian writers like Sufian
Abas, for Asymptote, a
journal of world literature in translation. I find that translations sharpen my
instincts as a writer—I'm forced to notice how each word is used when I'm
reading in a different language, and I find that afterwards I experiment more
with syntax and word choice and style . . . it's as if reading or hearing a
different language opens up new ways of expressing myself.
OK, I am so excited to be reading this book: I got my hands
on an advance copy of an epic fantasy, the first in a series, called The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu, a
brilliant writer whose work has been recognized by all three major speculative
fiction awards, the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy. The Grace of Kings is about two rebels who become friends and then
find themselves on opposite sides as leaders of rival factions in the battle
for control of a fantastical world inspired by Chinese legends and history. I'm
loving it. The book will be available April 7 for anyone who wants to check it
out!
Season 6 of The Vampire Diaries—I am obsessed with
that show—and The Good Wife. I'm really worried about what I'm going to
watch when those two shows wrap up. And I'm waiting for Game of
Thrones to start up. I also loved an ABC sitcom that lasted for about
6 episodes or something; it was called Selfie and John Cho was in
it. I really wish that show had kept going!
I don't know if I'm qualified to offer any advice. I can
offer an observation. When I was writing my novel, I felt like it was taking
forever . . . I had these characters in my head and I'd write all these scenes
without any clear sense of an overall plot, which can be a pretty messy way to
write a book. Then I realized that these scenes I was writing was kind of like
field research. I was observing my characters interacting the way a zoologist
might observe a herd of elephants. I was quietly taking notes. Eventually, I
found a structure and a shape for my novel, but for me at least, I found that I
had to go through a period of quiet observation, getting to know these
characters, before I could write the novel. Nothing I wrote in that period was
wasted. It all ended up somewhere. So I guess if anyone out there ever feels
discouraged while working on a novel, maybe say to yourself, "Hey, I'm
doing field research!" I wish I'd thought of that back then!
Nicole Idar
teaches writing at George Washington University and is editor-at-large
(Malaysia) at Asymptote, a
journal of world literature in translation. Her work has been published
in World Literature Today, Rattapallax, and The New Ohio Review. In 2014 she was awarded
fellowships from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Library
of Congress. She holds an M.F.A. from George Mason University and a bachelor’s
degree in English from Harvard University, and she is the first Malaysian writer to
be selected to attend the Clarion West Writers Workshop.
If you’d like to learn more about Idar’s work, visit her
blog http://nicoleidar.blogspot.com
Author photo by Tyrone Turner.
Author photo by Tyrone Turner.
13 comments:
Our firm has established itself as the most trustworthy assignment help firm in Australia and globally. Join these thousands of students and achieve high distinction in each and every one of your college tasks. Anyone can attempt writing on your behalf, however, the question is would you pay someone to do it for you without checking their credibility? This is the main reason why most students search for online assignment help over the internet and choose only the most proficient and trusted academic writing experts. So, if you are searching for quality assignment help canada you can find it right here from the local canada Assignment Help experts.
เว็บไซต์เราเปิดให้บริการเดิมพัน พนันออนไลน์หลายรูปแบบให้ท่านเลือกมากมาย lsm99 ทางเข้า ไม่ว่าจะเป็น แทงบอล แทงมวย แทงหวย บาคาร่า รูเล็ต สมัครสมาชิกง่าย ระบบฝาก - ถอน รวดเร็ว ภายใน 2 นาที ไม่มีตัวแทนหรือเอเย่นใดๆ เรามีทีมงานที่ดีที่สุดคอยให้บริดการและดูแลลูกค้าทุกท่านอย่างต่อเนื่องตลอด 24 ชม. ผ่านมือและคอมพิวเตอร์ ครบจบในเว็บเดียว
Hello! I just would like to offer you a huge thumbs up for
the excellent info you have right here on this post. I am coming back to
your website for more soon. 카지노사이트
Very good article post. Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool. 사설토토
Ill be following your works from now on.
카지노사이트원
카지노사이트777
카지노사이트가이드
토토
I accidentally searched and visited your site.
카지노사이트
바카라사이트
카지노사이트
안전토토사이트
Hello there, You have performed an excellent job. I will definitely dig it and personally suggest to my friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from this web site. 카지노사이트원
카지노사이트777
카지노사이트가이드
먹튀검증
Thanks for your post. We appreciate your useful content. I hope to have more articles of yours.Government Contract Fraud Lawyer
My incredibly long internet look up has at the end been rewarded.
I am glad to search out so many useful information here in the post, thank you for sharing
Very informative blog, This blog is very easy to understand when compared to other blogs.
That’s a brilliant story you posted. I will come back to read some more.
I enjoyed browsing this weblog posts. Hoping you write again very soon!
Post a Comment