CW presents your study notes for the Shanghai International Literary Festival 2008

Amassing nearly 50 literary personalities is no small feat, but the folks of M on the Bund have delivered again, offering up a stellar cast for SILF 2008. Your love of the written word is the only prerequisite杛ote knowledge of the text is not required. But, if you like being informed, check out our SILF Notes for some of this year's stimulating sessions.

Desmond Si

Theme Being a playwright in Asia. "The mission of the playwright is ... to write whatever concerns him at the moment; to write with passion and conviction. Of course the measure of the man will be the measure of the play." (Economist Robert Andersen)

The Works Teochew Porridge, Postcards from Rosa and the screenplay of Beautiful Boxer
Character Analysis Sim is one of the foremost playwrights in Asia. Also a renowned painter, teacher, poet and a marketing and design guru, Sim remains unfazed by all the roles that he plays, explaining that it all boils down to his greatest passion, communication.
Perspective "I had always wanted only to communicate well. I was a businessman for 11 years, an artist for about 20. In business, I was (and still am) a communications consultant and use communications as a tool for commerce. In the arts I use communications to move hearts and souls," says Sim. Muse Hailing from Singapore, a melting pot of cultures, has been a great inspiration for Sim's works. "I am blessed and energized by the melange of cultures I grew up with in Singapore."

Madeleine Thien

Thesis In life, there are questions that keep us awake at night, thoughts we dare not ponder and emotions we hide in the deep recesses of our souls. Thien is one of those brave writers who creates profound literary works that allow us to read and confront the once unbearable. Character Analysis Thien writes from a multicultural viewpoint, characteristic of her own life as a Malaysian Chinese born and bred in Canada.
Perspective "I've borrowed bits and pieces from life, but what excites me about fiction is how much things change, grow, surprise you when you hold them up to the light. In fiction, one learns very quickly how complicated the truth is; how many ways there are of approaching a story and of bringing a particular sensibility to life."
Commentary "Writing stories for Simple Recipes and the novel Certainty was a way for me to distill certain experiences of my life杔osing a loved one, loving someone who is lost to you, etc. I often wonder how people who don't write pull themselves from despair."

Lynn Pan

Foreshadowing Despite Shanghai's modernity, much of its charm still lies in its intriguing history, preserved in its heritage architecture and its rich depository of photographs, paintings and publications.
Inciting Force Pan sifts through the annals of our city's past to uncover the true meaning of Shanghai's style as it blossomed in the first half of the 20th century.
Rising Action SILF hosts the launch of Pan's newest book, Shanghai Style: Art and Design Between Wars.
Character Analysis Highlighting Shanghai's unique blend of what is distinctly Chinese and its various European influences, Pan provides a glimpse of days gone by. Born (and now based) in Shanghai, raised in Kota Kinabalu, educated in London and having worked in Geneva, Helsinki, Hong Kong and Singapore, Pan is the quintessential citizen of the world with an extraordinary passion for her heritage.

Qiu Xiaolong

Character Analysis A poet at heart, Qiu had gone to Washington University to research T.S. Eliot. However, events in Beijing in the 1980s set him on the path to fighting fictional crime.
Epiphany "What happened in Beijing totally changed my plan," Qiu explains. "I also started writing in English as a result. In 1995, I came back to China for the first time [and] was impressed by the dramatic changes. So I thought about writing a book about the society in transition."
Genre "The crime novel as a structure helped," says Qiu, "for it provided me a sort of ready-made framework. But in the process of writing, I also found it as a convenient means to find problems and raise questions. As a cop and an intellectual, [protagonist] Inspector Chen always has to think and investigate."

Colin Thurbron

Character Analysis Thurbron's childhood in Canada and the U.S. provided this travel writer with "an early朼nd powerful杢aste of the wonder of abroad."
The Works Mirror to Damascus, Behind the Wall, Shadows of the Silk Road
Plot Summary Thurbron traveled to China in 1987 for his book Behind the Wall, which chronicles a country just waking to the outside world. Thurbron was drawn to retrace some of his steps in his most recent book, Shadows of the Silk Road, despite current political tensions in the region, because it tied together his previous experiences in China, Central Asia, the ex-Soviet Union and Islam.
Commentary Thurbron was surprised by some of the changes that greeted him. "Not just the booming economy," he says, "but the sadness of the village hinterland. In the far northwest, the ambitious youth are deserting the countryside for the cities. They leave behind an older generation, products of an older socialist world, from whom they feel increasingly alienated."
Study Notes Thurbron hopes that readers will come to appreciate the complexity of the region. "All across Asia, borders have been artificially imposed, and the ethnic realities are much subtler and more complex than they seem."

Howard Goldblatt

Genre Translation. Goldblatt is one of the preeminent Chinese-English translators of our time.
The Work His latest project, Wolf Totem, is a celebrated novel by Jiang Rong that examines Mongolian culture, history and philosophy.
Technique Goldblatt chooses the works he translates based on the work itself, though a relationship with the author can help. "In the end it's the text that counts," he says. "But, if you're too close [to the author], the danger is to accept [an] interpretation with which you disagree."
Commentary Goldblatt's work has called for him to translate some unsavory subjects, but Wolf Totem touched a nerve with him for a different reason. "Coiled, steaming intestines and twisted equine cadavers are pretty much abstractions to me. But the late chapters of Wolf Totem dealing with the wolf cub had me close to tears. I hope my rendering achieves the same result among English readers."

Jancis Robinson

Character Analysis Robinson fell in love after being introduced to a particular bottle of red burgundy (Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses 1959, for those curious) and decided to put her previous writing experience to good use in covering her new passion.
The Works She has gone on to pen the Oxford Companion to Wine and The World Atlas of Wine, as well as host a television show about, yes, wine.
Setting Robinson currently publishes a website (www.jancisrobinson.com) which she often writes from her favorite writing setting. "In bed! Just like Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Ch Mouton-Rothschild, I would happily work in bed all day. But only thanks to wireless networks."
Metaphor With phrases like a "floral bouquet with a hint of oak and olive" used to describe its taste, wine may seem out of reach to those not trained in its secrets. Yet she does not believe that wine is only accessible to the experts. "Follow your own judgment. There are no rights and wrongs about wine. Wine tasting is subjective," she says.

Arundhati Roy and Pankaj Mishra

Theme Author / activists converse on India's place in the world.
Protagonist Arundhati Roy, writer / activist
Work Booker Prize (1997) awarded, semi-autobiographical novel, The God of Small Things
Point of View Today, Roy is deeply-entrenched in her activism, taking to heart political causes in and around India. An outspoken critic of globalization, industrialization and various policies of the U.S. and India, Roy is famed for her scathing social commentaries and unwavering views.
Foil Pankaj Mishra, writer, editor, literary and political essayist
Works Published works in The New York Times, The Guardian, Times Literary Supplement, Financial Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Time, Travel & Leisure, The New Yorker, Harper's and others.
Tone Mishra's most recent travelogue, Temptations of the West: How to be Modern in India, Pakistan and Beyond underscores the pervasive Western influence in developing Asian countries.
Plot Roy and Mishra crossed paths in the late 90s when Mishra's Butter Chicken in Ludhiana spoke of Roy's activist mother in a manner she did not approve of. Despite this initial incongruity, Roy chose to share her manuscript with Mishra, then an editor at HarperCollins, who was instrumental in its publication. The rest is literary history.

Nury Vittachi

Character Analysis A man with many nicknames. On most days he is "Mister Jam" but also "Lai See," "Master Vee" or "Sam Jam" on others. Each name comes with a story and each story, a distinct character.
The Works His most recent work is a non-fiction piece called The Kama Sutra of Business. Here, Vittachi "introduce[s] people who have a Westernized business background to Eastern ways of thinking about how one's work life and personal life should be organized." Vittachi is also known for his regular column in the Far Eastern Economic Review, Traveller's Tales and the crime comedy series, The Feng Shui Detective. He also holds children's books, an online diary, compilations and mini-mysteries to his name.
Character Development When he's not writing on all the blank surfaces available杄ven the underside of his forearm-Vittachi teaches, and promotes Asian literature and appears at literary festivals.
Mood Should you expect fengshui tips, fits of laughter, streaks of tears, or thoughts on literature? "I don't even know what to expect," he says.

By Rosario Juan and Kelly Price

Literature Unleashed

SILF has no monopoly on literary events in Shanghai. Those with a passion for the written word can seek a variety of avenues to satisfy their thirst for writing, reading and listening to great works.

Monday Evening Writers
Force yourself back into the writing habit by seeking out these kindred writers at Figaro Coffee. Each week the group assembles to share their work, do guided exercises, draw inspiration and encouragement from each other and just, well, write. [http://www.figarocoffee.com]

Incidental Weekends
Incidentally, the Glamour Bar manages to catch hold of authors, historians, architects and other interesting characters who host discussions, lectures and seminars. These exchanges of knowledge and experience provide stimulating afternoon interludes. [http://www.m-restaurantgroup.com]

Poetry Slam
Read your favorite poems or perhaps even some of your own on Wednesday nights at Creek Kitchen. Songwriters are also welcome to share their lyrics as well and those who are keen can share excerpts from books, blogs and any other literary sources they fancy. 6380-4150

Writer's Workshops
Through March, the Community Center Shanghai is running creative writing workshops for teens and adults that will help you express yourself on the page as well as learn the basic techniques of storytelling. A great way to ease yourself into the writing habit. [http://www.communitycenter.cn]

CW Shanghai Book Club
One part Book Club, one part social gathering, join CW and avid lovers of literature at Figaro Coffee every month to discuss last month抯 chosen read. Jovial chatter, copious amounts of coffee and sociable spirits see the conversation turn from literature to life and everything in between.