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Writers find inspiration and new perspectives in Shanghai residency
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AFTER participating in a two-month Shanghai Writing Program, eight international writers are departing the city with a wealth of insights, anecdotes, poetry and additional questions to ponder.
Since its inception in 2008, the annual residency program has welcomed 114 writers from 41 nations.
With China being a globally relevant topic, half of this year’s eight writers have already expressed interest in publishing their literary diaries or observations about Shanghai.
“It’s impossible for you not to feel that something is really working here,” Portuguese writer Filipa Melo told Shanghai Daily.
“You can feel it in daily life. But if you have never been here and don’t know the real China, it’s easy to be stuck in old notions.”
She is not the only writer eager to present the authentic China to readers; each provides an alternative viewpoint and utilizes various forms of expression to share their stories.
Shanghai Daily caught up with them to discuss their literary interests and experiences in the city.Eileen Chong, Australia
Eileen Chong, who was born in Singapore, “didn’t expect to feel Chinese” before she arrived in Shanghai. Day by day, she has re-engaged with the Chinese language she learned years ago in school, begun thinking in Chinese, and gained a deeper understanding of the Chinese poems she had previously read in translation.
“I had never spent such a long time in a Chinese-speaking environment in my whole life,” said the poet, whose heritage includes Hakka, Hokkien and Straits Chinese.
“I read so much Chinese poetry in translation, but there is always a gap.”
To bridge that gap with her favorite Chinese poems, she compares 10 different English translations to enhance her understanding of the original Chinese.
“Language carries meaning, baggage and history. With these inherent differences, languages create different universes,” she explained.
“I was never able to enter the Chinese universe until now.”
Chong is the author of 11 books, with her most recent collection being “Notes on Tomb Sweeping.”
She experienced little cultural shock upon arriving in Shanghai, a port city that shares similarities with Singapore while also possessing a unique character.
“I grew up in a port town, where diverse energies converge, revealing both connections and fractures,” she said.
Locals sometimes mistake Chong for Shanghainese, a testament to her immersion in the local culture.
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