Para-Literary Careers
Clark Blaise introduces a 1990 IWP panel about para-literary careers. Antonio Lopez Ortega shares that because he works in television, he has been able to cultivate working relationships with some of the Venezuelan publishing houses. He says it’s difficult to be a professional writer in Venezuela. Enrique Butti says that even the menial jobs he’s taken have been beneficial to his writing because they expand his perspective. Savyon Liebrecht describes the process of turning one of her short stories into a script. Ovidia Yu talks about the things writers do while trying to make it as a writer. She says that she has worked as a tailor and has also delivered pizzas. She has since taken more professional work, including teaching, commercial writing and script writing. Nico Graf says that the culture of Luxembourg is not conducive to his writing process; he describes the writing and work he has done in Germany since he moved there in 1975. Chirikure Chirikure discusses his life as a writer, explaining that most people in Zimbabwe must have more than one job to survive. He has been sucessful as a writer, but, he says, it still hasn’t brought him much money. Chirikure says that his diverse work experience has enriched his writing. Discussion with the audience follows.
In: International Writing Program Archive | Dramatic Writing | Fiction
Authors: Antonio Lopez Ortega , Enrique Butti, Savyon Liebrecht, Ovidia Yu, Nico Graf, Chirikure Chirikure
Date Recorded: October 18, 1990
Program: --
Format: discussion
Contributors: Clark Blaise, Lem Torrevillas, Peter Nazareth
Topics: Public sector; Venezuela; Singapore; Germany; Zimbabwe; West Bank