A conversation between four IWP 2023 Fall Residency writers on the theme of "Nature on Edge," followed by Q&A.
Reetta Pekkanen (poet; Finland) has published the collections Pieniä kovia nuppuja [Small Hard Buds] (2014), Kärhi [Tendril] (2019), Salakuljetuksia [Smugglings] (2021) and Katkaistut tulppaanit [Cut Tulips] (2023). Her poetry focuses on themes of personal and environmental loss, non-human perspectives, and natural semiotics. Among her awards are the Kalevi Jäntti Prize, the Katri Vala Prize and the Silja Hiidenheimo Memorial Stipend; she is a member of the poetry publishing cooperative Poesia. Her participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Aigerim Tazhi (poet; Kazakhstan) is the author of the volumes of poetry БОГ-О-СЛОВ [THEO-LOG-IAN] and Paper-Thin Skin/Бумажная кожа (2019), published in a bilingual edition by Zephyr Press with support by an NEA Translation Fellowship, and appeared among Year’s Most Notable Translations by World Literature Today. Her poems have been widely published in Europe, Asia, and the U.S., translated into many languages, and received international literary prizes. She is the author of projects at the crossroads of poetry and other forms of art. Her participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Suo Er (fiction; editor; PRC) is the author of the novel 伐木之夜 [The Night of the Felling] and the story collection 非亲非故 [Noncorrelation]. His works have appeared in China’s top literary magazines and received many awards, the 43rd Hong Kong Youth Literary Award and a 2021 nomination as Most Promising Newcomer of the Year by the Southern Literature Festival among them. He has also engaged in publishing, media, and exhibition work. His writing concerns itself with the dispersion of cultures, and with lives of individuals in a “Southern framework.” He participates thanks to a grant from the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou.
Yashika Graham (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, visual artist; Jamaica), the winner of the 2019 Mervyn Morris Prize for Poetry, has also received a Centrum Writer’s Residency and read at literary festivals including Dodge Poetry (USA), Bristol (UK), the World Festival of Poetry (Venezuela) and Port Townsend (USA). Her poetry, prose, and literary criticism have been published internationally; her debut collection Some of Us Can Go Back Home is forthcoming from Blouse & Skirt Books. She participates courtesy a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
