Poets Abroad, Writing in a Second Language & More

Some of the latest news in the international writing world:

McSweeney’s and the Poetry Foundation has published a new collection titled, The Strangest of Theaters: Poets Writing Across Borders. It helps poets discover opportunities abroad such as fellowships, translations, festivals, residencies, English instruction jobs, and volunteer postings.

There’s a great interview from author Carol Tice on how to write and promote a business book over on Urban Muse Writer. She also discusses how important blogging can be for landing a book deal.

UNESCO statistics show that the US attracts 21% of all students studying abroad. Toni Summers Hargis has written an informative guide for those looking to study in the United States called, The Stress-free Guide To Studying in the States.

As a writer, can you become born again if you write in a second language? Costica Bradatan, writing for The New York Times, says yes.

Any interesting news to add from your part of the world? Leave a comment.

5 Ways a Foreign Language Affects Your Writing

Guest post by Israel-based writer Gila Green

Does living in one language affect how you write in another? According to Gila Green, there are five main ways that it does:

1. Diction. Slang and other everyday words sneak into our vocabularies. If you don’t live and write in the same language, it takes an extra effort to root out unintended foreign words from your work.
2. Names. Many writers spend time enhancing their work with thoughtful character names. But when you live in one language and write in another, naming characters can be frustrating. Names from your adopted country often seem awkward in your mother tongue or worse, become words that take the reader out of the story. Yet mother tongue names may appear mundane.
3. Setting. If you choose to write about your adopted country, it may appear too exotic or you may worry you lack the background to make the country come alive. How long do you have to live somewhere to feel you have the authority to write about it, especially if the country operates in a language that is not your own? And if you choose to write about your birthplace, what if your notions are outdated? Are you destined to depict your birthplace only in the past?
4. Humor. Because humor is cultural, anything you satirize or depict as humorous can throw you off balance. Is a funny everyday experience in one language going to be understood in the language you use for your writing?
5. Layers. There are layers and depth to your work that can only come from the experience of complete otherness. True, not everyone will grasp your meaning, but the sense of being the ‘other’ allows you to see both your native culture and adopted culture with a broad lens; a powerful tool for any writer. 

If you speak a foreign language where you live, how does it affect your writing?

Canadian Gila Green's debut novel KING OF THE CLASS will be released in April 2013 by Vancouver literary press Now or Never Publishing. Her first short story collection WHITE ZION was nominated for the Doris Bakwin Literary Award. She teaches regular virtual fiction classes from Israel. Please visit Gila: www.gilagreenonline.com

Where in the world is English the most fun?

Much more effective than "Keep Out"

Writer Abroad loves English. Even more so now that she lives in a place that treats verbs as afterthoughts. While residing amongst German speakers allows Writer Abroad to enjoy her one-article language all the more, the place to really appreciate all English is capable of is China.

Yep, for lovers of English, there is no better place to go right now than China. In the People's Republic, English is fun. Even when it's on trashcans.

Please deposit your organism accordingly.

Where in the world do you think English is the most fun?

How to become more creative? Live abroad.

According to a recent study by a professor at INSEAD, living abroad can make you more creative. I can't help but agree. Because when you're in a new culture and dealing with an unfamiliar language, you are forced to be creative every day. Little things you took for granted before will suddenly become major creative triumphs--like typing the "@" key on a German keyboard. Even getting rid of your Christmas tree can turn into a major creative event when you've missed the one tree-pickup day in your town.

I also find that living in a country that doesn't speak my language makes me want to escape to writing in my English world all the more. Writing becomes not just something I want to do, but something I have to do to keep myself sane. Since living abroad, I've become more prolific, have more ideas that ever before, and am constantly feeling inspired by the weird things that happen to me in Switzerland that just couldn't happen anywhere else.

How about you? If you live abroad, do you think you've become more creative because of it?

5 Ways to Establish Yourself as a Writer Abroad

In the previous post about the financial realities of working as a writer abroad, you’ll see that depending on the cost of living in your country, it’s probably best to establish yourself in the local writing community in order to make a decent living wage for the place you live. (Unless you live in Panama, where those $6 blog posts might actually make you rich).

Work permits and other legal issues aside (that’s a topic for another day--make that days), how do you go from rags to riches? (Sorry, you don’t. You’re a writer.) But here are some things to consider in order to establish yourself:

1. Keep a blog and keep it updated. This sounds obvious, but after I started posting to my expat blog One Big Yodel regularly for about two years (yes, it takes time--and you also have to promote it too), I gained a few of things: a voice, a loyal readership, and a few writing offers. A couple weeks ago, before I was about to be interviewed on a Swiss radio station, the director of the station told me, “Be as sarcastic as possible.” I laughed, but in a way, it was a compliment. It meant I had established a voice and people were starting to recognize it.

2. Learn the language. I’m still working on this one (three-week intensive German, here I come), but when you learn the language of your country you learn things about the people, the culture, and the surroundings that visitors and tourists just won’t. You’ll have insights that are fresh, honest, and unique. And most importantly, you’ll be able to make friends with the locals. I just pitched a Swiss magazine and got assigned a feature story about a fight for women’s rights that I never would have known about if it hadn’t been for a Swiss friend of mine.

3. Write for free. Ok, this sucks. But it worked for me so that’s why I’m mentioning it. If your country is anything like Switzerland, there’s probably some kind of expat magazine or newsletter that gets distributed a few times a year and needs writers like you. When I first arrived, I wrote for Hello Zurich (now Hello Switzerland) a couple of times. Then, when I interviewed to write for a paying magazine, the editor already knew my style and I was able to establish my own column.

4. Make business cards. Lawyers have them and they feel important. You can too. Plus it just makes you look serious about what you do. There are so many wannabe expat writers out there and you need to separate yourself from them. A website will help you do this too.

5. Network. (Hint: the more alcohol you drink, the better your foreign language skills will get.) But forget about that. Social networking makes it easier than ever for introverts like us to make ourselves known. If you want to write for a well-known blog, leave comments on the posts. To get your name out there, network with other bloggers and write guest posts that link back to your blog. If you admire a certain writer that’s already established in your country or city, email them and ask to meet for a coffee.

But enough about what I think. What have you done to establish yourself either as a writer abroad or a writer at home?