Writing across Languages for Chinese Poets with Jennifer Wong, Wasafiri Writer-in-Residence

20th February 2021, 11am GMT (2 hours)

For writers who speak both English and Chinese, their grasp of two very different languages –  in terms of grammar, history, vocabulary and musicality – can be a fascinating source of inspiration for their creative work.

In the workshop, writers will engage with various examples that will enable them to explore explore the relationship between place and language, from tapping into the multiple meanings of a word, place-making through the use of local terms, to the complexity of syntax in our everyday conversations. Considering works by poets such as Zeina Hashem Beck, Marilyn Chin, Mary Jean Chan, Nicholas Wong and poems in Chinese by P K Leung, Xichuan and Zhou Zhan, participants will develop new work that help them articulate their engagement with language and cultural inheritance, as well as to capture a sense of place through language.

[Writers should have some familiarity with the Chinese language.]

Price: £20 full; £15 concessions; £10 subsidised.

Concessions: Tickets at a discounted rate are available for attendees who are disabled, on Universal Credit or earning below a living wage, over 65, or full time students

Subsidised places: We offer a limited number of subsidised workshop/course places – first-come, first-served – at the rates quoted above. To apply for a subsidised place please email a 200-word explanation of your need for a subsidised workshop/course place to wasafiri@qmul.ac.uk

Meet the Tutor: Jennifer Wong was born and grew up in Hong Kong. Jennifer is the author of several collections including Goldfish (Chameleon Press) and a pamphlet, Diary of a Miu Miu Salesgirl (Bitter Melon Poetry 2019). Her latest collection, 回家 Letters Home (Nine Arches Press 2020)—which explores the complexities of history, migration and translation—has been named the PBS Wild Card Choice by Poetry Book Society.  She studied in Oxford and has earned a creative writing PhD from Oxford Brookes University where she teaches as associate lecturer. Her poems have appeared in World Literature Today, Oxford Poetry, The Rialto, Magma Poetry and others. She also teaches at Poetry School. Her reviews and translations have appeared in a number of magazines including Poetry Review, Poetry London, PN Review and Asian Review of Books.