Manoa, vol. 18, no. 1 (2006): Beyond Words

Beyond Words cover imagePresented by Manoa: A Pacific Journal of International Writing

Beyond Words

Beyond Words presents more than two dozen authors from China, Tibet, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Malaysia discussing their particular approaches to writing. The editors have collected their words as they appear in essays, interviews, stories, and poems and have sought diversity in nationality, language, age, gender, and aesthetics.

Editor’s Note

Images

PART ONE: HUMAN NATURE ITSELF IS POETIC

Human Nature Itself Is Poetic: An Interview, 1
Ko Ŭn with Patricia Donegan

Three Poems, 9
Ko Ŭn

Writing in Two Tongues, 12
Wang Ping

A Necessary Beginning: An Interview, 17
N.V.M. Gonzalez with Roger J. Bresnahan

Fishing in the River Esk, 28
Alfred A. Yuson

My American Books, 31
Mo Yan

PART TWO: INSCRIPTION ETCHED BY WATER

Inscription Etched by Water, 36
Pak Tujin

Coming Full Circle: An Interview, 39
Nguyen Duy with Nguyen Ba Chung

The Writer and the Native Tradition: A Conversation, 44
Muhammad Haji Salleh with F. Sionil José

A Quid of Betel, 49
Muhammad Haji Salleh

Spirit and Literature, 51
F. Sionil José

Keeping Not Writing: An Interview, 58
Yasutaka Tsutsui with Larry McCaffery and others

The Lion, 66
Yasutaka Tsutsui

Pasemon: On Allusion and Illusions, 72
Goenawan Mohamad

PART THREE: WORDS FROM THE FIRE

Parable of the Googol Balloons, 83
Gémino H. Abad

An Autobiography, 85
Nguyen Chi Thien

Words from the Fire: An Interview, 93
Pal Vannariraks with Sharon May

Nyima Tsering’s Tears, 97
Woeser

Cricket Song, 105
Lam Thi My Da

Without Words: An Interview, 108
Soth Polin with Sharon May

PART FOUR: ENCOUNTERS

A Poem That Came Easily, 116
Yun Tongju

Realism, Humor, and Social Commitment: An Interview, 119
Phuntshog Tashi with Patricia Schiaffini

A Particular Sort of Story, 126
Can Xue

The Land of Peach Blossoms, 130
Can Xue

To the Readers, 138
Han Yong’un

From Mother Tongue to Linguistic Mother, 139
Yoko Tawada

Encounters, 144
K. S. Maniam

A Commitment to Life: An Interview, 155
Xue Di with Melissa Clark

About the Contributors, 163