05-25-09 Expatriate Literature, open chat
The transcript below covers the complete #litchat conversation on May 25, 2009. The order appears sequentially from the first post to the final post. Topic was open discussion of expatriate literature.
| LitChat Welcome to LitChat. This week’s topic is expatriate literature. We’re on for the next 60 minutes. Send questions and join us now. #litchat -12:57 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat It may be a bit slow today due to the holiday, but we’re here anyway. First question in next post. #litchat -12:59 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat Q1 What is expatriate literature and what makes it so compelling? #litchat -1:01 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit The interpretation of another culture by someone of our own #litchat -1:02 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike yes @mdbenoit, an expat writer draws on a collective cultural consciousness to talk about a different locale #litchat -1:05 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike if travel writing is a chance to travel vicariously, expat lit is a chance to live abroad vicariously #litchat -1:07 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| CarolyBurnsBass When I think of expat literature, I think of Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway. #litchat -1:08 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana I’m a Brit, lived in the States many year. Am now ex-pat author w/novel set in US and UK. Write what you know! #litchat -1:09 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| CarolyBurnsBass RT @Thandelike if travel writing is a chance to travel vicariously, expat lit is a chance to live abroad vicariously #litchat -1:10 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @maggiedana how has your writing shifted since you moved? #litchat -1:10 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana I’ve always written in US, never in UK. But my upcoming novel is being pub’d in UK by Macmillan! #litchat -1:11 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit I’m an expat in my own country: a French Canadian in English Canada #litchat -1:11 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| CarolyBurnsBass @Thandelike Having lived abroad (Japan) and now a travel writer, I see your point about the differences. #litchat -1:11 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @mdbenoit Interesting situation to be in. Unnverving? #litchat -1:12 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| pussreboots More recent ones that come to my mind: Bill Bryson, Marlena de Blasi, Chris Stewart and Peter Mayle #litchat -1:12 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana Enjoy Bryson. Makes me howl. #litchat -1:12 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @maggiedana The culture is amazingly different #litchat -1:13 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| artistatlarge Oh! #litchat Since when? Hello! -1:13 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @mdbenoit Where in Canada are you now? #litchat -1:14 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| VanessaDobbs RT maggiedana Enjoy Bryson. Makes me howl. Me too #litchat -1:14 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat @artistatlarge We just began today’s chat at 4 pm/edt. Topic is expatriate literature. Join us! #litchat -1:14 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @maggiedana is your subject matter now UK-related and to what degree does your home culture appear in your work? #litchat -1:15 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike Are you still in Turkey? Where else have you lived? #litchat -1:16 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @maggiedana Ottawa, but lived in a lot of places #litchat -1:16 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @maggiedana schooled in Rome, lived 5 years in Southeast Asia (Malaysia) and now 6 years in Istanbul, where I still am #litchat -1:17 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| artistatlarge Oops, I meant Lawrence Durrell! (not DH Lawrence!) #litchat -1:17 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike Women’s fiction, mid-life reunion set in US and UK, about perils of rekindling old flames when oceans apart. #litchat -1:17 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| llunalila RT @LitChat: @artistatlarge We just began today’s chat at 4 pm/edt. Topic is expatriate literature. Join us! #litchat GREAT! -1:17 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| CarolyBurnsBass @zintaaistars Oh that is so true. I find myself in that latter category all too often. #litchat. -1:17 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| jamesgleventhal RT @artistatlarge Oops, I meant Lawrence Durrell! (not DH Lawrence!) #litchat -1:17 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike Home culture appears a lot. It’s fun to write from both sides of the fence … um, pond. #litchat -1:18 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| CarolyBurnsBass @zintaaistars Are you following #litchat? We’re talking about expatriate literature today. -1:18 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @mdbenoit so besides language, what separates your Canadian readers?do you write about English-speaking Canada for French-speakers? #litchat -1:19 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| pussreboots @maggiedana What’s your book called? It sounds good. #litchat -1:19 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| artistatlarge Cripes my first post didn’t go through – Henry Miller and Lawrence Durrell are who I think of as expat writers #litchat -1:19 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike Great fodder for your work. Do you speak Arabic (is that language of Turkey? #litchat -1:19 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @Thandelike I write in English, but my franco culture seeps through everything: characters, language, music, food #litchat -1:20 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| jamesgleventhal @artistatlarge love the #litchat. kno anyone in Vanc./Vict., Brit. Col. area as culturevulture 4 friend 2 connect re: museums? @owl_ -1:20 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @pussreboots My novel is called Beachcombing, due out June 5th in the UK. #litchat -1:20 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @maggiedana The Turks speak Turkish, they’re a Turkic people. Not Arab. I speak some Turkish and my 1st book translated into Turkis #litchat -1:21 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @mdbenoit Good to know your culture is alive and well in your writing. #litchat -1:22 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| llunalila @artistatlarge Nabokov was so expat he even changed his native language. I’d love to be able to write in English as he did! #litchat -1:22 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike Um, I ought to know that, given I’m listening to audio book about history of middle east! #litchat -1:22 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @maggiedana I believe it’s what gives the writing a sharper colour #litchat -1:23 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @LitChat observation re. “Expat Harem” in Turkish: expat lit translated for base culture loses a lot in the translation #litchat -1:23 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike A UK friend just spent 5 days in Istanbul. Loved it. #litchat -1:23 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @Thandelike I would imagine so, because they wouldn’t see themselves the same way #litchat -1:24 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @mdbenoit Great way of putting it. Must be your French coming out! #litchat -1:24 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @maggiedana There’s a different cultural flavour, as well, ’cause of the mixed brew… #litchat -1:25 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| artistatlarge #litchat Milan Kundera is a wonderful expat writer. Combines culture, landscape, Czech writer, lives in Paris. -1:25 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @mdbenoit and opposite result –>they don’t see themselves at all. sometimes what foreigners notice goes unnoticed by natives #litchat -1:26 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @Thandelike Of course. They take it for granted. It’s simply there, no question #litchat -1:27 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| pussreboots Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas takes a interesting & entertaining look at California culture from an expat POV #litchat -1:27 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat Q2 fm @mitaliperkins: Why do readers seem to prefer an “outsider” protag’s view of another country/culture to an “insider” protag? #litchat -1:27 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike I think that’s called ‘the forgiving eye.’ I don’t notice the weeds in my lawn; my neighbors, sadly, do! #litchat -1:27 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @mdbenoit this is where expat lit can excel: to point out the unseen. things travelers either miss, or misunderstand #litchat -1:27 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| writingtravel RT @artistatlarge: #litchat Milan Kundera is a wonderful expat writer. Combines culture, landscape, Czech writer, lives in Paris. -1:28 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @LitChat Having lived in US for many years, I enjoy reading/hearing another Brit’s view of Americans. #litchat -1:28 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| VanessaDobbs @Thandelike that’strue ofa lot of things inlife.It takesan outsider to see objectively what we do #litchat -1:28 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| BookRambler #litchat Q2 not sure this is an accurate statement- surely it’s authors who find it easy to use ‘outsider’ or ‘alien’ -1:28 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| llunalila @LitChat maybe because they can feel more identified with the outsider and learn from that culture that way #litchat -1:29 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| dosankodebbie @LitChat re: Q2 “outsiders” can view a culture with more objectivity than an “insider” #litchat -1:29 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit Traveling doesn’t give you enough time to “see”. You have to live it. #litchat -1:29 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @BookRambler They are outsiders, aren’t they? They see from outside in #litchat -1:31 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mjmbecky Don’t we trust the “insider” view more, yet appreciate an outsider’s observations? Just a thought…#litchat -1:31 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @dosankodebbie Not necessarily. We look with our own cultural biases sometimes #litchat -1:31 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| VanessaDobbs Q2 we’re outsiders ourselves so feelmore able to identify #litchat -1:31 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @mjmbecky expat lit offers that outsider’s view from the inside: when it’s good, it’s the best of both worlds #litchat -1:32 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike how do the Turks view Obama? #litchat -1:33 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @Thandelike How do expat Turks view your book? #litchat -1:34 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @maggiedana I like to think that they like him, and his visit here this spring was well-received #litchat -1:34 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| niltiac @artistatlarge I’ve read 1 Milan Kundera book, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I loved it. I didn’t realise he was still alive! #litchat -1:34 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike Good to hear. International news isn’t covered as well in US as elsewhere. #litchat -1:35 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| BookRambler @mdbenoit that’s my point, I think they’re often an easy foil used to show up the alien-ness of the foreign #litchat -1:35 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @mdbenoit expat Turks = Turks abroad? on our book tour across America they hosted us in 10 states. cried at our readings,gifted bk #litchat -1:35 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @Thandelike That means you did a great job! #litchat -1:36 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @mdbenoit some said “now i know what my life might be if I return to Turkey” since life in America made them more like our writers #litchat -1:36 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike How hard is it for Turks to assimilate in other countries? #litchat -1:36 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @mdbenoit others said “now my children will understand what kind of country i come from, they’ll believe you but not their dad” #litchat -1:37 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike Did they seem eager to return home? #litchat -1:37 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| dosankodebbie That’s a good point. RT @mdbenoit: @dosankodebbie Not necessarily. We look with our own cultural biases sometimes #litchat -1:37 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @BookRambler Yes, but there’s a fine line between using the “alien” as foil and make it comical and non-credible #litchat -1:37 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike Sounds like teenagers and kids the world over! #litchat -1:38 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @maggiedana my Expat Harem coeditor and I were given an award by an international Turkish PR organization, they embraced it #litchat -1:38 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @Thandelike I can hear the kids: Yeah, yeah, yeah, dad… #litchat -1:39 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| BookRambler @mdbenoit yes. there are a lot of tired and cliched books but the good can be effective #litchat -1:39 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike Well done! You must have been very proud. Big diff between US/Turkish culture, but you bridged it. #litchat -1:40 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike Who’s your publisher? #litchat -1:40 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| VanessaDobbs @Thandelike glad to hear that #litchat -1:40 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit A writer friend of mine now living in Canada wrote about her experience of Russia’s invasion of Hungary. Affecting #litchat -1:41 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @maggiedana thanks, we were happy! apparently we made a tear-jerker of a book. Dogan Kitap in TR, Seal Press in North America #litchat -1:41 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat Q3 fm @insidebooks: Is being away a more powerful stimulus to writing? Is an eye clouded by memory and longing more perceptive? #litchat -1:41 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @maggiedana you asked if ppl eager to return home. most ppl abroad have love-hate relationship with their homeland #litchat -1:42 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @maggiedana Yep. She was 12 #litchat -1:42 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike Hard for me to believe. I adore UK, miss it like mad. #litchat -1:42 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @LitChat Good points. I know I see England through rose-tinted glasses. Still love it, tho, warts ‘n all. #litchat -1:43 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @LitChat Nostalgia can sharpen comparison, but it can also be destructive #litchat -1:44 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @LitChat Q3 that love-hate relationship with their homeland is absolutely affected by nostalgia, frozen time, present state of mind #litchat -1:44 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @mdbenoit I remember that invasion vividly. Was in school in England. #litchat -1:44 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| dosankodebbie re: Q2.A thoughtful expat will question and analyze his own cultural biases. The reader can do this vicariously. #litchat -1:44 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat RT @mjmbecky Do people really prefer that? I did my MA in Eng., seemed we liked insider view of a country, but outsider reflection. #litchat -1:45 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @maggiedana I edited her book (she self-published) but was recently interviewed by a UK radio show. #litchat -1:45 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| VanessaDobbs @mdbenoit good point. Too much nostalgia destructive #litchat -1:46 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @maggiedana I meant my friend was interviewed, not me #litchat -1:48 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @maggiedana Very. Same as @Thandelike, Hungarians abroad love it. Also Hungarian in Budapest. She has quite a following. #litchat -1:50 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @mdbenoit the writer is Hungarian, writing from Canada, about a primarily Hungarian topic? to me that is emigree lit! #litchat -1:50 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @Thandelike Ah. You’re right of course. #litchat -1:51 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat @Thandelike What is the difference between expat lit and emigree lit? #litchat -1:53 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| dosankodebbie As a non-Japanese who’s lived in Japan all my life books written about JP by expats often irritate me because I notice the errors. #litchat -1:53 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @LitChat theory–> if subject is primarily your homeland and you live abroad as emigree, that’s emigree lit #litchat -1:54 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mjmbecky @LitChat Am really interested in the main themes of nationalism and how they appear to expat. #litchat -1:54 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| CarolyBurnsBass @dosankodebbie Looking at your twit name, I wondered if you had a Japanese connection. I lived there for 3 years. #litchat -1:55 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mjmbecky @LitChat Really adds this idea of hypocrisy and blindness to a nation’s view of itself, or am I missing something? #litchat -1:55 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| pussreboots #litchat @dosankodebbie Give an example of what the expats get wrong about Japan. -1:55 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @LitChat if you’re living outside home culture writing about where you are, and even the rest of the world = expat lit #litchat -1:56 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat @Thandelike Thank you for defining that difference. I wasn’t aware of the distinction. #litchat -1:57 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @dosankodebbie what do you think of Pico Iyer’s writing on Japan? he calls himself a travel writer but has lived in JP #litchat -1:57 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mjmbecky @Thandelike Is there more of a feeling of “forced” exile with expat. than with emigree? More political reasons? #litchat -1:58 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mactavish @jlist? – RT @pussreboots: #litchat @dosankodebbie Give an example of what the expats get wrong about Japan. -1:58 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @LitChat just theorizing…in the litchat flow. but bells ringing somewhere in distance #litchat -1:59 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @mjmbecky I would say it’s the opposite. An expat lives voluntarily in another country #litchat -2:00 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @mjmbecky my impression is that emigrees are politically motivated more often than expats #litchat -2:00 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @mjmbecky An emigre often moves for difficult reasons, political, financial, etc. #litchat -2:01 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat We’ve reached the end of our official 1-hr LitChat, but the chatroom stays open, so feel free to continue. #litchat -2:02 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| dosankodebbie #litchat @pussreboots most frequently incorrect use of JP words. also misconceptions about food. Non-JP values expressed in a JP character. -2:03 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat If you need to move on now, please remember to join us on Wed for more expat lit chat. On Friday @Thandelike is guest host. #litchat -2:03 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @Thandelike A huge thank you for hanging out with us this afternoon. I’ve learned new stuff and met new people. Been great. #litchat -2:04 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mjmbecky @Thandelike Interesting. Why do you think they are not as politically motivated? Is it more creative? #litchat -2:04 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mjmbecky @LitChat Great topic! Loved it! #litchat -2:04 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| maggiedana @LitChat Who’s featured on Wed? Same lovely person as today??? #litchat -2:04 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| CarolyBurnsBass @dosankodebbie Are these JP errors made by expat Japanese in US? Or American expats in Japan? #litchat -2:05 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @LitChat thanks for moderating and to all chatting tonight, the hour flew by, holiday weekend and all! #litchat -2:05 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mdbenoit @Thandelike Yes, thank you. It was my first time here and I loved it! Great chatting with everyone. #litchat -2:06 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mjmbecky @Thandelike Thanks! Can’t wait until Friday. Have a real fascination w/ Turkey after travels there and will check out your work! #litchat -2:06 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| Thandelike @mjmbecky can be more creative, a freedom/urge to explore, and there are plenty of expats in business. #litchat -2:06 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat @maggiedana On M+W we have open chat about our topic of week. On Friday, we have guest host. This Fri is @Thandelike. #litchat -2:06 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat Thanks to everyone for another great chat @mdbenoit @Thandelike @CarolyBurnsBass @maggiedana @pussreboots @artistatlarge. #litchat -2:08 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat More LitChat thanks to @VanessaDobbs @llunalila @jamesgleventhal @writingtravel. #litchat -2:09 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| LitChat And still more LitChat thanks to @BookRambler @dosankodebbie @mjmbecky @niltiae @mactavish. #litchat -2:10 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| mjmbecky @mdbenoit Makes sense. Often think of them in terms of politics, but many Expats more creative… #litchat Thanks! -2:13 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| dosankodebbie #litchat @CarolyBurnsBass I should’ve specified that my comments refer to fiction, not non-fiction. -2:17 PM May 25th, 2009 |
| dosankodebbie #litchat @CarolyBurnsBass I’ve read lots of GREAT non-fiction about JP by ex-pats who thoroughly know their field- finance, politics, etc -2:22 PM May 25th, 2009 |
[...] question during a week of live #litchat on Twitter when I guest hosted in May 2009. (Transcripts here and here and [...]