Hoa
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Homepage: http://www.hoapham.net
Posts by Hoa
Upcoming festival appearances
May 20th
I haven’t been doing as much writing as I would like, and it may be because my next few weekends are occupied with the Sydney Writers Festival and then the Emerging Writers Festival in Melbourne. See events for details. Melbournalia 2 starts tonight which is very exciting- David Mence and Kelly Farrow from White Whale Theatre have done a fantastic job interpreting “I could be you” with some very talented actors.
Press for Melburnalia 2 May 22- June 7
May 20th
Got a mention in the Australian and the Age for “I could be you”, a short play in the Meburnalia 2 series.
History forgotten in hysteria over asylum seekers
May 8th
I have an Opinion piece in today’s Age, History forgotten in hysteria over asylum seekers. It starts:
THE RECENT media and political panic resulting from another boatload of asylum seekers coming to Australia demonstrates that both parties have forgotten about the nature of their constituencies.
“Boat people” in the 1970s and 1980s are now the well established Vietnamese-Australian communities. “Boat people” include such high achievers such as Khoa Do and Tan Le, both Young Australians of the Year, and Nam Le, the short-story author.
The Liberals have forgotten the legacy of Malcolm Fraser, who supported the family re-unification plan and cynically have even forgotten the Vietnamese people who vote Liberal because of that legacy. Labor has taken the easy way out and is now even claiming that the 90-day limit for mandatory detention may be exceeded because there are too many asylum seekers on Christmas Island.
Read the rest, and comment below if you like.
Musings
Apr 14th
I’m currently reading Trinh T Minh-Ha for my doctorate. She writes lyrically about the tensions of being a woman writer of colour, and how one is read and burdened with guilt about the community one comes from. There is a burden of representation that is projected onto writers of colour which is something I wish to speak against, we are many voiced. I’m also inspired by the idea of a “minor literature” proposed by Kafka which is political writing in a dominant tongue- ie writing in English from a politicised position within the mainstream. Nowadays this is the position that I am writing from. Interrogating my own position as a Vietnamese-Australian university educated woman I find interesting. When I wrote “Vixen” I was naive about what would be projected onto me as a result. These literary thinkers liberate me from the representation trap, and politicise my public responses.
Upcoming events
Apr 8th
Peril Issue 7 is being launched by Annette Shun Wah at the Sydney Writers Festival on Saturday 23rd of May and at the Emerging Writers Festival in Melbourne on Thursday 28th May.
I’m speaking with Chi Vu, Nathalie Nguyen and Khoa Do at Casula Powerhouse on Sunday 24th May.
My short play “I could be you” is part of the Melbournalia 2 season which is at 45downstairs from mid May to early June.
Varuna insight
Nov 25th
I took a break at Varuna Writers Centre in the Blue Mountains recently to finish the second draft of “The Other Shore”. It’s taken me a while to realise that the pleasure in writing is the writing itself, and publication though nice cannot be the driving force for me. I also bought a book “Writing for your life” by Deena Metzger which explores writing as a form of spiritual practice and a process of inner work. Through that I’ve discovered I’m still guided by the vixen to reach my current muse Avoliketera herself. My other source of inspiration comes from John Gardiner whose book “On becoming a novelist” encapsulates the novel writing process as one of imagining a fictional world with all other factors such as plot character etc tools to achieve that world. Highly recommended.
The Go Show
Sep 30th
As part of my Footscray Community Arts Centre Residency I’m one of the many artists in the Go Show as part of the Melbourne International Festival. I will be workshopping my play for Melbournalia II with two actresses Ai Diem Le and Diana Nguyen in Maddern Square in Footscray. It’s on from October 22-25 2008. Check out FCAC or Melbourne International Festival site for details.
writing itself
Jul 20th
It’s been a while since I posted- so here is a brief run down of what I’ve been up to:
Silence was sold out 4 shows out of 5. Unfortunately it did not get regional arts victoria funding to tour. Currently I’m putting this show on hold- I have two other exciting projects I want to get my teeth into.
White Whale Theatre have commissioned me and 4 other writers to write a short play on a Melbourne suburb for their Melbournalia 2 season.
I’m currently writing a new novel! Tentatively titled “I could be you” it is a culmination of the past three years of ideas that have gestated and finally sprung into life. I am much indebted to the Footscray Community Arts Centre for giving me a desk and a space to write in, close to one of the best views of Melbourne from the Maribrynong River.
I have cut down my counselling days from 4 to 3 which has restored my sense of balance. And I am a fortnight off from handing in my masters work- which I am happy to leave behind me. I have learnt a lot from Kathleen Fallon and Jennifer Rutherford and I achieved two of my aims- to become better read and get kickstarted writing again- but the two and half year process felt rather constipated.
Last week saw Nam Le in conversation with Cate Kennedy. He gave a very intelligent answer to the oft asked question of ethnic writers- what does your cultural community think of your writing- and he said it ranged like any other part of the community. He also talked abouit the perils of being boxed in as an ethnic writer and how his collection of which only two draw on his Vietnamese background explodes expectations and the possibilities.
I see his success as a great gate opener for the rest of us- and shows Vietnamese writers can do anything!
what I learned from Thay
May 13th
Am in Saigon airport, dwelling in the present moment and thinking about the retreat. I have learnt so much and been so inspired by Thay’s lectures. The last lecture was on no birth no death and the idea of continuation, self and no self. I have vowed to all five of the mindfulness training this time and my new dharma name is awakened embrace of the heart. I will reduce my consuption of red meat and alcohol and be more mindful and take mindful breaths at work. The last event of the retreat was a walking meditation around Hoan kiem Lake in the centre of Hanoi. Pictures will be posted later.
free at last- almost
Apr 15th
I wrote the 80 word “intention to submit” statement for my masters in creative writing today- free at last- almost! I’ve found the journey really interesting, without Kathleen Fallon I would have quit all together. I have learnt that I can write academic discourse in english literature at postgraduate level and I’ve read a lot of interesting texts as well. The creative process for my novella has been a bit painful, the gestation period was long and it was an effort to write. But in the process I’ve learnt about layering my drafts and playing with voices in the text so it has been useful.
Silence was workshopped and redrafted over the weekend which was intense but also a great process lead by Melanie Beddie the dramaturg and Gorkem Acaroglu the director. With their input the play is now more stylised and less naturalistic which is fantastic! Bring on the hungry ghosts I say (with the aid of fog machine and projections).
So now I have some head space for the Footscray Arts residency and my next new work. I’m reading Women Native Other by Trinh Minh Ha which has a great prologue about story telling and ancestry that has resonance for my next theatrical work.
Peril’s inaugural Board meeting is happening in August- more excitement with three people flying in from interstate. I’m thrilled that Peril is getting bigger- and maybe well get funding soon- applications TBA.
