Writing Across Worlds: Contemporary Writers Talk

Writing has always been a means of making crossings and forging connections between different worlds. Some writers have found it hard to reach an international audience, however: for decades the western literary establishment has been all too ready to sideline writers with mixed cultural or migrant backgrounds as 'marginal', 'multicultural' or simply 'other'. Since its foundation in 1984 the literary magazine Wasafiri has focused on the idea of the writer as someone who transports the imagination beyond the maps of narrowly defined borders, and has promoted a range of new and established voices as well as signposting new waves in contemporary literature worldwide. To celebrate Wasafiri's twentieth anniversary, Writing Across Worlds brings together a selection of interviews with major international writers previously featured in the pages of the magazine. Conducted by a wide constituency of distinguished critics, writers and journalists, the interviews offer a unique insight into the views and work of a remarkable array of acclaimed authors. They also chart a slow but certain cultural shift: those once seen as 'other' have not only won many of the establishment's most revered literary prizes but have also become central figures in contemporary literature, writing across and into all our real and imagined worlds. With an introductory comment by Susheila Nasta, editor of Wasafiri, this collection is essential reading for all those interested in contemporary literature. Authors interviewed include: Chinua Achebe, Ama Ata Aidoo, Monica Ali, Amit Chaudhuri, David Dabydeen, Bernadine Evaristo, Maggie Gee, Lorna Goodison, Nadine Gordimer, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Wilson Harris, Keri Hulme, Kazuo Ishiguro, Jackie Kay, Jamaica Kincaid, Maxine Hong Kingston, George Lamming, Rohinton Mistry, V.S. Naipaul, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Michael Ondaatje, Caryl Phillips, Joan Riley, Salman Rushdie, Nayantara Sahgal, Sam Selvon, Vikram Seth, Zadie Smith, Wole Soyinka, Moyez Vassanji, Marina Warner. Authors interviewed include: Chinua Achebe, Ama Ata Aidoo, Monica Ali, Amit Chaudhuri, David Dabydeen, Bernadine Evaristo, Maggie Gee, Lorna Goodison, Nadine Gordimer, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Wilson Harris Table of Contents: 1.Sam Selvon with Susheila Nasta (1985) 2.Wilson Harris in conversation with Fred D'Aguiar (1986) 3.Lorna Goodison with Denise de Caires Narain (1990) 4.Moyez Vassanji with Susheila Nasta (1991) 5.Chinua Achebe with Chris Searle (1991) 6.Jamaica Kincaid with Gerhard Dilger (1992) 7.Wole Soyinka with Mary David (1993) 8.Caryl Phillips with Maya Jaggi (1994) 9.VS Naipaul with Alastair Niven (1995) 10.Nayantara Sahgal with Minoli Salgado (1995) 11.Kazuo Ishiguro with Maya Jaggi (1995) 12.Rohinton Mistry with Robert Mc Lay (1996) 13.Keri Hulme with Rima Alicia Bartlett (1997) 14.George Lamming with Caryl Phillips (1997) 15.Salman Rushdie with Alastair Niven (1997) 16.Jackie Kay with Maya Jaggi and Richard Dyer (1999) 17.Amit Chaudhuri with Fernando Galvan (1999) 18.Helene Cixous with Sophia Phoca (2000) 19.Michael Ondaatje with Maya Jaggi (2000) 20.Maxine Hong Kingston with Maggie Bowers (2001) 21.Bernadine Evaristo with Alastair Niven (2001) 22.Maggie Gee with Maya Jaggi (2002) 23.Ama Ata Aidoo with Nana Wilson-Tagoe (2002) 24.Nadine Gordimer with Hermione Lee (2003) 25.Ngugi wa Thiong'o with Harish Trivedi (2003)