American
Holly Thompson teaches creative writing at Yokohama City University. Since she
teaches in English, but her students are mostly Japanese, is language an issue?
“It’s true my students bring into their English
writing their thinking from a language completely different in structure from
English, but I believe reading authentic stories and poems in English then
striving to write their own helps non-native speakers connect to and claim the
language in a personal way.”
Given the different educational approaches
in the States, and in Asia – a focus on individuality and critical thinking
versus exam results – is there any difference
between teaching creative writing in Japan and in America? “Of course, anyone
writing from within Asia, regardless of their language of writing, will be
writing from within their environment in Asia. Climate and culture influence
the stories we cultivate. Most of my students in Japan, unlike those in the
U.S., have never written a short story in any language, and most have never
tried writing poetry. My job is to expose them to possibilities, to share
stories and poems that lead to prompts for their own ideas, to give them tools
for creating stories and poems in English, and to nurture curious, responsive
readers and writers. Most importantly, my aim is to open their minds and to
inspire them to discover creativity with words.”
That’s all very well, but
even in the West, it’s sometimes said that the way to break your parents’
hearts is to take an arts degree, and creative writing scarcely fits the Asian
view of university as a stepping-stone to a stable job. So are students’
ambitions similar in the States and in Japan? “Few of my students in Japan
aspire to be writers whereas many students in the U.S. do consider creative
writing as something that might weave itself into their future. But times are
changing . . .”
They are indeed, and one of
the changes is that Asia is on the rise. Has that given Japanese students
greater confidence to write in English about Japan? “Not necessarily. I have to convince many of my students
that Japan-set stories, and Japanese characters, can be convincingly written in
English. I have to push them to think of their own unique points of view and
find stories from deep within their own bins of collected story seeds. I have
to convince them that their Asian-based stories are worth telling to an English
language readership around the world.”
That
sounds frustrating. Is it? “No. I
feel fortunate to have been able to teach creative writing in a Japanese university. I love to see the evolution of the
students as they travel from bewildered beginners to imaginative and capable
writers. At the end of the semester it’s a joy to hand out the student
publications that result, and in the poetry classes to watch students listen
with rapt attention as fellow students stand before them reading selected poems
from their final portfolios—moving others with their own
words.”
Holly Thompson is the author of two young
adult novels in verse: The Language Inside (Delacorte/Random House,
forthcoming, May 2013) and Orchards (Delacorte/Random
House), winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, as well as
the novel Ash (Stone Bridge Press) and a picture book The
Wakame Gatherers (Shen’s Books). She edited Tomo: Friendship
Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories (Stone Bridge Press).