Bangkok Women’s Writers Group (BWWG) have just published their second anthology of short fiction, Monsoon Midnights. Raelee Chapman
spoke to the group’s organiser, Anette Pollner
Anette arrived in Bangkok in 2003 on a round-the-world
ticket. At the time, she was writing a
novel. When she left two years later,
she was writing a different novel; since she returned in 2006 she has finished
five more, and has seen most of them published in the UK and the US. She also writes short stories and
articles. Furthermore, she created a successful series
of unconventional creative writing workshops, Writing from the Unconscious Mind; she has just launched a new
series of workshops, Creative Writing for
Startups.
Could
you tell me a bit about Monsoon
Midnights?
The anthology contains 18
short stories which previously appeared as part of a monthly series in The Big Chilli, a local English-language magazine. The stories explore strange
and wonderful locations in Bangkok, all set at night, under the monsoon
moon. They are connected by short
segments written by me. Each story is illustrated by
artwork from Thai artists, and we included a map of Bangkok, to show where each
story is set.
How long has your writers
group been running, and can you give me a potted history?
BWWG was founded in 2001 by
Chloe Trindall, from Australia. We have been meeting every second week ever
since in an unbroken line. When Chloe
returned to Australia with her Thai husband, the group was led by Canadian
journalist Lois Ann Dort. In 2007 I was
elected leader.
In the same year we
launched our first short story collection, Bangkok
Blondes, published by Bangkok Book House / Booksmango. It was widely promoted in the press and on TV
in Thailand and Malaysia, and became a Thai English-language best-seller - it is
still available in bookshops. Bangkok
Blondes is a collection of vignettes about life experienced by women from
many different parts of the world who live and work in Bangkok. It avoids predictable, clichéd subjects, and shows
international life in Bangkok as it really is, on ordinary as well as on extraordinary
days.
We have also published two
pamphlets which are collections of short stories, poems and excerpts from longer works: Bangkok, Boston, Brattleboro – Alien Pens on Familiar Places
(2008); Listening – Midnight Confessions
of Cunning Scoundrels (2012).
In 2013 we gave a
presentation at the International Conference on ASEAN Literature.
Now, of course, we have published
Monsoon Midnights! We successfully
launched at the British Club, Bangkok, on 14th December.
Do
you think of the group as a club? How many members do you have?
BWWG is an ad hoc group of
female writers living and writing in Bangkok. We are not a club, not affiliated
with any kind of institution, and we have no formal structure. Every meeting
re-constitutes the group as a living organism.
Very often, such informal groups don’t last very long. When the original
constellation of members dissolves, the group disappears. But this has not
happened to BWWG which has shown remarkable staying power, despite many
members moving away.
We currently have a mailing list of 200 members.
Where are meetings held?
BWWG has had a
succession of very different meeting places.
The first meeting I joined was in a bar in a notorious area. Later we
moved around various cafés - writers need coffee shops! Right now we have
a quiet and very central meeting place in the Emporium shopping mall
overlooking Benjasiri Park.
What happens at a typical
meeting?
We meet every second Tuesday when we each bring in a piece of writing no more than three pages long. The writer
hands out copies of her story and we read and workshop the piece, in a
supportive and inspiring atmosphere.
Our discussions are lively and there
is a lot of laughter. We ask questions
and disagree. But most importantly, BWWG operates on a basis of mutual respect. Our philosophy is that every writer is an individual and has her own
unique style. Many writers’ groups have a tendency to standardise the kind of
writing they prefer according to an often unconscious group concept. But I
believe that this doesn’t serve the writers. Each writers need to find and develop her unique voice.
Where do your members come from?
BWWG is very diverse in
background, age and nationality. Although we welcome Thai members, the majority of our members are not from Thailand - they come from other countries. Our language of communication is English and
the work we bring in is also in English so that everyone can understand it.
Do
you welcome people new to writing?
Yes. We have a great mix of beginners and more experienced writers - including prize winning novelists and poets. We are there for any woman who takes her writing seriously.
Why women only?
Even in 2014, women writers still need that extra bit of support. We try to provide it for each other.
What are the group’s goals for
the future?
Let’s see what happens
following the launch of Monsoon Midnights. If all goes well we will publish another anthology in about two years’ time. And
we will go on meeting every two weeks as long as we can.
Can you describe the vibe
of the group?
Writing is hard. I’ve never
understood why so many writers’ groups - or worse, so-called critique groups - feel a need to
undermine struggling authors, but, before I joined BWWG, I experienced such
discouragement countless times.
As I said, at BWWG we have nurtured a
constructive attitude: we respect each
other as writers and try to give useful feedback. Although we often have a lot of fun
passionately disagreeing with each other, instead of personal attacks we focus on subjects like narrative strategy,
poetry form and function, plot twists, and point of view - things we all can learn from. To me, the group is a big incubator of talent
and skill - note the female metaphor. Many members bring in new or
revised segments of their novels or poetry collections as they grow, over
months or even years. Most of our
members stay connected with the group even if they move away.
How
can people join?
Contact us at bkk_writers@yahoo.com,
and follow us on Facebook.
Where
can readers buy Monsoon Midnights,
and Bangkok Blondes?
