Student Essays
During the summer of 2007, two MFA students from ASU – Meghan Brinson, poetry, Max Doty, fiction – went to Singapore to teach creative writing for six weeks at the National University of Singapore. See the Opportunities page for future trips. Below are excerpts from essays about their experience and a selection of photos.
“I was especially impressed with the students’ level of engagement and enthusiasm given the relative absence of literary culture in Singapore. Unlike the US, Singapore lacks creative writing programs at the University level; thus Singaporean writers tend to be employed in non-academic professions (lawyers, politicians) who view writing as a side-job. Few if any Singaporean writers are read internationally, and even within Singapore most writing (fiction especially) is imported from abroad.
Despite these apparent hindrances, our students proved to be well-read, artistically developed and hopeful about their futures as writers. Over the course of six weeks I was amazed to watch the speed of their artistic development.”
–Max Doty
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“On one wait for a long light, in the blaring mid-day heat of an exposed intersection, I noticed a man of about sixty staring at a screw lying in the road. It seemed to bother him, and when he noticed a break in traffic he stooped over and picked up the screw, examining the sharp tip that had been exposed to oncoming tires, and then picking an out of the way spot on the sidewalk to safely deposit it. When he stood up from placing the screw to the side, he noticed me looking at him. I couldn’t help but smile. There is a commercial with really poorly written and yet obnoxiously catchy lyrics that tells Singaporean drivers to “Pass It On.” Like so many things Singaporean, underneath its seemingly superficial packaging there is an earnest desire to do the best thing for the public good.”
– Meghan Brinson
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