Participants of the AWPUR International Literary Forum reflect on who authors teach and who they learn from
Opening the discussion, Director of Vladimir Dahl State Museum of the History of Russian Literature, poet and literary critic Dmitry Bak remarked that the title of the panel comprises not one but two sizable topics, and each deserves to be addressed on its own. As with the first one, a writer may serve as a poet-in-residence at the university, like Brodsky or Nabokov did, teaching basic writing skills to students across different fields of study and majors. The other topic is about the training of poets and writers-to-be, higher education institutions offering literature degrees, master’s programs in creative writing, and whether, at the end of the day, it is even possible to make a writer out of a “random” person. And whether it is worth trying.
Before taking up writer training, how about educating the readers first, suggested RUDN University professor Gayane Stepanyan: “Even philology students these days often use bureaucratic language when they write. A lazy reader will never be any good at writing.”
Professor at the University of Granada, literary scholar Rafael Guzmán Tirado pointed out that literary translators should be trained in the first place. As for writers, it is sufficient for them to have talent.
They seem to share this approach in China. There is no professional training system for writers in China, according to Wang Jinling, Director of the Institute of Foreign Languages at the Changchun University: “Anyone can write. Many eminent writers teach their own courses at universities, which everyone is welcome to attend.”
Poet Marina Kudimova reminded those present that inherent in Russian literature is “this element whereby genuine literary talent happens as a serendipity, spontaneous and unpredictable.”
“I see no harm in people of different occupations becoming professional writers, but let’s be honest – it is not the artistry of letters they learn but basics of writing,” Kudimova concluded.
Before taking up writer training, how about educating the readers first, suggested RUDN University professor Gayane Stepanyan: “Even philology students these days often use bureaucratic language when they write. A lazy reader will never be any good at writing.”
Professor at the University of Granada, literary scholar Rafael Guzmán Tirado pointed out that literary translators should be trained in the first place. As for writers, it is sufficient for them to have talent.
They seem to share this approach in China. There is no professional training system for writers in China, according to Wang Jinling, Director of the Institute of Foreign Languages at the Changchun University: “Anyone can write. Many eminent writers teach their own courses at universities, which everyone is welcome to attend.”
Poet Marina Kudimova reminded those present that inherent in Russian literature is “this element whereby genuine literary talent happens as a serendipity, spontaneous and unpredictable.”
“I see no harm in people of different occupations becoming professional writers, but let’s be honest – it is not the artistry of letters they learn but basics of writing,” Kudimova concluded.