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An Interview with Mir Tamim Ansary

Bloggers Note: Tamim Ansary will be speaking on the topic of  Why Do We Write? at the April 9th 2016 meeting of the Mt. Diablo branch of the California Writers Club.  The meeting will be at Zio Fraedo’s Restaurant at 611 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill.  Cost is $25 members and $30 for guests. Paypal and credit card requires additional fees.  Sign-in is at 11:15 am–12 pm, luncheon at 12–12:45, and program at 1:00 –2:00 pm. Reservations required.  RSVP to Robin at cwcrobin.gigoux@yahoo.com.

1. In one paragraph, can you give us some highlights from Games Without Rules

Games Without Rules is a narrative history of Afghanistan, the story of a hodgepodge of people trying to coalesce as a country, despite interruptions by global powers who have invaded the country five times in the last two centuries. In the standard narrative, Afghanistan is a static land filled with intractable bearded fanatics who are hard to conquer. Games Without Rules delivers a more nuanced view, the one from the inside looking out. In this version, a country that began to form at just about the same time as the United States, has an epic, tragic, and yes sometimes humorous story of its own, peopled by characters that Dickens would have been proud to invent—a story that has, however, been interrupted every 40 to 50 years by a Great Power invasion, which has—curiously enough—failed in exactly the same way every time.

2. Describe your most memorable moment as an author.

I’ve been writing all my life but in the wake of the events of 9/11, I was suddenly redefined as “an author.” Why? Because I was an articulate English-speaker from Afghanistan and because, on 9/12 I wrote an email setting forth my view of what had just happened. I sent it to about 20 of my friends, who sent it to their friends who sent it to their friends, and it went viral. It was the first viral phenomenon on the Internet. Within two days it had spread around the world and been read by tens of millions of people. I was getting phone calls from strangers in Argentina and South Africa and from people I hadn’t seen in 40 years. Within three days, I was on TV in conversation with Bill Moyer while my agent was trying to reach me by phone to tell me I should forget about the novel she was peddling for me and propose a nonfiction book instead—“anything,” she pleaded. “Just write one page. Anything!” It was the oddest thing that every happened to me—but maybe not the most “memorable”, now that I think about it, because those few months were so crowded and crazy I hardly remember a thing about them.

3. What authors have most influenced your writing?

I really have no idea what authors have most influenced my writing (in which I dare say I’m pretty much like every author) because when I write I’m not conscious of trying to write like someone else, or even “like myself.” I’m only conscious of straining to net with words that elusive thing out there, that vague shape I see, that meaning that, goddamn it, I can’t seem to quite articulate, that story I can almost taste, almost feel, almost see but which–when I try to turn it solid with words—disperses like a school of minnows. Who’s influenced me? Damned if I know. I can tell you who I’ve liked: Yann Martell for his musings; Romain Rolland and Dostoevsky early on; Celine for Death on the Installment Plan, Michael Connolly ‘cuz he’s so solid, Michael Faber because who else could get away with writing a thousand-page novel entirely in the second person, and because I couldn’t shake The Book of Strange New Things out of my head—and there are others. Vikram Seth, especially Golden Gate. Peter Pan. I give up. There are too many.

4. Describe your path to publication.

Long. Random. Arbitrary. Along the way it was hard to tell if I was published at each particular point. At the Scribe, a weekly newspaper in Portland, where everyone was a volunteer, no one was paid, and where I could write anything I pleased, no editor between me and my readers—was that publishing? Well, I had readers: five or six thousand people a week read what I wrote. Later, when I was a freelance writer in San Francisco, selling things like a profile of the 14-year-old girl who won the Grand Ole Opry, and the story of a drug bust for Stone Age Quarterly—did those things count? Was I published? The publication I cherished most was my first piece of fiction, “Crimes of Passion.” It was published in Prim International, a Canadian lit-mag. Did anyone read it, though? I don’t know. Later when I was a columnist for Encarta, they told me I was getting 80,000 hits each time I posted a new column. But it was a column. On the Internet. Did that count? Well, whatever. One way or another, I’ve got some fifty books out there, most of them nonfiction for children, all of which, as far as I know, are still in print.

5. Did you find it difficult to write from a women’s point of view in your book, The Widow’s Husband?

Yes and no. I grew up among women. That’s how it was in Afghanistan. Everyone grows up among women and then the boys go out and become men. I didn’t go out and become an Afghan man, because at a crucial period in my life, my family moved to Laskhkargah, a town heavily populated with Americans, and then I moved to America. But I when I created Khadija, the widow of The Widow’s Husband, I didn’t take Western media reports as my point of departure, I started from my memories of the women in my family, the women in our village, the women I knew and knew about over there when I was growing up. I have to say, I don’t think anyone else writing fiction about Afghanistan has followed in my footsteps.

6. Which of your books has been the most difficult book to write?

My three best-known books—West of Kabul; East of New York, Destiny Disrupted, and Games Without Rules were not hard to write at all. They just fell out. They were waiting to be written, I showed up and they seized control of my fingers and used me to get themselves into the public. The Widow’s Husband slipped right out too, but then I started editing it, and that took years. Two other books, a memoir called Road Trips and the novel Dreaming in Dari, have also taken years, and the real sign of that is: I’m not done with either of them yet.

7. What do you think your life would look like if you hadn’t come to America in 1964?

I would have been drafted into the Afghan army just when the Communists seized power and the war started. I would have been in their army, following their orders to fight the Mujahedeen, and I doubt I would have survived. If I had not come to the United States in ’64, the chances are pretty good I’d be dead.

8. Who is your idol?

To that extent I am a good Muslim. I have no idols.

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Mir Tamim Ansary. To learn more, visit his website: www.mirtamimansary.co . Also, take a look at his blog, www.memoirpool.com , a site devoted to the art of telling the real life story.

Filed Under: author interview Tagged With: Afghanistan, Destiny Disrupted, Tamim Ansary, The Widow's Husband, West of Kabul;East of New York, writing

Doesn’t Everything Die?

I have never been a big reader of poetry. But when I do, I tend to love it. I embrace the imagery and the way those lean, clever words make me ponder. Four years ago, at Back to School Night, my daughter’s freshman English teacher read Mary Oliver ‘s The Summer Day (famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/mary_oliver) to the assembled parents. As a biologist and lover of literature, I cannot believe that I had never heard of this writer. She and I are kindred spirits, yet she unfolds the natural world in a way I have never experienced. After all, I took an Entomology class in college, so how could I not know that a grasshopper chews back and forth?

This learned woman who teaches high school English read this poem to us parents, just as she had guided our children through the verses on the first day of school, because of the message in this beautifully written poem. Each stanza draws us in and leaves the reader with a simple reminder: We only get one shot at life. On that night, with a room filled with mothers and fathers, this English instructor closed her book and issued a challenge: Pause and ask yourself a question, not just at weddings or funerals or when you ship your children off to college, ask yourself today this concluding line of Mary Oliver’s poem: Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

I shipped my youngest daughter off to college a few weeks ago. I know what I want to do with my life. I want to practice the craft of writing in the hopes that I, too, will capture the power of words — words that will make someone realize that death is inevitable, that every day is a gift, that each moment is an opportunity to reflect on the direction of one’s life. Until then, let me pass along Mary Oliver’s poignant phrase: Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Filed Under: Publishing, Reading, Writing Tagged With: life changes, Mary Oliver, poetry, writing

Use Clothing Choices to Intrigue Your Readers

I am not now, nor will ever be, one of those people who would watch the Academy Awards  just to see what the stars are wearing.  Nor would I flip to an article written by the “fashion police” entitled Best and Worst Dressed.  So it shouldn’t be too surprising that when reading a novel and I come across either variation of “he wore” or “she wore,” the  prepare to  skim function of my brain kicks into overdrive.  However, there are times when I will actually be intrigued by clothing choices.  This occurs when the way a person is dressed informs either the character ‘s predicament or their personality.  In other words, their appearance is relevant to the plot or contributes to character development. 

In the excerpt below from my young adult novel, BETWEEN SHADOW’S EYES, I intentionally used clothing and description to create an impression that there is something a bit odd about the character. (You will note I did not use the passive words such as “he wore” or “she wore).”

A flowing black-and-tan sari had replaced her “Save the Redwoods!” T-shirt and khaki pants.  She, well, she floated toward me.  That was the best description I could come up with for her smooth gait.  Her chin swept side to side as she approached my car as if her head was loose about her neck.  Something about the combination of her mannerisms and her physical appearance set my nerves on edge.  With that pale skin and wispy blonde hair, she could have been a ghost herself. 

Here are a few other examples where clothing descriptions would speak volumes about the plot or character:

A young girl awakes is convinced her dad’s old fishing hat that is littered with destination pins clues to her father’s past.  (Intrigued?)

A young sergeant shows up to a military hearing in a tank top and holey jeans.  (Is this guy in trouble or what?)

A prom queen has discovered what the girl she beat out in the contest is wearing to the big event and has selected the exact same outfit to wear.  (Don’t you hate her already?)

The clothing choices in the above scenarios are not description for the sake of painting a picture.  These examples provide insight into the storyline and the character’s mental state.  The girl who wears an uncomfortable hat to bed is probably distraught if she is willing to inflict pain to keep his belongings close to her.  Why?  Has her mother just informed her that the man she presumed to be her father was actually her step-dad when her mother presented her with this hat now deceased biological father ?  If you are in trouble in the military, do you really want to piss off your commanding officers by thwarting a time-honored dress code?  What kind of person who’s already won an honorary position thumbs her nose at her competition in such a vindictive manner?  I want to read on and find out.  Do you?

Filed Under: Editing, Reading, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged With: clothing descriptions, Editing, writing

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