Day 1, International Writers Workshop in Hong Kong

Hong Kong--I made it! Hong Kong will be my base for the next few weeks. I'm briefly stepping away from Kamakura to immerse myself in the heart of this major Asian metropolis--with other writers from around the world.

But first to back up . . . The last month has been a blur of projects and teaching. Writing included one novel completed and revised, and another smaller manuscript revised and checked and revised and checked. Teaching has included a one-week intensive course at the university, skype and face-to-face middle school visits, and my six regular university classes now back in session. I've been working nonstop, taking breaks for running and walking in Kamakura neighborhoods. My world has been narrow, and my usual surroundings in my brief hikes and walks involve views like this:
But I here I am in Hong Kong. I was so pleased to be invited to the International Writers Workshop at Hong Kong Baptist University along with writers Ajit Baral of Nepal, Meena Kandasamy of India, Nguyen Phan Que Mai of Vietnam, Pilar Quintana of Columbia, Bina Shah of Pakistan, Egoyan Zheng of Taiwan, Ouyang Jianghe of China, and myself of USA/Japan. I'm grateful to Professor Kathleen Ahrens, Director of the Workshop, for the invitation, and I look forward to spending the next few weeks with this fascinating crowd. Thanks to my university in Japan, Yokohama City University, for allowing me to take a three-week leave from teaching my classes in order to take full advantage of this opportunity.

My walks and runs will be different for the next few weeks. Here are some views from my window:
Already I've been guided around the university campus and oriented to the MRT stops nearby, the university library and coffee shops, met a few of the writers, and enjoyed lunch with Professor Ahrens. On my tour I spotted some of the posters for Writing the Metropolis, the theme for this year's International Writers Workshop.
And in a brief visit to the wonderful Page One bookstore, I was pleased to see several copies of Orchards on the shelf--even plastic wrapped.
I look forward to discovering Hong Kong over the next few weeks, and to discovering new poems and stories that result from this immersion into metropolis on so many levels. This evening to start--a power walk with two of the writers then a casual dinner. The conversations begin!