What writing
project(s) are you working on right now?
I am working on a book project about women's storytelling in
Nepal. The book examines the role of
storytelling in contexts of cultural dissensus, especially in regard to the
persistence of unsanctioned ways of understanding and acting upon reality. In a
context where opportunities for self expression are suppressed in conjunction
with a range of cultural constraints on women’s mobility and speech, as well as
with broader forms of marginalization in the global fields of knowledge
production and circulation, the book demonstrates that Maithil women tell their
personal and collective truths through the vehicle of the folktale. The book
offers an investigation of the complex ways in which agency, virtue and other
key aspects of the human condition are constructed through the telling of
Maithil women’s tales.
What
do you love about it?
The
stories that Maithil women tell are incredibly complex -- sometimes sad,
sometimes humorous, but always full of wisdom about their social and sacred
worlds and about themselves.
What about it (if
anything) is driving you nuts?
The
most difficult thing is finding enough TIME to sustain focus on the project.
How
would you describe your writing process?
Sometimes it's spotty, and sometimes I feel stuck, but I
love the moments (sometimes minutes, sometimes days or weeks) when I am in the groove.
What kind of feedback
on your writing do you find most helpful?
That
depends. Sometimes I need someone to tell me whether the ideas make sense.
Sometimes I need help figuring out how to say what I need to say in a chapter
without it being 100 pages long. Sometimes I just need editing help. And
finally, there are times when I just need a cheerleader or task master to keep
me going.
What would you like
your students to know about you as a writer?
Writing for me is one part creativity, one part
organization, one part analytical insight, and one part perseverance!
