Rūbarū*: Digital Series
* A Persian-origin word, now in Urdu and occasionally Hindi usage, Rūbarū means coming face-to-face, to meet, to be present and to present. In this series Aotearoa and international authors explore artistic resonances, writerly preoccupations, thematic obsessions and share the pleasures and struggles of the craft.
Series is now online until 24 December. Featured authors are: Ling Ma with Rosabel Tan; Sara Baume with Catherine Chidgey; Trent Dalton with Melody Thomas; Paige Clark with Emma Sidnam; and Claudia Durastanti with Michelle Rahurahu. You can purchase one at a time or the whole package of five.
American, Chinese and Australian author Paige Clark’s debut, She is Haunted received rave reviews not only in Australia but internationally. Paige says she worked on this book for seven years, slowly and painstakingly after she first moved to Australia. “I was working at a café and I had no idea what I was doing with my life. I had this idea in my head that I was a writer, but I’d never written anything and I didn’t write for fun. I still don’t find writing fun.” she says. The result is a haunting collection, soaked in the afterglow of loss, that is as varied, whimsical as it is focused and poignant.
From Melbourne, she joins Aotearoa author Emma Sidnam to talk about short and long fiction, unnamed narrators, working on a book-length project without knowing what it will turn out to be, and other similarly heady things about being debut authors.
