Title
Writing & Publishing Tibetan Literature: A conversation with TibetWrites co-founder Bhuchung Sonam
Abstract
Tibetan writer Bhuchung Sonam held a talk and book signing October 29 that brought members of the local Tibetan community to UW-Madison’s Ingraham Hall. Bhuchung was born in Tibet under Communist Chinese rule, escaped to India, and now resides in the U.S., where he writes and translates essays, stories and poems. He is a founding member and the editor of TibetWrites and its imprint Blackneck Books. During his lecture, Bhuchung recited poetry and talked about the meaning of home to a community in exile. “I want the world to understand Tibetans as human beings,” he said. “I’m trying to preserve Tibetan language and literature, but doing it through English, which is a situation that I have to constantly negotiate.”
Biography
Bhuchung D. Sonam is an exile Tibetan poet, writer, translator and publisher. His books include Songs from Dewachen and Yak Horns: Notes on Contemporary Tibetan Writing, Music and Film & Politics. He has edited Muses in Exile: An Anthology of Tibetan Poetry, and has compiled and translated Burning the Sun’s Braids: New Poetry from Tibet. He is a founding member and editor of TibetWrites and its imprint Blackneck Books, which promotes and publishes the creative works of Tibetans.