Cirrus@Austlit

'In 2006, Sanaz Fotouhi, a young woman in her twenties, travels to Afghanistan with her partner to make a film.

'Seven years and four trips later their feature documentary Love Marriage in Kabul wins awards and the hearts of audiences in Australia and around the world.

'Love Marriage in Kabul: A Memoir is the behind-the-scenes account of the hardships and heartaches, tears and joys of the seemingly impossible project of making a film in Afghanistan. It is the story of a young woman’s determination to confront her fears to provide an insight into the hidden world of Afghanistan’s widows and orphans.

'With rare compassion and lucidity, Sanaz Fotouhi chronicles her inner struggles and external events and leads us to interrogate our own notion of humanity.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When it comes to addressing creative writing as a topic of inquiry, the craft and the written product are usually held in two different realms. Often a collection brings together a body of writing – as essays or short stories – to celebrate and highlight finished and polished pieces of work. The process of how the final pieces came into being, often, is irrelevant. With the exception of studies produced at the postgraduate level usually, the process, pedagogical concerns, inspirations, and the discipline of creative writing are dealt with separately in studies and collections that address each specifically.' (Introduction)

'This special edition of TEXT draws from the pool of participants from the Asia Pacific Writers & Translators’ (APWT) 9 th annual gathering in Guangzhou, China in November 2016. The issue compiles a selection of essays about the craft, pedagogy of creative writing and translation, alongside creative outputs in the form of fiction and personal essay. Inspired by the theme ‘Ideas and Realities: Creative Writing in Asia Today’, the conference brought together over 120 established and emerging practitioners and creative writing academics from the Asia Pacific region and beyond.' (Sanaz Fotouhi and Sally Breen)

'This is meant to be a memoir piece. But it is not really. Instead, it is my reflection on the memoir and why I have chosen not to write mine. Well, not yet anyway...' (Introduction)