Why Expats are Lousy Writers
Because they have to go for the exciting and exotic and spend more time boozing and having sex than actually writing, according to this Slate article.
If you're a self-styled bohemian writer, however—if you aspire to live the life of a Henry Miller or a Charles Bukowski—you are by definition obligated to seek a seedy variation of authenticity. You can't settle for video games and fan conventions. To truly embrace your fantasies, you must actively booze, brawl, and womanize until you've achieved something resembling oblivion. And if you don't have the money, courage, or social cachet to do this in your hometown, moving overseas to indulge your inner misanthrope is a sensible and time-honored solution. In nearly every expat setting I've visited as a traveler—from Prague to Phuket to Porto-Novo—there seems to be this notion that being a writer has more to do with drinking and screwing than actually writing.
5 Comments:
I have moved abroad to Turkey and live in what could be called an "expat setting". Although I neither booze, brawl or womanize myself towards oblivion, I am making an attempt write an account of our experiences o0f moving overseas.
If I ever decide to write fiction & feel the need to embrace my fantasies, then perhaps I'll consider those options, but I doubt it!
hindi lahat ng nagsusulat sa ibang bansa ay malibog at lasinggero.
samantala, may mga kilala akong nagsusulat na hindi umalis ng bansa na malibog na, lasinggero pa.
ibig sabihin, walang kinalalaman yan sa pagsusulat. ang pag-alis o pananatili, ang pag-inom at kalibugan.
kanya-kanyang diskarte lang yan. kaululan ang kuneksyon na nabanggit dito.
i know. touched a nerve. sorry kuya. init ulo ko when i read that. nagulo ko kasi html ng blog ko. pero okay na. anyway. a researcher from gma 7 read a story i blogged about my father and dogs. may tatanungin daw sa iyo about kalinga healers mentioned in the story.
you are a pilgrim not a tourist, Willi.
occassionally na lang ngayun.
ayuz.
w
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