Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 144: Garcia Marquez's Final Course

The script registration system of the Writers Guild of America has provided Hollywood films with a stable script pool, so even when screenwriters went on strike several times to protest against their pay, there was still work to be done on the set.

The quality of the script will drop significantly. In Zhang Chao's memory of his previous life, around 2020, Hollywood made several so-called "blockbusters" about alien monsters using carbon-based flesh to destroy all mankind. The stories were all derived from the original scripts in this script pool.

So it is full of the flavor of science fiction films from the 1970s and 1980s, but it is covered with a layer of CG technology.

After inspecting the Writers Guild of America, Zhang Chao and his team visited some open studios in Hollywood and learned about the American film industry before returning to the University of Iowa.

It is already early November, and there is less than half a month left until the end of IWP.

After more than two months of living together, the writers living in the "Mayflower" apartments have become very familiar with each other, and thanks to the reports of reporters, they have become the most watched group of IWP members in many years.

Some writers have been invited to publish short stories and poems in American journals, which was extremely rare in the past. So everyone is very grateful to Zhang Chao.

Unconsciously, he has begun to have his own initial influence in the world of literature - after all, although these writers are unknown in North America, they are either well-known or highly anticipated new stars in their own countries.

Zhang Chao completed the entire content of "The Vanishing Lover" on the first Sunday of November, and it is expected that Xu Ruiya will also be able to complete the translation by mid-November, when the IWP ends.

Then it was handed over to the publishing house for proofreading, typesetting and design. After communication, Zhang Chao tentatively set the final publication date as January 2006, 1, which was New Year's Day.

He did not choose Chunfeng Publishing House or Huacheng Publishing House to publish the Chinese version, but chose Changjiang Literature Publishing House.

This year, Ma Boyong and Changjiang Publishing House collaborated on two books. They did an excellent job in design, binding, and publicity and promotion, which also contributed to the hot sales of these two books. After several reprints, the sales volume has exceeded 10 copies and is still growing.

This is a good start for both the new author Ma Boyong and the new literary agency "Midnight Tide".

Therefore, Zhang Chao was willing to hand over "The Vanishing Lover" to the Changjiang Publishing House, with an initial print run of 50 copies and a royalties of an astonishing 17%.

On November 11, the first heavy snow of the winter in Iowa fell heavily, and the temperature dropped below 12 degrees overnight.

IWP also welcomed its last open class, and almost all the staff came.

This class was not taught by writing teachers from the University of Iowa or writers from IWP, but by a mysterious guest.

It wasn't until this mysterious guest stepped onto the second floor of the Prairie Light Bookstore that everyone could see his appearance and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement. One writer even stood up and wanted to go over and hug him.

Because he is the great Gabriel García Márquez!

Zhang Chao was also shocked. He had never expected that Marquez would appear in Iowa.

At this time, Marquez was already in his 70s and had suffered from lymphoma. Although he had passed his creative peak, he still continued to write and completed a novella, "Memoirs of a Sad Whore," last year.

He was accompanied by Ms. Nie Hualing. Before the class started, Ms. Nie Hualing said to everyone: "We have been holding IWP for 37 years. Many people describe us as a literary utopia. But Gabo (Marquez's nickname, mostly used between readers and friends) has a different view on this. So I asked him to talk about it."

After warm applause, Marquez stood on the podium and began to speak in his familiar Spanish, with an English translator beside him.

"...I believe that after coming to Iowa, you have all enjoyed the quietest and most beautiful time in your creative career. The beautiful campus has almost no one to interrupt your creation, and accommodation and food are adequately guaranteed, without the trivialities of daily life..."

"IPW is like a 'refuge from the real world' created specifically for writers, but can this kind of life really elevate your creations? I have my doubts."

"As early as 1985, IWP invited me to be a visiting professor. Although I have a deep friendship with both Ingres and Nie, I still refused. Because I never believed that writers and poets need such a 'refuge'..."

“When you avoid suffering or disaster, you also avoid the most moving part of literature. Of course, this does not mean that you have to pay the price of your life for writing, but it means that a writer or poet must never have the consciousness of ‘taking refuge’ in terms of thought and spirit.”

"In my life, I have never entered any 'sanctuary'. I believe that I was made of those pains."

"In 1948, I encountered the Colombian Civil War and dropped out of college. In 1955, I was forced to go to Europe because I exposed a covered-up shipwreck. In 1975, I did not write a single work for five years because of the Chilean people's struggle..."

"In 1999, I was diagnosed with lymphoma. Now, Alzheimer's disease, which runs in my family, has begun to take its toll on me. Sometimes I even forget who I am. But I still write, and I still love this world."

“So 20 years later, I took the initiative to ask Nie to come to IWP. Because you come from all over the world, especially many third world countries, and just like me many years ago, you try to use your pen to explain to yourself, to the people, and to the world the complicated, confusing, and painful present and past that happened on that land…”

"You can't do this sitting in your study in America. I don't want you to be Khaled Hosseini (author of "The Kite Runner"). Of course, if you were, you would get a lot of money."

“After you go back, forget about IWP, forget about everything here, forget about this quiet campus, forget about the cold and warm winter and summer in the apartment, forget about the quietness of opening a manuscript and being able to write until dawn.”

“Please leave this utopia and refuge, go back to the people of your land, and embrace them, even if it hurts. If you can’t go back, don’t let your heart leave there.”

After Marquez finished speaking, the entire conference hall fell into a long silence.

Zhang Chao looked at several writers from socially turbulent regions. Tears seemed to be flashing in their eyes. Carlson's face was stiff, and it was unclear what he was thinking. Márquez's appearance and the content of his speech were completely beyond his expectations.

Ms. Nie Hualing's invitation to Marquez to give everyone such a special "graduation class" was a well-intentioned move.

This is the strongest resistance made by a "politically apathetic" elderly woman to protect the decades of hard work of herself and her husband from being tainted by the special means of pan-politicization of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The 2005 IWP ended in this heavy and complicated atmosphere.

Zhang Chao packed his luggage and booked a flight from New York to Beijing on the night of the 12th. But before he left, he received a call: "Mr. Chao, your novel won an award, come to Tokyo as soon as possible!"

(It’s the end of the month, please give me a monthly ticket! Thank you for your support~!)
(End of this chapter)