How the Fulbright program is helping me realize my dream to become a writer
I came to the U.S. to become an author, my lifelong dream and endeavor, and as a Fulbrighter, I found everything that would make my writing experience real and recognized. As I am building a career as a writer, there are two aspects to the experience in doing it in the United States through the Fulbright program that I feel are unmatched: resources and community. Although they are closely linked, I will try to write about them separately.
Before going any further, I am a Fulbright participant from Basra, Iraq. I received the Fulbright award in 2022 and flew to the United States in August of that year. I am studying at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff where we don’t walk but climb. It is a hilly city thousands of feet above sea level, with incredible ponderosa pine forests all around, and amazing locals.
I was and currently am being taught creative writing by national, award-winning, and prolific writers whose expertise goes back decades in writing, editing, teaching and publishing. It is such a thrill to have professional teachers whose job it is to read and comment on my stories, poems and essays. They have a respect and understanding of where I come from, in terms of thoughts, style, preferences, and even critical skills.
The transition to the U.S. has revealed to me aspects of my writer self that I never thought I possessed.
In the past fifteen months of being here, I did threefold the amount of writing I had done my entire life before. Although fiction is my forte, I took a workshop in poetry on my arrival to find out that I could write poetry which was mind blowing to think about even a month ago. I ended up with a poetry collection.
Being in such an intense writing environment creates a never-ending momentum to be productive, in ways I never imagined before. I have obtained every resource I wanted: books and articles, and access to professionals I never even dreamed of before. Down to where I write, I found a place to sit and work for hours in every cafe in the city. Employees and customers even provide small and delightful conversations.
People in America love and appreciate art. It is always my favorite when people strike up a conversation, and I can really feel they are inquisitive to know about not only my background but also the novel I am working on.
Being with likeminded people creates such a potent environment, and I cannot stress this enough. I have been in the Arizona literary community for over a year now, and I cannot even describe how it feels for an artist to be in a community of artists. It is my belief that these artists have been through what I am currently going through, and although they are nationally recognized, they are still excited about emerging authors, in my case a foreign emerging author.
Quite simply, there is true freedom of expression because what everyone is doing is appreciated and treasured. It feels like I am living in the presence of people at the level one aspires to be, like our teachers. They are talented, prolific, and nationally recognized authors. One of my favorite conversations is the one I had with Ander Monson, the author of Predator. I was also thrilled to have met poet Allison Hedge Coke who at the time was nominated for the American Book Award.
To summarize, I have all the conditions set to catapult to a writing career.
Meanwhile, I am working on my novel which is set in southern Iraq where we follow a little boy from birth to death.
Islam is a 2022 Fulbright Student from Iraq. She studies Creative Writing at Northern Arizona University.
