IAC Culture Talks Series 3 Lecture One: The Transformative Vision of Exophony by Dr Isabelle Li (Catch up Online)
The Institute for Australian and Chinese Arts and Culture (IAC) at Western Sydney University is set to start its flagship program: IAC Culture Talks 2025 series via Zoom Webinar. The first talk focuses on a very interesting as well as intriguing topic – exophony and its transformative power, by Dr Isabelle Li. We are very excited to hold this talk in partnership with the Writing and Society Research Centre in School of Humanities and Communication Arts of WSU.
This event was held on 6 March 2025.
Abstract
Exophony, writing in a second language for literary purposes, is a relatively new concept in literary scholarship, although the practice it describes is longstanding. With the growth in globalisation, migration and displacement, the phenomenon has become increasingly widespread. As a Chinese Australian writer working predominantly in English and as a translator between English and Chinese, I am interested in surveying the exophonic experience and considering how the adoption of a foreign literary language can shape an author’s sense of self and their writing. Among exophonic writers of diverse circumstances, I have selected for critical analysis Yiyun Li. Through close reading I investigate various aspects of her creative practice, including her decisions to adopt another language, her relationships with Chinese, the potential for new identity formation, and the thematic choices she makes in her writing.
About the Speaker
Isabelle Li (李牧原) is a Chinese Australian writer and translator based in Sydney. She has published in various anthologies and literary journals including The Best Australian Stories, Southerly, Westerly, UTS Writers’ Anthology, and Works《作品》. Her collection of short stories A Chinese Affair was published by Margaret River Press in 2016. She was the winner of the inaugural Mascara Bundanon Writer’s Residency. Her English translations of poetry and prose by Zheng Xiaoqiong (郑小琼) have appeared in Mascara and Sydney Review of Books in Australia. Her Chinese translations of poems by Mark Tredinnick have appeared in World Literature《世界文学》, Works《作品》, and widely anthologised. Her Chinese translation of Sebastian Barry’s novel The Secret Scripture《绝密手稿》was published by Zhejiang Literature & Art Publishing House (浙江文艺出版社). Her script ‘Mooncake & Crab’ was made into a short film which premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival. She has a Doctor of Creative Arts from Western Sydney University.
