A PLAY OF CHEKOV'S SISTER'S MONOLOGUE IN STREET THEATRE IN THIS NOVEMBER!

I just love any seminar from ANU Linguistics Dissemination. I attend the seminars on Monday, Friday, and sometimes on Wednesday. I always got new perspectives about languages and culture from the presenters and also from the audiences who ask questions (sometimes I also ask questions if I'm confident enough that I know some things about the topic discussed. But most of the time I'm happy enough with my part as a good listener. LOL).

However, today is the most interesting seminar I've attended so far. In this seminar, the speaker is Dr. Subhash Jaireth, an Australian writer of Hindi descent. He can speak English, Hindi, and most importantly he can speak Russian. As I'm also really interested in Russian literature (I'm a huge fan of Tolstoy's and Chekov's works), I'm also interested in the fact that Subhash has created a novella called "To Silence," which consists of three monologues from three different people throughout history. One of them, and the most central narrator, is Maria Chekova, Anton Chekov's sister. From Maria's perspective, we're being told about the other side of Chekov's life. So, it's basically a historical fiction, as Subhash said.

And during the seminar, I really love the way Subhash explained about the brief idea of his novella. He's getting emotional when he explained something about how Chekov's ex fiancee was killed in a gas chamber in a Nazi concentration camp. He was really emotional, and it seems like he has blended with his characters. I really love writers who are so into their characters. Subhash doesn't treat Maria Chekova and others as his children  (as I would treat the characters in my stories as my children), but he also feels the pain that the characters suffered throughout their lives. It's something most linguists only know a bit, but true writers would definitely understand. He even nearly cried during the seminar when he read about some parts of his novella, which also touched my heart as a writer.

The book is still in limited edition for now. But I'm gonna wait till Co-Op sell it. Haha. And the most exciting news is this novella is going to be performed as a play in the Street Theatre in late November 2011. Can't hardly wait! I have to see that!