Clare Wigfall Embraces the Unfamiliar as a Fellow in the Kyoto Writers Residency

Clare Wigfall, one of Bard College Berlin’s creative writing instructors, was invited to Japan as one of ten international fellowship writers for the Kyoto Writers Residency. Spanning from late September through October, the fellowship began with an opening forum titled "Writing Through Alien Materials"—a concept she took to heart as she embraced the unfamiliar sights, sounds, and textures of Japan.

“I love to use my writing as a means of learning about things that are new to me and taking my imagination to places and times that are unfamiliar. I love an excuse to research details and subjects that pique my interest. So, essentially, very often in my writing I am instinctively writing through alien materials, trying to understand and comprehend them and make the unfamiliar familiar,” shares Wigfall.

While the theme feels familiar to her, the context in which she is writing is anything but. As a first-time visitor, Wigfall describes how “everything felt alien”—from the buckwheat-filled pillows to the sound of the crosswalk.

In part inspired by her experience, Wigfall is working on a new story about an artist who visits Japan during the nineteenth century, a time when its trade with the West was just opening. Wigfall is hoping to explore how Japanese art and crafts influenced the Western design and arts landscape, particularly through elements like negative space, which she finds intriguing and applicable to the craft of short story writing. She says: “I’m writing about an artist who visits the country during this period and I have been imagining how even more incredible a culture shock it must have been for someone in that era. It’s given me the opportunity to read up on the history, pore over old photos from the period, visit museums, even read accounts by female western visitors from the time.” Wigfall is also allowing for things to inspire her as she encounters them, saying: “I have been researching Japanese demons, the Yokai, and so it’s very possible that a demon might work its way into my story somehow…We’ll see.”

Beyond her writing, Wigfall was able to share her expertise in a new academic setting. She led a creative writing workshop at Ritsumeikan University, in a class taught by Kyoko Yoshida, one of the founders of the Kyoto Writers residency. The workshop gave students—many new to creative writing—a chance to create their own worlds from a simple button, a favorite technique of her BCB students.

After a month of exploring Japan, things have become less strange to Wigfall. She remarks that she is grateful to be in a position where she “has space to think and follow all avenues of my interest,” allowing her to get to know the country better. Before she gets too used to buckwheat pillows, Wigfall returns to Berlin to resume her class at BCB, perhaps with a fresh sense of seeking the uncanny—and new stories spun from the strange comforts of Japan.

By Mishel Jovanovska ‘25

Post Date: 11-05-2024