top　>　Fellow Interview　>　Karina Africa Bolasco
 

Most valuable, and I have to say irreplaceable, is the kind of interaction that happens among fellows while living and traveling together, despite its being a highly organized encounter. The detailedness & spontaneity of that which is officially and hugely labeled as cultural exchange. The ordinariness yet richness of the exchange of ideas and knowledge especially if not at a roundtable or in a session hall. The informality and temporariness of insights not officially documented but caught only by the fellows themselves moving around together as if living their usual life. More than what are declared on paper or website, these are what are truly learned and remembered.

Yes, it came 14 years after I started Anvil Publishing. 1) It literally widened my circle considering that it already is multidisciplinary, elitist intellectually and artistically as I work with the best critical and creative minds in the making of books. 2) I wanted to find ways of selling our books to “our neighbors”; I found it repulsive and tragically funny that all of us in the book industry in this part of the world are only buying and selling to one another American books. It was clear to me that sustained selling of books to one another would build a real and deep understanding of each other and appreciation for our own cultures. A genuine book trade among nations in our region is imperative to building or shaping an “Asian” consciousness.
I established contacts and have slowly put in our books works of Asian writers. I hope to work more in this area but have to shift gears in consideration of new technologies affecting bookmaking & distribution.

The ALFP fellowship was priceless. We take pride in it being an Asian initiative. As such, it respected Asians for valuable work in their own countries, and generously offered us time, a very precious commodity no longer ours, to exchange, reflect on our situations and their impact on Asia, and perhaps even agree to collectively embark on regional small efforts toward improving the quality of living for all and making this world kinder for all. The organizers, the International House of Japan and the Japan Foundation, aware of how wisely and adroitly managing physical space can shape and determine the quality of exchange, chose the most appropriate base or quarters for the fellows, and somehow the right cities and towns to visit.**

Note: ** Taken from Acting Asian: Contradictions in a Globalizing World, Asia Leadership Fellow Program, 2004.