Recently, Tempo writer and award-winning poet, Paul D, sat down with writer and writing professor at NYU-Abu Dhabi, Jim Savio, to discuss his creative efforts in Abu Dhabi.
Dorian: You’re originally from New York. Were you born there?
Jim: Yes, in Brooklyn. Fourth generation. My mom’s family has been there since the 1840s. How about you?
Dorian: I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but raised in South Georgia in a small city called Albany. How did you make it out to Abu Dhabi and become a professor at NYU. Explain that thought process?
Jim: I’m a carpenter by trade, and went back to school in my 40s. I started teaching at The City College of New York in 1998. I landed a teaching gig at Parson School of Design the following year and taught in both programs for twelve years. When my wife got recruited to NYU Abu Dhabi in 2011, I took a leave of absence from The New School to accompany her for a semester and to work on my novel. After meeting and talking with the director of the Writing Program, Heidi Stalla, I was offered a position to come back and teach the following fall. That’s my Abu Dhabi story.
Dorian: Cool. The creative writing program at NYU-Abu Dhabi is fairly new. What was the impetus behind the university supporting this concentration?
Jim: The Literature and Writing Program value Creative Writing, and believe that all writing should be creative. They have supported a range of course genres and have plans to expand the program and the faculty. Student interest in Creative Writing has also played an important part in jump-starting the program.
Dorian: Hmmm… Maybe they’d be open to me teaching a modern poetry or performance poetry course one of these days. How long have you been writing? Have you published any works? What is your favorite genre of writing?
Jim: I committed myself to writing in the early 1980s. I’ve published in small journals, presses, and magazines. My collection of short stories, The Fairy Flag and Other Stories was published in 1999. I’m most comfortable with fiction and the personal essay, but I don’t want, or need to limit myself in that way. You do have stay focused on one or two projects at a time though, otherwise nothing gets finished. How about you?
Dorian: I started as a Freshman in university and self-published a collection around that time called For Mulattoes Only. I was fortunate enough to attend the student reading on NYU Abu-Dhabi’s campus on December 9. Was it your idea to showcase the creative works of your students?
Jim: Yes, their preparation for the reading and delivery will factor into their grade for the course, but what is equally important is that their voices were heard in our community.
Dorian: Many of the students I’m sure had never previously performed. Were they nervous before the reading, or was everyone comfortable and excited about sharing?
Jim: I was nervous, and I was nervous for them. But I think they were pretty chill. Did you enjoy the show?
Dorian: I really did. Which of your students are you most excited about with regards to their development as a writer? Who showed the most growth? Which poems touched you most deeply during this past semester?
Jim: I can honestly say that each and every one of them grew beyond their expectations for themselves. Most of them discovered ways to bring something new and different to well-worn themes and ideas. I’d say Roshni Dadlani took the biggest chunk out of my heart, but Joey Bui, Nafi Mounkaila, Nadine Alalami, Sherina Al Sowaidi and Carmen Germaine made a real impression on my senses. As I mention them, I think of the others, and each and every one of them wrote at least one poem that gripped me, and would not let go.
Dorian: NYU-Abu Dhabi along with Paris Sorbonne-Abu Dhabi is one of the leading universities in the city currently with regards to bringing an array of cultural speakers and programs. Is this the case with all of NYU’s campuses around the world or is there something peculiar about this particular campus?
Jim: Each campus in the global network is unique and offers something different in terms of studies, community enrichment, and a university culture. Our partners here in the UAE are supportive, and we show our appreciation by providing the opportunity for a top tier education. Through the NYUAD Institute we stage plays, film screenings, conferences, art exhibitions, concerts, talks and discussions on a wide range of subjects, and most all of these events and programs as accessible to the Abu Dhabi community.
Dorian: Describe the feelings that an ideal piece of writing should evoke.
Jim: To solicit any feeling from a reader, aside from boredom, is a coup – a bull’s eye in the writing game. When anything I write drifts back into the consciousness of my reader: Bingo, I’ve done my job.
Dorian: What should we expect from the NYU-Abu Dhabi creative writing program in the near future?
Jim: More writers, mingling with the local writing community in Abu Dhabi and the region; writers who are curious, who will touch our hearts, rattle our cages and shed some light into the darkest corners of our world. That’s my hope, anyway.
