A UNIVERSITY of Iowa professor emeritus said narrative tales are important to “learn from one another” and understand differences in culture.
“Narrative is one way of learning from one another. [N]ations try to create this narrative that appeals to tranquility,” Robin Hemley said during his lecture titled “Travel Tales” at the Miguel de Benavides Library auditorium last Oct. 1.
Hemley, who is the director of the Yale-NUS College creative writing program and writing center, discussed how cultural differences of various countries worked in his narrative tales.
“Every border has a localized problem; some borders are taken lightly in other countries,” he said.
Emphasizing the importance of written accounts, he said note-taking “imprints the experience” and gives a fuller story, compared with taking photographs.
“Travel Tales” was the latest edition of the International Writers and Scholars Series organized by the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies.
