Nico - Chelsea Girl

“Being a writer has taught me that things and people aren’t what or who they seem—everything has a story behind it,” continue→

says Francezca ‘Kit’ Kwe. She adds that being a writer has also taught her that “the world is full of seeming contradictions that upon closer inspection, turn out to be merely ironies. I’ve learned that though there are very few themes to our lives, like life and death, loss and gain, we will never run out of fresh ways of seeing them and new words to describe them. I’ve learned that words are powerful, the most masterful combinations can break your heart and change your life.”

Like the right words, Kit changes people’s lives on a daily basis. Aside from being an award-winning writer with Palanca and USTetika Awards for Literature, Kit is also an instructor at the Department of English and Comparative Literature in UP Diliman. “In the classroom I always remind myself that these funny, goofy kids will one day run the world of the future so I shouldn’t take my job lightly.”

She does, however, make time to “jog regularly and do ballet twice a week,” as a believer in physical fitness. For fun, “I watch Will Ferrell and Simpsons DVDs and go to geeky movies.” After all, “We should all, regardless of what we do, get a healthy dose of the mundane. But it should never be a way of life.”

When asked about her influences, she explains that “the most major influence in my life as a writer—aside from the books I’ve read—would probably be growing up partly in Iloilo. I count myself lucky, because living in the province puts you really close to very rich, unique material. Legends and myths are played out every day. They aren’t just stories, but are actually a part of the people’s consciousness that remains very much alive.”

Her much-anticipated first collection of short stories should be coming out next year; after that, she’ll be working on her first novel. “I’ve decided to write for the rest of my life, so I’d like to always be producing work, particularly creative work. Year after year,” Kit declares. “I want to spend the rest of my life doing something I’m not paid for, doesn’t give me any fame, and something that no one reads,” she adds, laughing out loud.

CHELSEA GIRLS
“You don’t need to have read the story of Nico’s life to know it was a tragic one—all you need is thirty seconds of Chelsea Girl, ” says the Rolling Stone review by Jenny Eliscu. A major influence on many musicians who came after her—Siouxsie & the Banshees, Stevie Nicks, Patti Smith, Morrissey, and Björk, to name just a few—Nico may not have had an easy existence, but perhaps it was a price she was willing to pay. “Sometimes there’s nothing there at all,” Kit Kwe says, about the difficulties of writing. “A dry spell or total oblivion. There’s your challenge—to produce beauty out of nothing, or out of the despair and banality of your own life produce something that others might find meaningful or beautiful.” --UNO Magazine

"Ser escritor me ha enseñado que las cosas y las personas no son lo que parecen o que todo tiene una historia detrás"

dice Francezca ‘Kit’ Kwe

Agrega que ser un escritor también le ha enseñado que "el mundo está lleno de aparentes contradicciones que si examinas de cerca, resultan ser sólo ironías. He aprendido que aunque hay muy pocos temas de nuestras vidas, como la vida y la muerte, pérdidas y ganancias, nunca quedarás sin nuevas formas de verlos y nuevas palabras para describirlos. He aprendido que las palabras son poderosas, y la combinación más magistral puede romper tu corazón y cambiar tu vida. "

Al igual que con las palabras correctas, Kit cambia la vida de la gente sobre una base diaria. Aparte de ser una galardonada escritora, Kit es también instructora en el Departamento de Inglés y Literatura Comparada en la UP Diliman.

"En el salón de clases siempre me recuerdo a mí misma que estos graciosos, torpes niños, un día manejarán el mundo del futuro, de manera que no debo tomar mi trabajo a la ligera. "

Ella, sin embargo, se hace tiempo de "correr con regularidad y ballet dos veces por semana", como creyente en la buena forma física. Para divertirse: "miro dvds de Will Ferrell, Los Simpsons y cine geek". Después de todo, "Todos debemos, independientemente de lo que hacemos, tener una buena dosis de lo mundano. Pero nunca debe ser una forma de vida ".


CHELSEA GIRLS

"No es necesario haber leído la historia de vida de Nico para saber que fué trágica, todo lo que necesitas es treinta segundos de Chelsea Girl" dice Jenny Eliscu. Una influencia importante en muchos músicos que vinieron después de ella, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Stevie Nicks, Patti Smith, Morrissey, Björk, por nombrar sólo algunos. Nico no pudo haber tenido una existencia fácil, pero tal vez se trataba de un precio que estaba dispuesta a pagar. "A veces no hay nada en absoluto", dice Kit Kwe, sobre las dificultades de la escritura:

"Un período de sequía o un olvido total. Ahí está el reto de producir belleza de la nada, o de la desesperación y la banalidad de su propia vida producir algo que los demás puedan encontrarle sentido y belleza."

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