Writers Abroad Magazine Issue 3 September 2015 | Page 21

WRITERS ABROAD MAGAZINE

From Here… featuring Rilla Norslund
What brought you to Bangladesh, when and from where?
I have recently celebrated my fifth anniversary
in Bangladesh, having arrived in 2010 from
Uganda. I came on what was originally
advertised as a 17-month contract, but
obviously things changed along the way. I work
in development projects; working with training
and extension for small farmers across the
country, so I get lots of opportunities to travel in
rural areas and interact with all sorts of people.
I came to Bangladesh with my husband and our
sons and as we have always lived abroad, I find
we settle into a routine fairly quickly, so that in
many ways, our daily life is relatively “normal”.
What are the advantages of living in Bangladesh for a writer?
If there is a single word which describes Bangladesh, it is “intense”. The people, the
weather, the traffic, the culture, the smells, the contrasts. For any artist, writer, poet
this is a great environment for finding inspiration. Every day you see and hear at least
six impossible things before tea-time, and your thinking and attitudes are constantly
challenged. For me that is what makes Bangladesh a great place to live as a poet.
Has your writing output increased since you came to Bangladesh?
I started writing poetry regularly after coming to Bangladesh, so yes, my output went
from very little, to writing at least one poem every week. While I have written some
poetry earlier, it was the overwhelming experience of life in Bangladesh that really got
me writing and while living here I started a poetry blog where I post a poem every
week. It may sound odd to be so systematic about something as unsystematic as
poetry, but it works for me, and forces me to take time out to search for inspiration and
switch my mind to a totally different way of thinking for a few hours every week. I
believe it is good for my mental health and sanity and is always uplifting.
Is there anything you find hard to cope with in Bangladesh?
I love living in Bangladesh, and when you love a place you take the good with the bad.
There is plenty to complain about and many things that are potentially hard to cope
with, but I find I love it here anyway. One of the things that I try to avoid is the downward
spiral conversations that you can easily get into as an expat socializing with other
expats, if you allow things to start getting on your nerves.
What impact did Bangladesh have on you emotionally, sensorally or
intellectually and did you incorporate this into your writing?
Bangladesh was the source of inspiration that really got me writing poetry and I try to
incorporate all the ways that living here affects me—the heat, the beauty, the poverty,
the smells, the sounds, the curried vegetables for breakfast, the kindness, the
corruption, the crows. It all affects me, both in my work and in my private life. As I
write mainly about the here and now, most of my poems have at least a hint of life in
Bangladesh about them.
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