Hannah Stevens & Will Buckingham

Introduction

British writers Dr Hannah Stevens & Dr Will Buckingham run a social enterprise named Wind&Bones, which is dedicated to exploring the transformative power of writing and storytelling. They work across the globe with organizations and individuals on projects that bring together writing, creativity and social change. Now resident in Taiwan, Hannah and Will continue to work on projects that harness the power of writing and storytelling to enlarge the imagination and bring into being new possibilities. Hannah's books include "In their Absence" (Roman Books 2021), a collection of short stories exploring themes of missing people, and "On the Bodies of Strangers" (Epoque Press, forthcoming 2025). Will's books include novels, nonfiction, philosophy and books for children. His most recent book is "Hello, Stranger: Stories of Connection in a Divided World" (Granta Books 2022).

Resident planning

The title of our residency, "Interweavings | 經緯: A Tapestry of Taiwan Stories," reflects our interest in interwoven, hybrid identities. We are, all of us, interwoven: a tapestry of books we have read, experiences we have lived, threads of connection we have knotted together. And what is true of individuals is also true of nations. Taiwan, like all nations, is interwoven from multiple stories, and multiple lives. As new immigrants to Taiwan, we are fascinated by the multiple stories that make up Taiwan's culture and identity: from the experiences of indigenous Austronesian peoples who were the first inhabitants of these islands, to those of the successive waves of immigrants. We will use the residency to reflect on this complex history and complex present, and to collaboratively weave new stories of our own.