W-Women Globally

‘The Life Plan is a screwball comedy for the 21st century, a witty and winning romp through one woman’s discovery that life, love, and liberty do not always go according to plan.’ ‘The Life Plan is also the most original, no-holds-barred, well-informed and readable traveler’s guide to Thailand.’

Above are only few of the voices of critics about Sybil Baker’s newest book, ‘The Life Plan’, published in March 2009. Her biography includes 12 years of teaching in South Korea, position as an assistant professor of English at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. The rich experience gained during her extensive travels throughout Asia has become a huge source of inspiration and especially the allure and alienation of American travelers and expatriates are the topics that are often the leading motiv in her writing. To us Sybil Baker revealed a bit of the story about the woman behind the books.

W-WomenGlobally: When did you get the idea of writing, how it all started? Why?

Sybil Baker: I first started writing stories when I learned to read and write in the first grade and have been writing in some capacity ever since. As for this novel, I got the idea of writing it several years ago. I’d been writing darker fiction and wanted to try my hand at a comic novel. I also wanted to write about Thailand, one of my favorite countries.

W-WG: Your first book has been written in 1990? To what extend has your writing changed since that time? and your person?

SB: Actually my first short story was published then. That story is about a young woman in her twenties and is a straight first person narrative. My writing has changed in that I write about a wider range of characters and subjects. I’ve changed by accumulating more experience and having a wider and more sympathetic view of the world.

W-WG: How have your travels influenced your professional/private life?

SB: My travels have affected my professional (academic) life in that I encourage my students to also travel in whatever capacity they can. I’m a big believer in it. I also like to expose students to an international presence to our writing program by bringing in writers who have lived in other countries. Luckily, the other teachers in our program feel the same way.
Privately, travel has helped me to be more accepting and generous toward my own country and other ways of life. The more I travel the more I want to see—I love going to places that continue to broaden my view of the world. Also, I met my South African husband when we were living in South Korea—which of course has a big effect on my private life!
The biggest wisdom I gained is to not immediately criticize other cultures that are different from the West and the States in particular. I also learned that I don’t need a lot of Western amenities to live well.

W-WG: Where do you publish your books? Locally or internationally?

SB: My recent novel,  ’The Life Plan’ is published by Casperian Books, a US publisher with a strong international appeal. Many of the books in the catalogue are written by people living outside the States.

W-WG: Do you have some leading topics in your writing? What is your source of inspiration?

SB: These days I’m interested in writing about Americans living and traveling abroad—the allure and alienation of that experience. My sources of inspiration are the people I’ve met and the places I’ve been to as well as my own personal experiences there.

W-WG: Who are your heros/idols if any?

SB: I don’t have any heroes but I do have many role models, people I look up to. On the literary side, I’ve biographies of women writers and admire their courage and determination to fulfill their vision. Those women include Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, and Janet Frame. I also admire living women writers I know personally like Xu Xi, Patricia Henley, Pamela Uschuk, and Sue William Silverman. They are role models for on how to live an integrated artistic life.

W-WG: What are your short- and long term plans?

SB: My short-term plans are to continue to promote this novel, to put the final edits on a new novel and to go to South Africa in May. For the long term, I’d like to keep writing, traveling, and teaching in whatever capacity I can.