Maniniwei
{{orphan|date=October 2024}}
{{Short description|Malaysian Chinese picture book artist, writer and poet}}
{{Infobox person
| birth_place = Muar, Johor, Malaysia
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|*National Taiwan Normal University
| birth_name = Wǎn-wún Lin
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1980}}
| native_name = 林婉文
| native_name_lang = zh
| pronunciation = ˈwɑːnˈwɛnˈlɪn
}}
Wǎn-wún Lin ({{lang-zh|林婉文}}; born 1980), who writes under the pen name Maniniwei, is a Malaysian writer, painter, and illustrator currently living in Taiwan. She grew up in Malaysia, studied at the Fine Arts Department of National Taiwan Normal University in 1999, and married after graduation. Inspired by her unpleasant experiences, Maniniwei began her career as a writer at the age of 30. Her books center around themes including marriage, parenthood, and family. She composes prose, poems, and picture books. Her works are mostly about herself, describing hatred and abjection in a dark, sharp style. Her first award-winning book Dahulu Parang Sekarang Besi: Pantun Melayu won the Book of the Year from OpenBook and the 35th Golden Tripod Award in the literature category in 2021.
Early life
Maniniwei was born in 1980, in Muar (or Bandar Maharani), Johor, Malaysia. At the age of 19, she decided to pursue her education abroad in Taiwan. She graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the National Taiwan Normal University and later from the Fine Arts Institute of the National Taiwan University of Arts.{{Cite web |last=Lai |first=Hsin-Yu |date=2023 |title=台灣作為全球移動的轉運站——馬尼尼為、阮鳳儀、劉育瑄的漂流書寫 |trans-title=Taiwan as a Hub for Globalized and Gendered Movement: Manini Wei, Feng-I Fiona Roan, and Yu-Xuan Liu's Drifting Writing |url=https://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/cgi-bin/gs32/gsweb.cgi?o=dnclcdr&s=id=%22111NCHU5625006%22.&searchmode=basic |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=Taiwan PhD and Master’s Thesis Knowledge Added System |page=11}}{{Cite web |last=中央通訊社 |date=2022-10-14 |title=貓給了她一個家 馬尼尼為的愛憎台北【專訪】 {{!}} 文化 |url=https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acul/202210145003.aspx |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=中央社 CNA |language=zh-Hant-TW}}
After graduation, Maniniwei took on the role of an art administrator in a gallery, where she engaged in copywriting and press releases. In 2009, at the age of 30, she transitioned away from formal employment and began exploring various roles, including aiding her alma mater in organizing art festivals.{{Cite web |date=2019-07-24 |title=詩人計畫．馬尼尼為》邪典詩人正崛起 |trans-title=The poet's plan. Manini is a cult poet on the rise |url=https://www.openbook.org.tw/article/p-62279 |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=Openbook閱讀誌 |language=zh-hant}} Despite facing challenges in her marriage, these experiences served as inspiration for her creative endeavors.
Works
Maniniwei's first book, Shine with Your Impurities (2013) is a collection of Chinese prose, mainly about sorrow and difficulties a foreign spouse encountered in a traditional Taiwanese family.{{Cite web |date=2016-08-07 |title=《帶著你的雜質發亮》，馬尼尼為（林婉文） |url=https://smallbooklove.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/%e3%80%8a%e5%b8%b6%e8%91%97%e4%bd%a0%e7%9a%84%e9%9b%9c%e8%b3%aa%e7%99%bc%e4%ba%ae%e3%80%8b%ef%bc%8c%e9%a6%ac%e5%b0%bc%e5%b0%bc%e7%82%ba%ef%bc%88%e6%9e%97%e5%a9%89%e6%96%87%ef%bc%89/ |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=因為對書的愛情：小小書房的編書．出版，選書．推薦 |language=zh-TW}}{{Cite web |date=2016-05-27 |title=「被欣賞就是做藝術最可貴的地方！」——散文與繪本創作者馬尼尼為 |url=https://flipermag.com/2016/05/27/interview-manini/ |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=FLiPER - 生活藝文誌 |language=zh-TW}}{{Cite web |date=2020-08-22 |title=新住民作家馬尼尼為分享繪本 展現異國風情、華麗黑色美學！ |url=https://news.immigration.gov.tw/NewsSection/Detail/639676b3-a3a6-48f5-bdd1-b2ba41fbc9fd?lang=TW |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=新住民全球新聞網-新住民作家馬尼尼為分享繪本 展現異國風情、華麗黑色美學！ |language=vi-VN}} Maniniwei has published other prose collections since 2013, like I Wasn't Born To Be a Mother (2015),{{Cite web |date=2015-04-17 |title=在黑與白之間：馬尼尼為《我不是生來當母親的》 |trans-title=Between Black and White: Manini for "I Was Not Born to Be a Mother" |url=https://newtalk.tw/news/view/2015-04-17/59059 |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=Newtalk新聞 |language=zh-Hant-TW}} No Avenue (2018), and I Recalled Taipei After Many Years (2022).{{Cite web |last=自由時報電子報 |date=2020-06-03 |title=【自由副刊】馬尼尼為／ 多年後我憶起台北 - 自由藝文網 |url=https://art.ltn.com.tw/article/paper/1376999 |access-date=2024-03-20 |website=art.ltn.com.tw |language=zh-TW}}
She released picture books as an illustrator. In 2016, she published the Oblique Household Trilogy, which included three picture books: The Sea Hotel, The Cat With Old Man’s Face, and After.{{Cite web |title=不適合當母親，不代表無法成為一個好母親──馬尼尼為的「隱晦家庭」繪本三部曲 |url=https://okapi.books.com.tw/article/9095 |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=Okapi |language=zh-tw}}{{Cite web |date=2015-06-06 |title=巨大的缺席：馬尼尼為《貓面具》 {{!}} 生活 |url=https://newtalk.tw/news/view/2015-06-06/60909 |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=Newtalk新聞 |language=zh-Hant-TW}} A sequel trilogy, Oblique Household Trilogy 2019, was published in 2019. In addition, she also published other picture books like The Velveteen Rabbit (2017),{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=二月選書｜因為疼痛，所以存在：《絨毛兔》落淚的那瞬間 |trans-title=February Book Selection {{!}} Existing because of pain: The moment of tears in "The Fluffy Rabbit" |url=https://www.biosmonthly.com/article/9458 |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=BIOS monthly}} The Poet's Inn (2018),{{Cite web |last=郝妮爾 |date=2018-12-14 |title=藝術家太太｜馬尼尼為：時間，從孩子手上偷來的 |trans-title=Artist’s Wife｜Manini: Time, stolen from children |url=https://www.unitas.me/archives/5810 |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=聯合文學 unitas lifestyle |language=zh-TW}} My Sister’s Empty House (2022){{Cite web |date=2022-03-16 |title=【小典藏│新鮮事】波隆那 Amazing 100 圖畫書入選名單公布！台灣作品5本入圍 |url=https://artouch.com/artco-kids/content-2203162.html |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=典藏ARTouch.com |language=zh-TW}} and Princess of Mount Ledang (2022).{{Cite web |title=金山公主 |trans-title=Princess of Jinshan |url=http://www.tipi.com.tw/www.tipi.com.tw/books.php?pid=862 |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=玉山社／星月書房 出版公司}}{{Cite web |date=2022-08-19 |title=马尼尼为的金山公主我的青春年少/徐云菁（昔加末） - 副刊 - 星云 |url=https://www.sinchew.com.my/news/20220819/supplement/4020082 |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=星洲网 Sin Chew Daily Malaysia Latest News and Headlines |language=zh-CN}} She also released bilingual (Malay and Chinese) picture books like Mat Jenin (馬惹尼, 2018) and Anjing Makan Angin (吃風集, 2018), and the illustrated handbook 100 Malay Ghosts (2021).{{Cite web |date=2022-01-10 |title=異國風情濃厚！新住民作家馬尼尼為分享新住民繪本 |url=https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E7%95%B0%E5%9C%8B%E9%A2%A8%E6%83%85%E6%BF%83%E5%8E%9A-%E6%96%B0%E4%BD%8F%E6%B0%91%E4%BD%9C%E5%AE%B6%E9%A6%AC%E5%B0%BC%E5%B0%BC%E7%82%BA%E5%88%86%E4%BA%AB%E6%96%B0%E4%BD%8F%E6%B0%91%E7%B9%AA%E6%9C%AC-132500196.html |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=Yahoo News |language=zh-Hant-TW}}{{Cite web |date=2021-10-30 |title=馬來鬼圖鑑 |url=https://indiepublisher.tw/zh-hant/book/1422 |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=獨立出版聯盟網站 |language=zh-hant}}{{Cite web |date=2022-02-23 |title=阿唯啊啊 / 从百鬼符号看友族文化 - 副刊 - 读家 |url=https://www.sinchew.com.my/news/20220223/supplement/3626829 |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=星洲网 Sin Chew Daily Malaysia Latest News and Headlines |language=zh-CN}} In 2017, she published her first poem collection, We'll Talk Tomorrow.{{Cite web |title=在海平面上種字的人——馬尼尼為談《沒有大路》 |url=https://mag.ncafroc.org.tw/article_detail?id=297ef7227039739d01705be1e03d0013 |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=mag.ncafroc.org.tw |language=zh-tw}}{{Cite web |last=homeward123 |date=2017-02-20 |title=我們明天再說話 |url=https://homewardpublish.wordpress.com/2017/02/20/%e6%88%91%e5%80%91%e6%98%8e%e5%a4%a9%e5%86%8d%e8%aa%aa%e8%a9%b1/ |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=南方家園出版社 Homeward publishing |language=zh-TW}}
Writing style
Her writings center on the struggle between a mother's duty and her marriage. Hatred is the reason why she writes; she exploits her migration, family, and marriage situations as writing materials, portraying the difficulty of living in a foreign land as a foreign spouse. {{Cite journal |last=向陽 |first=null |date=2022-05-31 |title=破格而入——論在台馬華女作家馬尼尼為 |url=https://scholars.hkbu.edu.hk/en/publications/%E7%A0%B4%E6%A0%BC%E8%80%8C%E5%85%A5%E8%AB%96%E5%9C%A8%E5%8F%B0%E9%A6%AC%E8%8F%AF%E5%A5%B3%E4%BD%9C%E5%AE%B6%E9%A6%AC%E5%B0%BC%E5%B0%BC%E7%82%BA |journal=2022年香港浸會大學、中山大學中國語言文學系研究生聯合學術研討會會議論文集 |pages=510–533}} From prose and picture books to poems, her theme never detaches from "writing herself."{{Cite journal |last=蔡 |first=玫姿 |date=2020-03-31 |title=漂移、賤斥與不滿：在臺馬來西亞華裔女作家馬尼尼為的小眾創作 |trans-title=Drift, rebuke and dissatisfaction: the niche creations of Ma Nini, a Malaysian-Chinese female writer in Taiwan |url=https://doi.org/10.6637/CWLQ.202003_49(1).0007 |journal=Chung Wai Literary Quarterly |volume=49 |issue=1 |doi=10.6637/cwlq.202003_49(1).0007 |issn=0303-0849}} In her picture book series Oblique Household Trilogy, the family images in her works often reflect a realistic and unidealized perspective of real life.{{Cite web |last=諶 |first=淑婷 |title=真實生活總是不完美，但我們帶著孩子一起前行──讀「隱晦家庭繪本三部曲2019」 |trans-title=Real life is always imperfect, but we move forward with our children──Read "The Obscure Family Picture Book Trilogy 2019" |url=https://okapi.books.com.tw/article/12316 |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=Okapi |language=zh-tw}}
Achievements
Maniniwei has won awards since 2020. Her book Dahulu Parang Sekarang Besi: Pantun Melayu{{Cite web |date=2020-06-28 |title=以前巴冷刀．現在廢鐵爛：馬來班頓 |url=https://indiepublisher.tw/zh-hant/book/1066 |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=獨立出版聯盟網站 |language=zh-hant}} won the Book of the Year from OpenBook,{{Cite web |title=2021 Openbook好書獎 |url=https://www.openbook.org.tw/2021openbookaward |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=Openbook閱讀誌 |language=zh-hant}} and the 35th Golden Tripod Award in the literature category in 2021. Around the same year, the Taoyuan Chung Chao-cheng Literary Award also awarded the first prize to Maniniwei for her Country Girl (山河少女). In 2021, Maniniwei won Kaohsiung Municipal Takao Literature Award in the category of Chinese prose for When I Fall Asleep (我睡覺的時候).{{Cite web |title=打狗鳳邑文學獎網站-得獎名單-得獎名單 |url=https://tfliterature.kcg.gov.tw/Winning/Details?Parser=99,5,15,,,,,,,,,11 |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=tfliterature.kcg.gov.tw}}