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Tom Lutz is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Professor of the Graduate Division at UC Riverside, the founding editor-in-chief and publisher of the Los Angeles Review of Books, founder of The LARB Radio Hour, The LARB Quarterly Journal, The LARB Publishing Workshop, LitLit Book Fair, and LARB Books. Ken Subedi sat down and conversed with Lutz about his experiences of Nepal and his works while he was in Nepal for New York Writers Workshop Kathmandu 2024.

When did you come to Nepal for the first time?

During the big earthquake. In 2015.

Did you come for work or pleasure? What was the purpose?

No, I travel. I write travel books. I travel whenever I get the chance. Gertrude Stein said—you can either buy clothes, or you can buy art. So you just have to choose—what do you want? She bought art and I bought clothes for one dollar, and then I travelled.

Where did you travel? To France?

I have travelled to 150 countries.

Where did you travel in Nepal in 2015?

I just travelled in Kathmandu and some rural towns around Kathmandu. What is that big temple town?

Changunarayan? Bhaktapur Durbar Square?

Yes, right.

So you came to Nepal in 2015. But when you were living in the US, when did you know about Nepal for the first time?

Well! It was the first time I had been to Nepal where there was a religion which was so syncretic. I see in the Buddhist temple, a Buddhist monk praying to Ganesh.

But usually Buddhists pray in their own rites. But here in Nepal, even the Buddhists pray to the Hindu gods.   

Exactly! This is the only place I have seen that. 

The roots of Buddhism lie in Hinduism.

Yeah, right! Of course! And the basic kind of Namaste, kindness, was impressive to me. That’s on the positive side. On the negative side—I had a romantic image of Kathmandu.  So I was surprised by the traffic and the pollution, and the poverty. That was surprising. I didn’t expect it.

So you also got to see how the earthquake ruined the country and the people who were devastated by it, right? 

Yes. I only came because I had some time, and I went to India as well.

Right now, how was your experience attending the workshop and Himalayan Literature Festival? 

Literature is international. It’s a cosmopolitan kind of activity. When people write – sometimes Nepalese writers write about Nepal, sometimes American writers write for America. But most of the American writers write hoping to write for the world. 

That is also because of the English language!

Yeah! And Yuyutsu is a perfect example. He goes everywhere. He writes to everyone. And he brings writers from everywhere. He is a perfect example of the cosmopolitanism of literary work.

But at the same time that may also create some sort of homogeneity, also the cultural homogeneity.

Yes. I think literature fights against homogeneity. Literature is interested in all the nooks and crannies of difference. There is no reason to write about Taylor Swift for example. Writers don’t tend to be interested in the normal.

Salman Rushdie says that a writer should always challenge the current stage, like current tradition, current norms, or established values. What’s your opinion on this view?

Yes. Literature always crosses the boundary. For example: Take this cup of tea; there is no story here. But if I take this tea and throw it in your face, then it is a story. I crossed a cultural boundary. It is something abnormal. And then it becomes a story.

You have written lots of books on various genres. You also write travelogues. You travel. There are so many areas where you have worked simultaneously. What excites you, what fascinates you the most? Is it literary criticism, fiction, memoir, or novel, or travelogue? Do you have any favorite areas? It’s like asking a father which son you love the most. In Nepal, the youngest son is always loved.

Yes. And that is true. The youngest child is more loved. The book I am working on is always the one that. I am reading something which is from 2021. Just four years ago. 

Did you write a memoir in 2022?

No, it’s a novel. The novel has some memoirist aspects. It’s the new novel I just finished that is coming this year. And novels are really fun.

You can take the characters to where you want!

The characters go where they want. And I watch them, I think. 

Do you let the characters go, or do you bring some restrictions?

The characters take their own life jack. It’s more like you are watching them do things. 

I guess you love all the genres, but novels should be more near to your heart. 

Yeah! I don’t know about the heart. It’s all about the book 1925. It’s a literary history. It was also really fun. I loved that work.

So, the venture which you are working on is the most exciting part! 

I think that I have written these very different kinds of things because I had a teaching job. It paid me a salary. I could write whatever I wanted to write.  I didn’t have to worry about whether I sold it, if I sold 10 copies or 10,000 copies, or 100,000.

So, you write for the sake of passion?

It’s whatever you want to do. I travel but I do not have an itinerary. I wander freely and write freely like I travel.

Have you written anything on Nepal?

Yes. I think I have a Nepal section in one of the travel books, The Kindness of Strangers.  I have already written about it.

It is said that for the same person to be a good creative writer and a good literary critic is a rare thing. You have worked as both and succeeded. Do you think you can be good in both areas?

A lot of critical people who write criticism think that they don’t have the ability to write creative kinds of fiction. I think they just don’t try it. And some novelists and some poets think that they can never do other things. So they don’t try. I tried to write a novel when I was much younger but I had not read much and had not gone to college yet. They can get in each other’s way sometimes.

Do you think it is possible to work like you? How can you balance that?

For me, that’s a very personal thing. I said I am not going to try to write great literature. I am going to write a thriller. Mystery genre does not have to be fancy; it does not have to be great literature. It can be just to tell a fun story. I think it’s somewhere in-between.

Is it due to your profession? Are you able to balance both works like literary criticism and the work which you are doing? Many professors teach how to write, but they don’t write themselves. But you have done a great job. 

Exactly, it helps. I think I became a better critic when I wrote some poetry and some fiction. I think I write better criticism, I write better fiction and poetry because I love my works as a historian, as a scholar. 

I think you started with literary criticism. Or, did you start with creative work?

I graduated from my high school. Then, I worked doing different things for ten years. Then, I started going to college. Then after graduate school, I became a professor. So during that period, I was writing poetry, I was writing songs, I tried to write fiction. My earliest attempts were creative writing. But I didn’t publish anything. And then when I started going to school, my first book was a scholarly book.

Regarding the Los Angeles Review of Books, what triggered you to start a new media only dedicated to reviews?

There is a personal reason and a historical reason. The personal reason is—I got a new job, a very good job, and a very good pay. I thought what I should do next is—something that’s not for me, not to make my career better, not something more absurdist. I should do something for the service. When all the book reviews in America were dying, the newspapers were shrinking; I grew up reading the book reviews in the newspapers. That was my introduction to literary culture. And I wanted other people to get into the conversation. I started an online service. It did not cost anything. I called my friends. It was volunteer labor. Gradually it became bigger and bigger. I had to hire staff. So, I built a board of directors and turned it into a non-profit organization so that we could take grants and gifts, and pay staff. I spent 60 hours a week for ten years.

It is like a contribution to the literary fraternity. People are writing reviews throughout the world. The representation of local literature is also accessible throughout the world.

We have readers in 200 countries.  

How do you find the representation of the Global South in producing great literary works? What is your view regarding their representation from South Asia?

I am 71 years old. When I started reading literature in the 1970s, I never heard the phrase Global South. We read Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Alejo Carpentier and Frantz Fanon. There were a dozen texts from around the world. There were a handful of people. Also VS Naipaul. Now, for the last 20 years, the idea of the Global South has been a part of every English Department, every Literature Department. Every university has people working on Global South literature; now, it’s a recognized area. The American book market is dominated by very few bestselling authors. All of the big money is going into publishing all of those few bestselling authors from the US and the UK. In the second level, there are lots of authors from Africa, India, and the East. There are a lot of writers now who are considered the important literary writers of the Four American Literary Readers who are from the Global South. So it’s a big change. If you look at Germany or any Latin American country, the publishers there publish half of the work that is translated from other languages. In America it’s three percent. It’s still a very small part. That means that even though Africa is being represented in Four American Readers, it has been represented by a small percentage of writers from Africa. Often, those are writers who have moved to England or America.

I think one should be at least second generation to become a published author in the US, like Ravi Shankar. If he was first generation in the US, it would have been more difficult for him to secure publishing from the American publishers. It may be because of the languages, the familiarity with the culture.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o from Kenya. He was a famous author in Kenya. His fames were around the world, while he still lived in Kenya. But he had gotten into trouble with the government.  And he was imprisoned. He fled to America. So he lived in America for 20/25 years. So writers like that have much more access to American readers because they live in America, give readings in America and are part of the scene. There are a number of authors who live in both places and cultures. I know there are hundreds of great African writers who Americans have never heard of and have never translated.

What languages do you speak besides English?

I speak some French and some Spanish.

To those of us living here, Kathmandu can feel a bit mundane, especially when the sun doesn’t shine and there seems to be so much dust in the air. Which is why we at ApEx were surprised when a friend returned from India, having cut her visit short by two weeks, claiming she’d rather spend that time in Nepal. She kept raving about ‘beautiful Kathmandu’ and how she’s never been bored here. Some of the things she mentioned were such simple things that we were stunned to have overlooked them or perhaps even taken them for granted. So, we asked random strangers what they liked to do in the city and compiled a list of five of the most common answers. Here are some foreigner-backed suggestions on how to have some fun in Kathmandu even on days when you feel like there’s nothing to do.

Go pub crawling in the city

Kathmandu is home to some of the world’s best pubs and bars. We aren’t the ones making this claim but tourists we spoke to in the city swear that Kathmandu has the nicest watering holes and restaurants. They are all kinds of places too. If you want a quiet one to nurse a beer, you’ll find plenty of cozy ones to choose from. If loud music is your jam, then you will be spoilt for choice. There’s even a separate scene for cocktails if that is more your thing. Bars like Bitters and Co. in Lazimpat and Barc in Tripureshwor serve unique cocktails that you haven’t tasted anywhere. The good thing is that most of these places aren’t very pricey either. They are good value for money. But if you are on a tight budget, then Kathmandu caters to that too. There are many places in Thamel that have amazing happy hour deals throughout the week where you can buy one get one or even get discounts on bulk orders. Most bars and pubs have a nice selection of food too. So grab your friends and indulge in a delightful Margarita or a crowd-favorite titaura cocktail this weekend.

Shop for trinkets in New Road

New Road has always been a place Kathmandu residents head to for shopping, and for all kinds of shopping too. From dry fruits and spices to fabrics and shoes, you will find everything you need at New Road. No wonder it’s so crowded during the festivities and on holidays. Despite markets cropping up in all parts of town, people still like to go to New Road to get what they need. Things just feel better and cheaper there. And in recent times, New Road has gotten a makeover, thanks to the brilliant mayor Balen Shah who is determined to turn the city into the picturesque place it was always meant to be. With roadside parking off limits, the place looks wider and cleaner. Shopping is also a better experience as you don’t keep dashing into people every two minutes. Take this as a perfect opportunity to shop for things like accessories, belts, bags, and clothes among other things at the ever growing market. Don’t stick to the main streets and explore the hidden alleys as well—there are lots of shops selling curios and various other things for super affordable prices. You can get bags for as little as Rs 500 and earrings for Rs 100.

Get a relaxing massage 

If this rising pollution has you concerned and you don’t want to spend a lot of time outdoors but still don’t want to be holed up at home, we recommend you spend a day at the spa. Could there be a better way to pamper yourself and feel relaxed and rejuvenated than a spa session that includes a full body massage, a head oil, and perhaps a sauna session too? A German couple we bumped into in Kathmandu confessed that they have been getting massages every week since they have been in Kathmandu three weeks ago. They made it a point to never visit the same establishment twice as there are just so many places to choose from, they said. So far, every place they have gone to has been good and they haven’t had a bad experience. The cost is more or less the same with some popular ones charging slightly more for the services. Many spas even offer full day packages that don’t cost an arm and a leg. Ayurvedic treatments like Shirodhara and Abhyanga are also available these days and these can be therapeutic and relaxing.

Discover public spaces

One of the joys of living in Kathmandu is discovering public spaces that feel like mini excursions in themselves. Basantapur is a popular hangout for locals and tourists alike and, on any given day, you will find many people just lazing around, sipping tea or iced coffee, while strolling through the market or sitting on one of the many benches or temple steps. But apart from Basantapur, there are many other places in Kathmandu, including but not limited to temples and religious sites, that can serve as places of interest—where you can simply sit by yourself, meditate, or read a book if you are so inclined. These days, many communities have taken it upon themselves to create little parks of sorts in their area where people can hang out and spend some time outdoors. Watching people go about their days and do their own thing can be incredibly relaxing and rewarding. One of the most recommended things was a stroll in your area or some place new to discover hidden gems and alleys.

Enroll in a class to learn something new

Want to learn to make tiramisu or bake bread? Or maybe you want to sharpen your dancing skills?  Enroll in a random class to add some cheer to your days and pick up a skill along the way. There are just so many random classes and workshops being held in Kathmandu these days that you are sure to find one to suit your taste and mood. Dance classes seem to be really popular these days with many institutes offering drop-in classes for all forms of dance like hip-hop, classical, contemporary etc. Macrame training or jewelry making training are also offered by small businesses that want to expand beyond just selling their products and these can be neat things to learn if you are into art and crafts. Many shops that sell Thangka and other paintings in Thamel also take in students who are eager to learn how to paint for a nominal fee. All in all, if you want to learn something new, rest assured that there’s someone willing to teach it to you and you won’t have to put in regular hours either.

Cooperatives are no longer permitted to lend or collect savings indiscriminately. With the approval of the Directives and Standards for Cooperatives Engaging in Savings and Loan Transactions, 2081, the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has imposed strict limits on loan issuance and savings mobilization.

Although cooperative representatives had protested against such restrictions, the NRB introduced the new directives on Friday as a regulatory response to widespread misuse of cooperative funds, which had caused market distortions and harmed the public. The standards were approved by the central board of directives.

Under the new provisions, cooperatives can only collect savings from their members. According to the guidelines, savings collection is capped at 15 times the organization’s primary capital fund.

“The organization can borrow up to five percent of its total assets from banks, financial institutions, or cooperative banks. However, such borrowing cannot exceed 100 percent of the capital fund,” the directive states. “Cooperatives that invest 51 percent or more in collective guarantees may borrow up to 20 percent of their total assets or up to 10 times their capital fund.”

The maximum operational limits are set as follows: Rs 1m for cooperatives operating in one district, Rs 25m for those operating in more than one district, and Rs 50m for those covering more than one province.

Cooperatives can operate ordinary, regular, and periodic savings accounts for up to three years. However, at least 25 percent of total savings must be maintained as regular savings. The procedures for savings mobilization must be approved by the cooperative’s general assembly.

Deposits exceeding Rs 1m must be accompanied by disclosure of the source of funds. For monitoring financial resource limits, data from the previous quarter regarding primary capital, total capital, and assets will be used as the basis.

The organization cannot issue loans to members who have held membership for less than three months. Furthermore, it can lend up to a maximum of 15 percent of the primary capital fund per member, provided the member has been saving regularly. Loans without collateral must be backed by guarantees from at least two members and cannot exceed the borrower’s total savings. Directors may only borrow against the security of their own savings and are not allowed to take any additional loans.

Cooperatives are allowed to invest in shares of licensed cooperative banks, small farmers’ microfinance institutions, and government-issued bonds. However, they are prohibited from investing in shares or debentures of other institutions.

These regulations do not restrict the payment of membership fees to umbrella associations as permitted under the Cooperative Act 2017. Cooperatives may purchase or construct office buildings through a competitive and transparent process, provided they have been operating at a net profit for the past three consecutive years, have no accumulated losses, and maintain the minimum capital fund. Such investments must not exceed 25 percent of the primary capital or 50 percent of the reserve fund.

If property is acquired in violation of these conditions, the equivalent amount must be deducted from the primary capital fund during calculations. Property transactions require approval from at least 51 percent of the general assembly and must be reported to the regulatory body within 30 days.

Except for specialized cooperatives, organizations engaged in large-scale transactions are required to allocate at least 50 percent of their total loans to productive sectors such as agriculture, industry, and business development. Cooperatives that fall outside this threshold must comply by July 2026. In such cases, they may offer a grace period for repayment of interest or installments.

If a cooperative secures a loan from a bank or cooperative bank by pledging a member’s property, that member is prohibited from taking an additional loan exceeding the original amount borrowed. However, this does not apply to directors who pledge their personal property for institutional purposes.

Cooperatives may lend up to 90 percent of a member’s savings as a secured loan. For loans backed by immovable property, the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is capped at 60 percent for properties in sub-metropolitan areas and 70 percent for properties in municipalities or rural municipalities.

Loans are to be categorized based on the repayment status of interest and installments. Loans repaid on time or within three months of maturity are considered good loans. Loans overdue by three to six months are non-performing, those overdue by six to 12 months are doubtful, and loans overdue by more than 12 months are classified as bad loans.

Europe is emerging as a promising destination for Nepali migrant workers, with countries like Romania, Croatia, Malta, Cyprus and Portugal becoming popular choices for employment. This shift marks a notable change in Nepal’s labor migration trend, which for decades was dominated by destinations in the Gulf and Malaysia.

According to data from the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), the number of Nepalis leaving for employment in European nations surged by 46 percent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year 2024/25. A total of 34,366 individuals obtained labor permits to work in Europe during this period, compared to 23,510 in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

This figure includes only those who obtained formal labor approvals. Recruitment agencies say that the actual number could be significantly higher, as many Nepalis travel to Europe on visit visas and then secure jobs informally. These cases are harder to track but are increasingly common.

One of the main reasons behind this shift is the appeal of better salaries, safer and more worker-friendly labor laws, and milder climates compared to traditional labor destinations in the Middle East. European jobs are often seen as more dignified in Nepal, with structured working conditions and legal protections that are often lacking in Gulf countries.

Romania has emerged as the most popular European destination for Nepali workers. The number of Nepalis receiving labor approvals for Romania jumped by an impressive 136.34 percent, reaching 17,830 in just eight months. As a developing country with a high-income economy, Romania has growing demand for labor in sectors like agriculture, where many Nepalis are employed.

Significant growth was also observed in the number of workers heading to Portugal, Croatia, and Cyprus. However, the number of Nepali workers leaving for Malta fell by nearly a half during the same period.

According to recruitment companies, the flow of Nepali workers to Europe has grown steadily over the past three years, with around 11 percent of all Nepali migrant workers now heading to European countries.

In recent years, countries like the UK and Germany have shown increasing interest in hiring Nepali workers. The UK has already begun recruiting nurses from Nepal, and Germany has signed a labor memorandum of understanding to bring in both skilled and unskilled labor. However, language requirements—particularly the need to learn German—have slowed the pace of labor migration to Germany for now.