Asian Centre Anthology of Malaysian Poetry in English

Malaysian writing in English has had a history of over five decades since Malaysia attained independence. This anthology of Malaysian poetry in the English language represents the most complete single collection of poems by veteran as well as new authors to be released in recent decades. In keeping with general trends in poetry, the poets presented in this volume begin with themselves as centres of their own little worlds and then move outwards to those still close to them in different kinds of situations and relationships. They touch upon individual growth and experiences before taking the world and its concerns into their purview. Other poems explore religious and spiritual consciousness. The potential that Man has on his journey of life leads beyond his daily obsessions and takes him into realms of expanding consciousness, with the final stages of the long journey reaching the transcendental and mystical. Altogether, while providing a spectrum of recent Malaysian poetry in English, this collection also gives the reader insights into the unique voices of several generations of Malaysian poets dealing with a whole range of themes connected with their lives, universal issues and concerns.

Literature & Fiction

Yousof, Ghulam-Sarwar

Literary

PartridgeSingapore

SuvaRna-Padma, the Golden Lotus is one the most important works of well-known Malaysian writer and scholar, Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, whose two previous plays, Halfway Road, Penang and The Trial of Hang Tuah the Great, have become internationally recognized for their originality of style, as well as significance of issues raised. This play, written in similarly original style, this time approaching the subject matter through the slant of symbolism and myth, deals with the existential dilemma of a writer, Vacha, in a repressive society where censorship is a major problem inhibiting creativity, seriously affecting him psychologically, as well as in terms of his private and public life. In terms of the pertinent issues it deals with, its meaning as well as its stylistic approach, this play transcends cultural boundaries to attain universality.

Suvarna-Padma, The Golden Lotus

Dramas & Plays

Sacred Rain

Poetry

The Trial of Hang Tuah the Great: A Play in Nine Scenes

The Trial of Hang Tuah the Great, a prize-winning play, uses an ancient story of the Malay hero, Hang Tuah, to re-examine of some of the issues connected with identity prevailing in Malaysian society over the past fifty years or so since the independence of Malaya and the establishment of Malaysia. It is an imaginative retelling of the story of Hang Tuah, associated with the Melaka Sultanate of the fifteenth century who, myth and legend maintains, never died, while historians, time and again questioning Hang Tuah s very existence, have recently declared that such a figure never actually existed. The Trial of Hang Tuah the Great takes both these theories into consideration and through them, examines the traditional idea of a hero in the Malay psyche, linking him symbolically to certain individuals, such as Maharaja Lela, and a spectrum of events, mythical, legendary and historical, based on the hypothetical question of who Hang Tuah would have been if he had lived beyond 15th century Melaka right up to our own times and even beyond the present until the year 2020. The play s text is a powerful and stunning confrontation of myth in the manner of Grotowski (Poor Theatre). In terms of staging, as envisioned by its author, The Trial of Hang Tuah the Great is based upon modern western theories and techniques, such as those of Bertolt Brecht (Epic Theatre) and Antonin Artaud (Theatre of Cruelty). In both senses, The Trial of Hang Tuah the Great is a groundbreaking Malaysian play.

The Trial Of Hang Tuah The Great: A Play In Nine Scenes

Contemporary

A comprehensive guide to traditional theatre terminology used in the countries of South-East Asia, this invaluable reference includes descriptions of genres, characters, physical stages, performance techniques, rituals, costumes, masks, and puppetry; definitions of aesthetic terminology; and synopses of major literary sources and important play cycles. The unusually wide range of materials, countries, languages, and cultures, and the clarity of presentation make it a reliable yet highly readable work of reference which will be valuable to all enthusiasts of South-East Asian theatre.

Dictionary of Traditional South-East Asian Theatre (Oxford in Asia Paperbacks)

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Oxford University Press

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