Sunday, April 15, 2007

MILS and Book Boon

Oh the frustration! Nurjehan Mohamed's articles in the Learning Curve section Sunday Times today haven't been put up on line, so I can't link to them and can't do a quick cut and paste of the interesting bits. Here though are highlights.

(Note: have since found links thanks to Lydia!)

In a piece called Bringing Reading to the Masses, Jehan interviews Raman of Silverfish and Professor Lim Chee Seng about the setting up of the Malaysian International Literary Society (MILS) which co-organised the KL Literary Festival (KLILF).

Prof. Lim said the organisation wants to help Malaysians cultivate the reading habit.

He says that one of the ideas the group keeps coming back to is to collaborate with Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Malayan Railways) to provide a "travelling book box" which will be transported to small towns along the line and then opened by a volunteer with a key so that "local children who never the privilege of handling a book, will have a chance to read one."

MILS also plans to conduct a range of workshops "for teaching, storytelling and writing."

Lim talks about setting up the Malaysian Shakespeare Society (MSS) to introduce Malaysians to the bard through the sponsorship of performances and readings. Raman adds that MILS want to set up mini-libraries in the suburbs and small towns, have literary events in other towns.

A round of applause for anyone who promotes books and reading.

Jehan's other piece (The Familiar and the Unknown) is an overview of KLILF itself The feedback from participants she spoke to (including me!) is very positive.

Still am wondering why only the education section of this national newspaper bothered to cover the story. It's heart-breaking when folks have put so much effort into organising an event like this.

(All pics nicked from the NST. Top Raman and Prof. Lim. Bottom Brian Castro with KLILF participants.)

19 comments:

Chet said...

Aiyoh, I bought the wrong newspaper today, lah. And 7-Eleven out of NSunT by the time I got there.

Lydia Teh said...

I read that piece online where you were quoted. Very short article though.

When I read MILS, I thought it was referring to mothers-in-law. Serious.

Poppadumdum said...

Liked your Mills & Boon headline! :-)

bibliobibuli said...

glad someone things i'm witty. maybe it should have been just mils and boon?

mothers-in-law! haha

lydia - can you find the url for the article, i've looked and looked

Lydia Teh said...

Sharon, I was googling for something else when I came across this :

http://www.nst.com.my/NST/Article/vArt?did=20070414170947

To get back to the article again, I googled "read Sharon Bakar" and tada, there it was.

Lydia Teh said...

here's another link, but not the one you're looking for.

http://www.nst.com.my/NST/Article/vArt?did=20070407184853

Lydia Teh said...

this is the one you're looking for :

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/LearningCurve/20070414170358/Article/index_html

Now girl, get back to work on that article!!!

Choong Kwee Kim said...

Hi Sharon, I've been a silent reader of your blog (and others in the writers' community such as Lydia, Dina, Xeus, Kenny, Daphne, etc) and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed your updates on local literary events. Thanks.
I'm all for the setting up of MILS and MSS. Is that Prof Lim the one with the goatee? If the goatee's there, then he must be that literature lecturer of mine at UM.
BTW, I've been inspired enough by all these literary buzz to start my own blog.
Please feel free to check out my blog at choongkweekim.blogspot.com

bibliobibuli said...

lydia - very many thanks though how you managed that bit of magic escapes me!

k.kim - yes i saw you had linked me earlier this p.m. and went to take a look at your blog. your illustrations are beautiful and i'm looking forward to going back and reading your posts.

bibliobibuli said...

oh sorry k.kim ... prof lim doesn't have a goatee. i snaffled his pic so you could see what he looks like.

Choong Kwee Kim said...

After looking at the pix, I believe it's the same Prof Lim who sported a goatee back in the early 1990s in UM. He was always reading Shakespeare out loud during his lectures. His masculine reading voice made many an impressionable young undergraduate swoon back then but as for that goatee, some either loved it or hated it. As for me, I like him the way he was over a decade ago - with that signature goatee of his. What a pity.

Amir Muhammad said...

Yes Chee Seng used to have a goatee when we both acted (!) in Kee Thuan Chye's MACBETH in 1992.

I dated a colleague of his later who had many amusing anecdotes about UM. But those are different tales, for different climes.

bibliobibuli said...

time moves us all on ...

first we wrinkle then we crumble

bibliobibuli said...

not fair to say you have tales without telling them, amir ...

msiagirl said...

Hi Sharon, I've popped in your blog from fusionview lots before, but have come out of the closet now! I really enjoy reading your insights about the availability of lit to people in malaysia - and how the country deals with lit - teaching it -ect. Long time ago when I sat SPM I was the only lit student in the area and they had to open a test hall just for me. I had to study myself with a few tips from my mum who luckily was one of those dedicated form 6 lit teachers. Anyway - love seeing it through your eyes and still feeling heartbroken about govt attitude to lit sometimes. Still, the writing scene is vibrant among you! Hope to meet you during visit home in May, Kenny will bring me to a Readings, I hope. :)

bibliobibuli said...

hi msiagirl. love it when lurkers come out of the closet and look forward to meeting you soon! i think things here are getting better - not least because the folks who love books and writing are becoming a bigger lobbying force.

Kenny Mah said...

Kenny will definitely bring you to Readings, Msiagirl! :)

Starmandala said...

Gee, you're hardworking, Sharon! Thanks for
blogging about this. I would otherwise not have known there was even a write-up about the LitFest. Cheers!

bibliobibuli said...

welcome, antares!