Launched

Playing catch up here with news of recent book launches.

One I haven't blogged about at all (and feel guilty for slipping up on!) was Amir Muhammad's tribute to our late great filmmaker, Yasmin Ahmad's Films.

The books was launched on 18 November at Sunway College because Yasmin had given a talk there just a few weeks before she died. Here's a recording of Amir's speech and you can read a bit more here :


Am planning to read the books alongside watching the DVD's ...

Below is a picture of Animah Kosai's daughter, Sarah, cutting the ribbon to launch Farish Noor's book What Your Teacher Didn't Tell You (another publication from Matahari books) at Central Market Annexxe. I took the pic from Liza Manshoor's Facebook page as my own attempt, taken from way back, was blurry and horrid.



The book was so hot off the press there was still steam rising from it. It is also an extremly beautifully produced book, illustrated throughout as you can see from these sample pages, and the content - which grew out of Farish's lecture series at the Annexxe - is fascinating on Malaysian culture and history, looking at it from fresh angles. (Small wonder then that Amir M managed to shift a record number of copies (149 copies in 2 hours!). Couldn't wait to start reading this and gobbled down the discussion of Hang Tuah going back on the LRT.

Here are a couple of videos from the launch - first very talented support act Dizzy & The, and then Farish's speech.






I also went along to Nik Nazmi's launch of both the English and Malay versions of his new book at Itudio Studio in Kelana Mall. (Here's Nik's account of the event.)The venue was bursting at the seems and handed out free saunas to all who were trying to crush inside (pre-requisite of being a politicians - you don't suffer from claustrophobia!). Selangor Chief Minister Khalid gave a very good speech and I appreciated the fact that he recited a poem by the late Usman Awang about the Malays.

I finished the book when I got home - it's very sensible and well-written, and as with Farish's book - you just hope that people will read and become that much wiser.

Biggest congrats to all.

Everything from Malay Ghosts and Dissenter's Balls to Toy Pianos

Our Saturday Readings@Seksan was a fabulous mixture of political discussion, Malay ghosts, poetry with toy musical instruments, and some fantasy writing which raised real world issues.

Happy I was to hand the MC-ing of this event over to Animah Kosai so I could just relax and enjoy the event. (Anyone else want to have a go another time? I like being lazy!)

Danny Lim started the ball rolling by reading about a couple of local spooks from his Malaysian Book of Ghosts. We learned about the elf-like Bunian of Malay mythology, and it was fascinating to hear about the journalist (formerly with Time magazine) who actually interviewed one for Men's Review back in 1999! We also heard about Hantu Kum Kum :

A roving female ghost carrying a tombstone like a baby, who goes around asking for milk, and attacks young virgins to restore her youth and beauty.

Incidentally, the Malay version of Danny's book, Kitab Pengetahuan Hantu Malaysia, is due to be launched this Friday 8.30 pm onwards at Bau Bau Cafe at The Annexe, Central Market with a whole variety of exciting folks reading ... including me! (I am the star attraction, come and laugh at the Mat Salleh mangling Malay!)

The focus of this particular Saturday after noon was very much on Kee Thuan Chye's March 8th : The Day Malaysia Woke Up which is a collection of contributions in response to the seismic shift in the political landscape of Malaysia following the last elections. Animah read her essay What Do the Children Think?, a very effective and yes, charming piece, blending the personal and political piece to talk about how Malaysians of different are divided from each other and how hard it is for a child to see that.

Kee Thuan Chye who put the book together read extracts which included interviews with former law minister Zaid Ibrahim (The Reforms Will Come), and the extracts from the interview with Raja Petra Kamarudin delightfully titled How Big Are Your Balls? in which he talks about his arrest under the ISA (the first time round, that is) and gives his take on the political landscape.


If there was any danger that we might take ourselves all too seriously with all that politics, all that dissipated when The Happy Unicorn Collective (a group comprising Dianne Dayanna, Priya K., Nurul, Patricia Low, Tan Koon, Fairuz S. and Adam Kharul and formed for Project Connect earlier in the year) took the floor after the break.

The group blended Priya K's eccentric poetry with an unusual mix of musical instuments which included rucksack percussion, kiddy xylophone and toy piano, stylophone, and children's trumpet! The most hilarious poem was one about seagulls being evil and stealing chips when the group went to UK. (The biggest culture shock just has to be one involving the wildlife!)

It was really great to have Glenda Larke (above) with us. As I probably told you before, I knew Glenda as an environmentalist long before I even knew she wrote - let alone was a prominent fantasy writer. She started by saying that it is ironic that fantasy is a genre much looked down on, when many very famous literary authors (among them Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, Gunther Grass, Marquez) have written in the genre ... except that of course good fantasy fiction tends to get a different name slapped on it. (This is something we've talked about before on this blog.)

Glenda read to us from her new, as yet untitled novel, which is to be the first part of a new trilogy, set in a world where water is a scarce and precious commodity (as she predicts it will be for all of us soon). The extract was an engaging piece about two brothers in this arid landscape.

When the book is published we must invite her back! In the meantime, you can find Glenda's excellent blog Tropic Temper here. (She has a nice write-up of this event.)

Brian Gomez was a no show (he got the time wrong) and I was sad about that because I am really enjoying his absolutely crazy novel Devil's Place. Never mind, we will invite him again and send him an alarm call.

But it was a great stroke of luck that Kam Raslan (above) happened to be along (he is now living in China, but back for a visit) and since he also had a piece in March 8th, it was the perfect opportunity to ask him to read his essay The End of Fear, about how the violence that the government warned about if the political order were threatened, failed to materialise, and how :

Fear is a legitimate emotion but it either leads to a desire to leave or extreme caution. It is not a good fertiliser for growing exciting things (although it is manure).

After the readings ended, some folks stayed back to chat with Chye and the other authors about the book and about their thoughts about keeping the spirit of March 8th alive, while we clearer up round them.

Thanks to all who read and all who came. Thanks to Seksan for the wonderful space. Thanks to Shahril Nizam again for making the poster. Thanks too to the setters-up (foremost among them, Chet) and valiant clearers away.

Next month I think Bernice is organising something for teen writers, so I will keep you posted.

When Malaysia Woke Up

Am extremely happy to hear that Kee Thuan Chye has a new book out (and he's a bit of a dark horse because I heard nothing about it pre-publication). He writes of course of the election result that shifted the ground beneath out feet.

The blurb reads :

March 8, 2008, Malaysians dealt a blow to the Barisan Nasional government that had held almost absolute power for 50 years by denying it the all-important two-thirds majority in Parliament and the control of five states. This book is about that historic day and the change that has come with it. It is also an expression of hope for a brighter future, with many Malaysians speaking their thoughts frankly and without fear. If you feel that March 8 was really something, this is the book to help you remember it for years to come.

The book was reviewed in Starmag on Sunday by R. Lim and apparently comprises personal accounts, essays and interviews ... including pieces by Kam Raslan and Animah Kosai.

Postscript:

More information from Chye :

ABOUT THE BOOK :
The day of the underdogs, the real Merdeka, a political tsunami, the perfect storm—by any name, March 8, 2008, will go down in history as a turning point in Malaysian politics. With their votes, Malaysians dealt a blow to the Barisan Nasional government that had held almost absolute power for 50 years. Denying it the all-important two-thirds majority in Parliament and the control of five states has certainly made the political scenario more vibrant.

Although surprised that there was such power in the vote they cast, Malaysians woke up to the true meaning and practice of democracy. They now face the present reasonably free from fear, free from the spectre of May 13.

This book is about that historic day and the change that came with it—an expression of hope for a brighter future, with many Malaysian voices speaking their thoughts frankly. There are also eyewitness accounts, interviews with key people, and articles never published before, written by fledgling and established writers.

Includes exclusive hard-hitting interviews with Raja Petra Kamarudin, Zaid Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng, Dr Lim Teck Ghee and Dr S. Subramaniam.

HIGHLIGHTS

- How Big Are Your Balls? - an interview with Raja Petra Kamarudin
- The Racial Bias of Utusan Malaysia - a report by Yip Wai Fong, Centre of Independent Journalism
- One Hundred-Odd Days After March 8 - a comprehensive record of events
- Enough of the NEP - an interview with Dr Lim Teck Ghee
- Just Call Me Guan Eng an interview with Lim Guan Eng

Courting Controversy, Inviting the Surreal

There was no tree chopping, no pneumatic drills, no detours to mess up readings on Saturday ... just enough torrential rain to delay the start until folks could arrive. (We're jinxed, we really are. What will it be next month?) But in the end though, we got a fair sized crowd with a lot of people here for the first time. (Welcome!)

Animah shared the MC-ing with me, partly because she knows two of the readers as work colleagues and partly because - yes - I am tired of hearing myself and it's nice to relax, and Animah adds a touch of glamour, don't you think?

The first reader was Suflan Shamsuddin (above) whose book Reset has just been published by ZI publications. He read one chapter which was written in the form of an exchange of letters debating Malay privilege and the destiny of the NEP.

It was beautifully lucid and accessible piece, a difficult subject intelligently handled, and Suflan read very well.

Reset is actually being launched today (Tuesday) at 5.30 at Borders The Curve. (Go read the author's website for more about the book.)

Next was a reader I've been chasing to read for a long time - Uthaya Sankar SB. Best known for his controversial short stories, he read us a very surreal piece from his latest collection Rudra Avatara which featured (was struggling with the language barrier here) a cat in it which got burnt to death and then came back from the dead (because of course, it had 9 lives) and became some kind of a leader. (Someone please fill in gaps here.)

Paul Leslie Smith (also introduced by Animah and one of her colleagues) chose two contrasting episodes from his large historical novel Rainforest Tears set in Sarawak- the first lushly romantic, the second describing a harrowing scene of absolute violence as a mob takes revenge on a collaborators after WWII. The writing is very vivid indeed. (Sadly, there are no online links to send you to online. Hope the publisher - Marshall Cavendish works to fix this as authors deserve better!)

After the break Bernice read for us - this time a fiction piece but no less raw and moving than her poetry. She is collaborating on a collection of stories with with three other women writers, and of course will be appearing at the Ubud Readers and Writers Festival in October.

Ioannis Gatsiounis read in one of the first Readings (back in 2005!). He was torn whether to read fiction of non-fiction but in the end chose to read a piece from his first book with Beyond the Veneer - his review of Christopher Hitchen's book God is Not Great.

(Sensitive issues? What sensitive issues? We explored plenty of 'em this afternoon!)

The final reader was Rumaizah Abu Bakar one of the three contributors to News From Home and now some of her fiction and poetry has also been published in the latest edition of Elarti (copies of which Sufian was selling at the event.) Rumaizah read her intriguing short story Peppery affair about the romance of a pepper pot and kitchen knife.

So it was an afternoon in which controversy was courted and the surreal invited ... sounds just about the right mix for Merdeka!

Thanks to everyone who read and everyone who came. Thanks to Sek San for the beautiful venue. Thanks to Shahril Nizam for the poster. Thanks to those who helped set up and those who cleared away. Thanks to Animah for letting me nick her photos which are much better than mine. (The only one of mine above is the one of Uthaya.)

Readings will take a rest during Ramadan and be back 25th October with Preeta Samarasan and Sharmini Flint.

Update :

Please take a look at Sufian Abas' gobsmakingly gorgeous photos on Facebook.

Wena's Wet Weekend

Then, after lunch and a quick rush round the supermarket to get survival rations for the afternoon with Chet's help, dashed over to Seksan's and the heaven's opened.

I was drenched even before I had unpacked the car, and the inclement weather didn't let up the whole afternoon. (What is happening to the weather? It doesn't seem like the monsoon ever went away?) But fortunately our loyal audience turned up in decent numbers. (Thank you!)

Wena Poon read a passage from her story The Shooting Ranch, my favourite story from Lions in Winter. Again, it was beautifully dramatised, and really showed how much she gets into the skin of her characters to write about them. (Not all authors - even some very big name ones - are good readers of their own work!)

Wena sadly had to rush off early as she had another appearance at Borders. I'm so glad she came, but sorry we couldn't have arranged better weather for her.

Animah Kosai (above right) dragged friends Dina Zaman (above left) ...

... and actor Na'a Murad (here getting his photo taken by a member of the press) along to read a couple of scenes from a new play she's working on called 100 Stones, which featured a woman married to a guy who has just become an elected representative. He doesn't seem to be too interested in sex, and there she is, desperately frustrated trying to seduce him with every trick in the book including sexy negligees.

It was interesting talking to Na'a in the break who reckons that the changed political landscape and the greater openness and willingness to engage in issues that has followed, is making it easier for artists of all kinds, but especially playwrights. It's early days yet ... but really, let's hope he's right.

I've been looking forward to Sufian Abas' first book for a very long time ... ever since we both got out first short stories published in Silverfish New Writing 1, in fact. Kasut Biru Robina is a collection of short shorts, some short short shorts just a few lines long. Bite size and snackable.

Sufian read a piece called Malam Mailakat Tidur (The Night the Angels Slept), and modest chap that he is, was going to end there but we encored him back for a second piece - Kisah Cinta (Love Story), a very amusing little tale about the fickleness of women.

Priya K. made an appeal for funds for the forthcoming Malaysian-UK exchange project, and illustrator Shahril Nizam brought some of his pictures along to be auctioned. The bidding is still ongoing and I'll post more about this later.

The break was extra long because the rain overhead was nosiy, but no-one seemed to mind too much as they were busy partying, networking, selling books ...

Ted Mahsun read a story, Pak Sudin's Bicycle I'd read on an e-group earlier and liked very much. He read it for the first time at Kata Suara the other week and had been surprised at how well it had gone down with the audience. Ted's writing is warm and whimsical, and it's really nice to see him developing as a writer. (He has a review of the new Stephen King book in the Star today, by the way.)

George Wielgus, poet, performer and writer describes himself as :

... a refugee from the wastelands of suburban England.

Slipping into the persona of her alter-ego, Mighty Jah-J, he gave us some hard-hitting poems, including Liberation and Death No. 1, which left us in little doubt why he had won the last KL Poetry Slam.

He was also selling his recently self-published limited edition zine for the price of a teh tarik (cup of "pulled tea"). You can read his poem Inside-Outsiders here.

We ended with a short tribute to Lloyd Fernando who passed away recently, and Priya K. read an extract from Green is the Colour.

Thanks : to all those who braved the rain, those who read, those who sold books, those who auctioned art, those who helped set up and put away and wash glasses, Shahril Nizam who designed the blogposter, and of course Seksan for the use of his beautiful space and the stunning visual backdrop provided by the current exhibition.

Our next readings is on April 19th and among the writers appearing will be author Kunal Basu.

Tales FromThe Other Side

If there was one theme running through "Readings" this Saturday it was of folks who are usually on one side of the literary fence (as student, reviewer, editor, avid reader, illustrator), now skipping over to reveal themselves as writers, one or two of them coming out of the closet for the first time!


Janet Tay (below) was a litigation lawyer in a previous incarnation and says that she decided to leave the fast-paced life of waiting in courtrooms and long breakfasts at court canteens to indulge in her first loves - books and writing. She now puts on a literary editor's hat and works for a publishing house. She's also working towards a Masters degree in Literature at Universiti Malaya.

Her short story, Callus, was highly commended in the 2004 Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Short Story competition and has also been adapted for the Oxford Bookworms World Stories collection which will be published in 2008. Another short story, Transience, appeared in the August edition of Off The Edge.

She read from a short story set in an airport lounge and told from two different viewpoints. It was self-assured writing and very well observed.

Catalina Rembuyan works in the English Department at Universiti Malaya and is also doing her M.A. She says that she started dabbling in writing and reading poetry thanks to events and workshops held by the British Council.

She showed us the city waking up in 4.30 a.m. a very effective listing poem, and then read us Like a Sparrow in prayer form. This was followed by several others including a poem about darkness after a generator fails, a comical sonnet Observe the Ant on the Toilet Floor, and a piece she has read in readings before, Moving On. It seems to me that Catalina is growing in self-assurance - both in her writing and in her delivery of her work. Hope that she now looks at getting some of her work published.

I'd been asking Shahril Nizam to read ever since I learned that he writes verse to accompany his illustrations. He used to say that he was too shy, but I'm really happy that with the launch of his book If Only, he is feeling more confident. He chose several of my favourite pieces from the book including KingKat, My Aunt Rose, Creature (Dis)comforts and Rumination.

I had asked him if he would bring some of the original illustrations along with him and he brought a portfolio of pictures from the book and others I hadn't seen before. Here's Erna Mahyuni and Irene Kiew going through them.

Daphne Lee is probably best known as a journalist, writing about books for Starmag where she has a Sunday column. She also has a blog dedicated to children's writing. She recently made her debut as an author with a series of children's picture books.

Today though she read a series of untitled poems telling the story of a relationship which:

starts - flourishes - fails

Very moving and accessible, as with Catalina's pieces, it would be lovely to see them in print now the appetite is whetted.

Shamala S. Palaniappan is a book-addicted friend of mine who also writes. She's a marine scientist by training with post-graduate qualifications in genetics and statistics, and is most interested in communicating science in writing. She's now a full-time medical writer but working on more personal pieces in her spare time. She read two pieces for us Trails and Oasis, the first, inspired by a conference on global warming, drew on a beguiling blend of physics and philosophy to talk about the trails of energy we leave behind us. It felt rather Kundera-ish!

This lady is taking my creative writing class but I don't think she needs any more than the permission to say "Go ahead and write, kid". I don't think she did at all badly for the first time she read.

At the end of the afternoon, Animah Kosai (for some reason dressed in yellow) introduced another first time reader.

She had read a piece Vani (below) posted in the comments of Haris Ibrahim's blog, a big howl of hurt about the ongoing Hindu temple demolitions in this country. Animah was so moved by Vani's words in Oppressed in My Own Country that she invited her along.

Vani had never thought herself a writer before, but when the heart is moved there's a need to express it in words, however raw. And she read her words with great confidence.

I hope Vani will continue to draw on that passion now that she has seen how she is able to affect and reach others.

Anyway, thanks (as always) to those who read, and those who came and supported so well. Thanks to Seksan for the beautiful venue. To Shahril for the lovely poster. To those who helped set up and clear away. To Catalina for bringing wine. To whoever brought all those snacky things.

Will try for December 29th for the next readings and will confirm as soon as possible. Shall we have a Christmas theme? I'll try to get some mistletoe!

Animah's People and Other Booker Reviews!

Animah Kosai and I review the books that made the Booker shortlist on a double-page spread in Starmag today.

Animah's reviews are much cleverer than mine because she chose to write in the style of Mohsin Hamid and Nichola Barker respectively. (Eyes, had I known she was going to be so tricksy, write the review I would in the same way as that fellow Indra Sinha!)

Having such a short word limit means an awful lot remains unsaid and all that I am still bursting to say about the novels will no doubt find its way into posts in the next day or two.

Adaptation

Was lucky enough to be invited to attend the workshop on adapting texts for the stage oranised by FIRSTWoRKS/Instant Cafe Theatre and was much brain-boggled by the company I found myself in ... the other participants included stars in the theatrical firmament Ann Lee, Kee Thuan Chye, Jo Kukathas, Anne James, Thor Kah Hoong as well as best-selling author (!) and screen writer Kam Raslan, Zedeck Siew of Kakiseni, Bernice Chauly of the myriad talents, and the group of budding playwrights being nurtured by FIRSTWoRKS: Animah Kosai, Ridzwan Othman, Rahel Joseph and Shanon Shah.

Laurence Strangio the writer/director of Alias Grace talked us through the process of adapting his play from Atwood's novel telling us that he only drew on Grace's first person narration, and then only a small proportion of that. Although the film rights have been bought he said, it would be a very difficult film to make a movie because one of the most delightful ambiguities of the book is whether the mysterious peddler Jeremiah is the same person as Dr. Jerome La Pont, who hypnotises her. In the novel and in the play it is possible, Laurence says, for both possibilities to live at the same time.

He says he read and reread the book, putting post-it notes on the sections he liked best and then typing them onto computer. He says he played "fast and loose" with the arc of the story, and says he knew the book well enough to reinvent it. The first draft was three and a half hours long when read through, and was, of course, substantially cut. Laurence also showed us transparencies of a particular scene so we could see how it had changed over time, and explained how the actor's portrayal of the role (in this case Caroline Lee) fed into the way the work was written.

We talked about reasons for adaptation, and then we discussed texts that we had brought along to the workshop to adapt.

On the second day we drew a poster presentation of the key touchstones of our texts and here're some photos. (I put the full set on Flickr.)

Kee Thuan Chye hard at work ...

Me, being creative on the floor! I chose Tinling Choong's FireWife since I'd just finished reading it and found it very visual. (Eight women, eight photographs, fire, water).

Bernice wrestles Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia down to the ground!

Kam show-and-telling his take on Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Chye and Ridzwan inspect the posters. (I think they're looking at the naked lady covered in sushi picture on mine!)

The most exciting part of the workshop I think was when single images were taken and improvisations built around them creating a new set of striking images.

Now adapting a text to a play is something I would very much like to do and seems more manageable somehow than starting from scratch ...

Words for Freedom

Missed the grand opening for the World Press Freedom Day at Central Market yesterday but was happy to meet a couple of important advocates for freedom of expression for the first time.

One was controversial blogger Jeff Ooi, pictured here with Animah Kosai and Sarah; the other director for Centre for Independent Journalism, Sonia Randhawa. I also met up again with Rocky.

I was very happy to pick up a couple of CIJ's publications for free: Instant expert: The Malaysian Media and Freedom of Expression and the Media.

Animah and I had agreed to do readings. (Or rather, I got roped in, so I roped Animah in!) My friend Diana Cooper also turned up to support. (Many thanks!)

The event was an hour later in starting (apparently because some folks wanted to go and have lunch). We got tired and hungry and hot waiting around and went to have some lunch ourselves. A good discovery was that the Indian restaurant in the annexe has some of the best tandoori chicken and naan I've tasted.

When the event finally got going, the appalling sound system meant that the readers couldn't be heard clearly. Tshiung Han See read something that turned out to be a war poem by Robert Bly. (He gave me his copy afterwards.)

A couple of young guys got up and read pieces in Tamil. (It would have been really nice if they could at least have said what they were reading.) A girl strummed a guitar and sang Bird on the Wire.

I read the piece by Asli Erdogan in my best schoolteacherly manner, trying to be as loud as possible to compensate for the distorting microphone. Animah read a verse from the Quran (remind me which one again, Animah!) which fitted the theme very well and then a very effective extract from Brecht's Gallileo.

We snuck out early, unable to bear the poor sound quality and the heat any longer.

There are some nice pictures of the opening on Jeff's blog.

Books ... or Ikan Bilis?

The restricted books issue has gone quiet, hasn't it, after our initial outpourings of outrage and a brief flurry of press?

What happens next?

Well, Animah's letter has gone to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Culture, and many more individuals and agencies. I am waiting for her go ahead before I paste it up on the Manuscripts Don't Burn blog. We need to give all these bodies time to digest and respond to it.

Meanwhile we wait and see.

Raman says

We have been told that this matter was actually raised in the parliament but it was neatly sidestepped and ignored. Truth is, very few in the Government, and in the opposition, actually care. There are more 'important' issues.

Frankly, this cannot be a fight for book lovers alone. Those in the book industry must also express their dismay over the bannings.

I was talking to one of the larger local publishers the other day, with two of the books on the restricted list - two of the extremely innocent titles we all were joking about.

"Any idea why your books were restricted?"
"None at all."
"Have you tried appealing?"
"Can we?"

Oh yes. Didn't Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Fu Ah Kiow say the other day:

If the distributors feel that any of the restrictions are unfair, they can always appeal by sending the book to our Putrajaya headquarters for review. We will see what the problem is and correct it if necessary.

Perhaps there is inertia in the book industry. (Raman goes as far as suggesting those involved might feel more comfortable "selling rice, ikan bilis and sugar instead"). One book restricted, never mind there are plenty more books on the shelves.

Perhaps also there is fear. Raman reports that another book distributor had promised to give Raman a list of books which had been restricted, but was told:

No lah, my boss does not want to get involved, he said. After they stop all our shipment from Singapore, susah lah.

As Raman says:

This is precisely what book banners and book burners thrive on: fear. And book banning and book burning is where it all starts.

(Do read Raman's post in full as he works up a better head of outrage than I'm capable of.)

The books that are restricted, by the way, are not the only books missing from our shelves. There are now the books the distributors aren't even attempting to bring in.

I spoke to a distributor recently who said that he had brought in just a handful of copies of a book published in Singapore which contained three memoirs by individuals involved in the Emergency. (I have the book and it is of definite historical interest.)

He was sure that if he brought in copies in larger quantities to supply the bookshops, his books would be confiscated in Johor.

How many more books don't even make it here?

But he did say that with any title he feels might be considered controversial, he submits a copy to the Ministry headquarters in Putrajaya. And that so far he has had no trouble getting approval. Who said the KKDN are all bad guys?

Postscript (10 mins later!)

I just read Midnight Lily's earlier post on our Manuscripts Don't Burn blog. She picked up an article from the Sun which very nicely highlights the inconsistencies in the system. But clearly something is happening as a result of all the publicity. Deputy Minister of Internal Security Datuk Fu Ah Kiow acknowledges that there is a problem and says that the Minsitry will set out to address it:

While there is a guideline, the interpretation has not been consistent across the different entry points to the country and the ministry is trying to address this.

He said the ministry is improving the procedure and guidelines on the approval of permits to bring in foreign publications.

This includes streamlining the procedure at the entry points and creating better understanding between the ministry and local importers and publishers.

"The ministry's Publications and Quranic Text Control Division will meet book importers and publishers soon and if all goes well, we will have a better standardised guideline by March.

"We want a better understanding so that the industry will not incur unnecessary costs when they bring in books which will end up being banned and our officials will not have extra work for no reason," he said.

At present, he said, although there is a guideline, enforcement officers at different entry points tend to make different judgments when deciding on whether a particular book should be allowed into the country.

That is why we are also training our staff so that everyone will agree on the same thing when looking at a certain picture, he said.

We certainly hope so.

Seksan's on Saturday

Those who came to Seksen's yesterday afternoon enjoyed an afternoon of exciting storytelling.

First up was Nizam Zakaria who told us that his first novel Susuk (based on the film by Amir Mohammad) will be published by Marshall Cavendish in January. He also had a telefilm on TV a couple of nights ago. He said that since he's gone mainstream in his writing recently he sai that he had decided to go a little more subversive in this reading and gave us Chapter 7 from his novel Diva Dilla, his novel in progress.

Saras Manickam gave us the story of Dey Raju which appears in Silverfish New Writing 6. It's a very funny and sweet story about a case of mistaken identity and an Indian wedding. (I feel a great connection to the story because I was there the night it was born at Leah Ray's house one Friday evening for a supper and writing session.)

Actor/ comedian / playwright and all round nice guy Jit Murad made it this time (no rain or hailstones to prevent him!) and read a new piece - a stream-of-conciousness account of his childhood linked to the various houses where he had lived. Funny and touching and I hope he goes on with it and gets it published. I am greatly humbled that a successful writer like Jit can come along to an event like this to try out his new work before a live audience.

Animah Kosai reading a very important piece she's written. In this case not fiction, but a letter to the prime mininster re. "restricted books" for us all to sign. I will tell you more about this anon.

Dianadirani has two stories in the Neohikayat collection Aweks (forthcoming). She read us a piece of what she called "Malaysian chic-lit".

Chris Yin rushed over from a tennis tournament to read his story The Geology of Malaysia which was published in Silverfish New Writing 5, and which also (deservedly) made it into The Best of Silverfish New Writing.

I would like to thank La Bodega for generously sponsoring the wine for the event and Seksan for allowing us to use his beautiful space once again. And of course, the very supportive audience without whom nothing at all could have happened.

Next month "Readings" is scheduled for 23rd December and will mark the launch of Neohikayat's literary mag Elarti. More news later.

Update

Natasha's wonderfully arty efforts. (Sorry I "transformed" your name. Am just blur. And thanks for bringing the cakes.)

FIRSTWoRKS Firsts

Animah (left) snapped last night after the reading of her play Malacca 'o7 at Stor Theatre, Dewan Bahasa Friday night.

I rolled in late (horrible jams, taking the wrong turning off the highway, walking round in the dark trying to find the venue) and missed a good slice of the first play Shannon Shah's Air Con.

From the part I did see, it looked extremely interesting. Not least because I was a teacher in a school very much like the one attended by Shanon's characters. Though my boys didn't hang out with the transvestite prostitutes at the railway station ... did they? I liked the interplay betweeen Shanon's characters ... they felt very real.

Animah's play was intriguing. She took a real historical incident - the demolition of the Portuguese fort in Malacca and added a cast of characters which included a gutsy activist type heroine and an UMNO youth type guy out to foil her plans. I could vicariously see just how thrilling it must be to write something and have it lifted from the page by a cast of actors (who incidentally were excellent).

It's still a work in progress, so won't say too much here, but am so proud of my friend!

Incidentally, how do you pronounce the name of the British governor: William Farquhar. I'm as certain as only a Brit can be that it is pronounced (Farkwa) not, as the cast and Animah pronounced it (Fakuha). The name is Scottish and derives from the gaelic. Any Scots on the blog?

(To digress for a moment, the Brits have several surnames which are pronounced very differently from their spelling including Featherstonehawe which is pronounced 'Fanshawe', and Cholmondeley pronounced 'Chumley'. The pronunciation is simplified over time, though not the spelling as aristocratic families hold on to evidence of their lineage.)

Congrats to both new writers and to the others whose works were read last night at Stor.

Yes, am somewhat envious and thinking ... hey could I do this?

Newbie Playwrights Take on the World

Interview with my friend Animah Kosai in Starmag today about the writing of her play Melaka 2007 for Instant Cafe Theatre's First Works programme, which I blogged about the other day.

Animah talks about how she managed to fit writing into her life, when she says she has:

... a consuming job and a consuming child. ...

To do something unrelated is enjoyable. ... However, switching from legal writing to creative writing is a challenge ... Lawyers are trained to be very clear in their meaning. As a writer, it’s very boring being crystal clear. A lot of my characters will just put across a point of view and then there will be a counterview. It’s almost like watching a court battle in progress because that’s the way I think, that’s the way I talk.

The paper also features first time playwright Shanon Shah (who is also a journalist and singer/songwriter). He says:

Firstworks wants new works that confront serious issues, intelligently. Therefore, all participants have to dig into themes that really “burn” within them and ask: What are the demons I need to confront, within me and in my plays?

Shanon says that he is very angry about about how religion is being used to oppress people and has written Air Cond, a play about violence in a boy’s school to address the theme.

I’m continuously baffled by how little writing we have here. We have so many stories. If there’s so much to tell, Malaysians should say something.

- says Animah. To learn how you can participate in the programme and tell your own story through drama check back to my previous post.

Roses in Kino!

Evidence, if any is needed, that Animah hit Kinokuniya this lunch-time in pursuit of elusive romance among the bookshelves. Sadly there were no clandestine encounters by Sufi poetry (Where were you guys?) but I am so grateful for the copy of The Garden Of Heaven: Poems of Hafiz that she bought for me.

There was one surreal moment though when an extremely handsome young guy (dressed in black, long dark-hair tied back) materialised out of nowhere with a whole bag full of roses, presented one with a florish to a very stunned young lady standing just a few feet away from me ... and then fled the scene before she could protest. He wasn't an employee of Kinokuniya. Was it one of you? If so, well done.

I gave my rose to Arthur, a very nice young man on Kino's management team who stopped by to chat and ask how we thought the store was doing. (I have no complaints, just that I spend too much time and money in there.) Then Animah and I consoled ourselves with a cup of hot chocolate in the cafe upstairs.

Time Travelling

Arrived late at Animah's. ("Sorry I was time travelling.") The others already tucking into delicious Yong Tau Foo. (I'm sure that if Animah ever wanted to stop being a lawyer she could always set up a very profitable stall somewhere.)

It was a most enjoyable evening of friendship, booktalk and conversation. The Time Traveler's Wife was very much enjoyed by the group, even Kumar, the only guy in the group who said he is a real sucker for a romance! Well, well.

Our resident geneticist, Sham, who was leading the discussion anyway, rubbished the science but gave us a talk on genes anyway just to show she knows her chromosomes. We decided that Niffenegger should have used theories of physics rather than biology to convince us that time travel was possible (we have a vacancy for a resident quantum physicist!) ... but suspension of disbelief is the main thing anyway, this is fantasy.

Interesting point raised: if the gender roles in the book had been reversed i.e. the woman was the time traveller, would the book still have worked? Would a husband have waited so faithfully for his time-travelling wife?

Also, if your husband slipped back in time to make love to your 18 year old self with a perfect body, would your thirty-something self get jealous?

Also, how could Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston possibly play the leads in the film. (Kumar votes for Angelina Jolie ... but then he always suggests her for every film role.)

Our evening ended (as usual) with Jessica's tales of the haunted houses of Bangsar, complete with tales of bodies in suitcases, bodies in drains. She's such a good story teller, although of course embroiders for effect. I think she could make a killing (no pun intended) if she started Ghost Tours of Bangsar much like the ones we have in London. She certainly knows all the local haunts!