Farish Launches Another Book

Apologies for blogging this booklaunch a bit late, but I hope some of you can make it. I plan to go and I'm really looking forward to getting a copy of this :

FARISH NOOR’S “WHAT YOUR TEACHER DIDN'T TELL YOU: The Annexe Lectures Vol.1”

Book Launch

Sat 5 Dec, 8pm

Presented by Matahari Books

Admission Free

Matahari Books is proud to launch Farish A. Noor’s latest book “WHAT YOUR TEACHER DIDN'T TELL YOU: The Annexe Lectures, Vol.1”. The book is especially significant for us as it collects the texts of Farish’s free public lectures at The Annexe Gallery. Hurray!

Farish A. Noor might just be Malaysia's hippest intellectual. His gifts are on full display in these expanded versions of public lectures that he delivered at The Annexe Gallery, Central Market Kuala Lumpur in 2008 and 2009.

Find out how “racial difference” became such a big deal in Malaysia, and contrast this against the way our distant ancestors lived. Discover the hidden stories of the keris, Hang Tuah and PAS. There's also quite a bit of sex. Erudite, impassioned and sometimes just plain naughty, “WHAT YOUR TEACHER DIDN'T TELL YOU” is a stimulating plunge into aspects of our past that have been kept from us.

The 288-page book also contains dozens of sepia-toned photographs, many from Farish's own collection of antiques. There's even a bonus chapter! And it's printed on thick (128 gsm) fully recycled paper. Retail price: RM40 (RM5 off at the launch).

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EVENT PROGRAMME

Launch by Sara (age 5), fairy kid
Speech by Farish A. Noor
Birthday cake for Amir Muhammad
+ Secret surprise!

This launch event is co-sponsored by The Annexe Gallery and The Other Malaysia.

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PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY NOW

If you can't make it to the launch but would like to pre-order an autographed copy, you are most welcome! Just deposit RM40 (free delivery within Malaysia) to Maybank 014105120512 (Amir Muhammad) and email your confirmation and address to matahari.books@gmail.com

This offer ends on the night of 4 December. Farish will autograph the books at the launch and they will be posted via registered post on 7 December.

Farish's Next Book - Illustrated

Message from Farish Noor via Facebook :

Ok chums, some generous bloke by the name of Amir Muhammad wants to publish the public lectures that I gave at the Central Market Annexe over the year. The book ought to come out by the end of the year and I hope to see you at the launch. In the meantime I'm sending these pics to Amir to brighten up the book a little bit, as apparently my writings are not exciting enough.

This is really good news and I'm cheering for both author and publisher. Can't wait for a copy.

Farish's pics are here, and of course his writing is on The Other Malaysia website.

Indiepenance Day

July 4th is Indiepenance Day.

No, don't jump on me for a spelling error. You see Matahari Books and Stormkitchen will be launching New Malaysian Essays 2 and Elarti:ga respectively on that day. And Amir notes :

Those of you who will read Yusuf Martin's essay will appreciate the irony of the date.

They are having a barbecue house party to celebrate at 22 Lorong Rahim Kajai 13, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. (This is the side of TTDI that is closer to the primary school than to the Pizza Hut). It starts at 8pm and ends at 11pm.

More about book and party here on Amir's blog.

Another Serving of Mangosteen Crumble

From Amir Muhammed via Facebook :

1) One of the most interesting local poetry collections I have come across, Charlene Rajendran’s MANGOSTEEN CRUMBLE (1999, Team East) has been out of print for many years. I’ve decided to bring it back into circulation by turning it into a book that is not a book. (Eh, what talking me?) I am making the whole book available online, at the rate of one poem per day, starting today at noon, right up to May 8. Let Charlene be your day-time Sheherazade. Taste the words for yourself over at http://mangosteen-crumble.blogspot.com/ and if you like ‘em, bookmark the blog and spread da word. I also wrote about the book in my Malay Mail column today.

2. Ahem! I will, of course, be publishing Charlene’s second book, TAXI TALES ON A CROOKED BRIDGE, her non-fiction book based on her conversations with the taxi drivers of Singapore, where she now lives and works. It’s not a book of poetry although there are some pointed poems. It’s a quirky, lively take on all kinds of politics, and is in a rather unusual shape too. (No, it’s not shaped like a taxi). It’s about to go to the printer and will be launched 9 May 4pm as part of the 2nd KL Alternative Bookfest (KLAB) at The Annexe, Central Market, KL. Charlene will be in KL for that whole weekend (9/10 May) so if you’d like to interview her for your newspaper or magazine or blog, do let me know, and I will make sure you get the book in advance.

3. The editors Jerome and Pang are almost done with the selection for BODY 2 BODY, the first Malaysian anthology of queer writing, where you don’t even have to be gay to take part! They will pick 20 out of the 59 submissions. There are enough good entries, so we don’t have to extend the deadline. The successful writers will be informed by 7 April, as will the ones who didn’t get chosen.

4. PEKAN SEHARI SHAH ALAM. Matahari Books has a booth at this new monthly event, which takes place Saturday 25 April at Laman Menara Jam, Dataran Shah Alam, from 3-9pm. As the place-name suggests, just look for the clock tower. The very next day, we will be back at the Amcorp Mall flea market, 10am-6pm. When we were at Amcorp last month, we had buyers from as far away as Mexico! 5. BUKU UNTUK FILEM:ESTET is done but can’t be released as the film does not yet have a confirmed release date. And the book has to come out at the same time. We can wait. Have a good month ahead, yawl. regards, amir. 012 2311 584 matahari.books@gmail.com

Hmmm ... taxi driver conversations have also of course been served up quite recently by Khaled Al Khamissi (his book Taxi was republished here last year by ZI Publications), and of course in the form of poetry by Chris Mooney-Singh in a really fun collection called The Laughing Buddha Cab Company. Taxi drivers in Malaysia and Singapore are a breed apart - though I personally don't think anyone else's match up to this one! (But then, I'm biased.)

Aren't you impressed with the publisher who sets up table in flea markets to sell his books? I really am.

I've been meaning to blog about Amir's reviews again for a while. Every week they appear the The Malay Mail and every week they are really interesting reads - especially for me as many of the books he reviews are out of print or in Malay. Do go spend some time browsing them on his blog.

Oh darn it, why not put up a picture of Amir since I'm in his fan club? Here he is (right) with Reza Rosli at Readings@Seksan on Saturday and the picture is stolen from Azwan's Facebook page.

Amir on Fairly Current Show

Gosh! It's that Amir Muhammad again, popping up this time on The Fairly Current Show to talk about his new book Politicians Say the Darndest Things Vol 2 and why publishes non-fiction. (I get a mention, haha!)



The book is to be launched on Feb 14th at 6 p.m. at The Annexe, Central Market, where the special guest will be ... a chocolate fountain. (Wish all guests of honour were that interesting.)

Even before it's official launch, the book is no. 3 in MPH's hit parade!

There's much more of interest on Amir's blog . I hadn't realised that his latest film Malaysian Gods has been "restricted" ( a neither here or there kind of banning), without any reason being given. More at The Nutgraph.

Then he set up an art installlation in Rotterdam complete with white IKEA furniture and dozens of copies of Danny Lim's Malaysian Book of the Undead.

And his excellent reviews for his Pulp Friction Column continue in The Malay Mail, the latest being for Fatimah's Kampung. The week before he tackled a study called SEXUAL IDENTITY: Effeminacy Among University Students which he finds quite a hilarious read.

I wonder where Amir gets his energy from? I seem to be just watching open-mouthed from the sidelines as he swooshes Superman-like from genre to genre ... getting banned here, making best-seller lists there ... always unassuming and good-natured.

Writing Body 2 Body

You are invited to submit pieces to a new anthology Body 2 Body :Writings on Alternative Sexuality in Malaysia, which will be edited by Jerome Kugan and Pang Khee Teik, and published by Matahari Books and launched in August next year.

The entries should depict queer or alternative sexuality in Malaysia, or of Malaysian queers' experience in the world and there is a very broad remit in terms of genre you can write in - fiction, true life accounts, essays, memoir, excerpts from novel or play are all fine, although they do not accept verse. The deadline is Sat 28 Feb, 2009 and entries can be emailed to matahari.books@gmail.com with the heading "Body2Body".

Full submission guidelines can be found here.

The Undead Danny Lim

Some of us may not believe in the supernatural world but we are always curious about it.

Malaysia is blessed with kinds of ghosts the rest of the world has never heard of (as I mentioned once before, here). And being such a multicultural land, every race has brought their own ghouls along to add to the cultural mix.

Danny Lim (left) talks to Bissme S. in the Sun about his new book The Malaysian Book of the Undead .

Here's a guide to some of the fellows you will find among the pages :

Hantu Bunyi-Bunyian
Ghosts that are only heard but not seen. They like to confuse people in the jungle. In Malay folklore, they could marry humans and even bear invisible children. Marriage with such a ghost can grant the human spouse magical powers.

Hantu Gerasi
A gigantic ghost accompanied by its spectral hounds, believed by the Ibans, to have a voracious appetite, especially for human beings. When hungry, the ghost is said to bring sickness. Whenever an Iban village experiences an epidemic of sorts, a special hut will be erected and food offered to appease it.

Hantu Balung Bidai
An evil spirit that lives in water, resembles a mat and with a mouth at each corner. It wraps itself around victims and drown them.

Hantu Langut
This hunter ghost with a dog’s head on a human body originates from Pahang. It tells of a father and son who went hunting with their dog in tow. A leech bit the father’s foot. He sliced it in two but was amazed to see the leech reattach itself and become whole again. The father thought if his own head were cut off, it could be reattached with leech blood. He asked his son to do it but alas, the head rolled into a crevice in the rocks. Panic-stricken, the son cut off the dog’s head, fixing it on his father’s body, and smearing it with leech blood. The father was revived but was so ashamed of his appearance that he remained in the depths of the jungle as the Hantu Langut.

Mohini Pisasu
A seductive female ghost in Indian folklore, this temptress dressed in white with anklets roams the night seducing unsuspecting bachelors. She leads them into the jungle and kills them.

Vellaisamy
This male counterpart of the Mohini Pisasu is fond of occupying the bodies of young female virgins who begin to display male behaviour like smoking cigarette. The Vellaisamy-possessed girls can finish a cigarette in a single, long drag without any smoke coming out of their mouths.

I think it will be fun hantu spotting at the Halloween launch this Friday.

Psst - Amir is offering some free copies to bloggers, but I'm not going to tell you about that, because I want one myself.

(Right - an illustration from the book about a ghost with big boobies called a churel .)

Spooky Book Launch for Undead Malaysians

If you aren't too busy revving your broomstick or sticking your fangs into people's necks or otherwise scaring up the neighborhood, you might like to attend a truly ghoulish halloween launch of not one but several books by ZI publications, Matahari Books and Oxygen.

The books involved are :

Taxi by Khaled al-Khamissi (ZI Publications) (RM25)
The Malaysian Book of The Undead by Danny Lim (Matahari Books) (RM20)

Three mini-books, collectively known as Tiga, published by Oxygen:
- Lost in KL by Bernice Chauly (RM7)
- Kayangan by Ruhayat X (RM7)
- Pasca Manusia by Sufian Abas (RM7)

You are all invited to this unique event. Please see the event's Facebook page for more details and RSVP your attendance there.

Date: Friday, Oct 31st, 2008
Venue: Rahsia Restaurant, KL
Time: 8.00pm - 10.00pm
Dress: Costume (ghost, ancient Egyptian, as yourself, anything you want...).

More about the books later on.