How about reviving KL world poetry reading event?
THE recent celebration of the World Poetry Day on March 21 reminded me of the Kuala Lumpur World Poetry Readings (PPDKL). It was held once every two years since 1988 until 2004.
For me, PPDKL is one of many wonderful moments in my life. It so happened that I witnessed the preparation of the first PPDKL in 1988. I was working at the Russian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur then.
Kemala, an old friend of mine since the 1970s when I was still a student at University Malaya, was responsible for this event. He asked me to convince Bella Akhmadulina, the famous Russian woman poet, to participate in the first PPDKL. Indeed, when I visited Akhmadulina at her home in Moscow, she was sceptical because she did not know much about Malaysia’s literary life.
But after I read a few of Kemala’s poems to her, she was so impressed by the sound of the Malay language which seemed so sweet and pervading that she decided to come to PPDKL with her husband, Boris Messerer, a famous theatre artiste. We also agreed that I would translate two of her favourite poems September Again and Mantera into Malay.
Unfortunately, I did not have time to follow the first PPDKL. But when Akhmadulina returned to Moscow, I had the opportunity to chat with her. She was very impressed with the poetry event in Kuala Lumpur, especially because of the great interest among Malaysians in poetry. When I left her house in central Moscow, I saw a bouquet of orchids on her table. Akhmadulina proudly informed me: “That’s a gift from my poetry lovers from Malaysia!”
Six years passed and I was again in Malaysia exactly during the PPDKL of 1994. At that time, I joined PPDKL officially as a poet and translator of poetry. The atmosphere was very exciting — poets from all over the world performed at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, at the Central Market, in Seremban and in Johor Baru where then menteri besar Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin warmly greeted us as the host.
The response from poetry lovers was incredibly friendly. And not only that: a forum like PPDKL gave participants the opportunity to exchange opinions, get acquainted with the most modern trends in poetry, and believe that poetry is needed by people because it makes their hearts more sincere, humane and compassionate.
Indeed, fate was again on my side, giving me the opportunity to see another PPDKL in 2002 when Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka asked me to convince the poet Andrey Voznesensky to come to Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, Voznesensky was busy at that time with other events but he advised me to meet Elena Taneva, a talented female poet. She appeared on the Russian poetry arena quite late, but her voice was heard by all Russian poetry lovers.
Her way to recite poems that is sincere and emotional amazed the Malaysian audience. After the opening ceremony of PPDKL where she sang her poem “Seagull”, she was approached by Professor Bruno R. Rodrigue who told “Well done! Madam, since today you are famous in Malaysia!”
Taneva admitted to me that she loved being in Malaysia because of the love of the people for poetry. Poetry, she said, grows in the fertile soil of Malaysia and perhaps because of that there are so many talented poets here.
Taneva’s meetings with Malaysians, namely Professor Datuk Dr Hashim Yaacob, Kemala, Hamdan Yahya, a Tamil guy Maren, whom she met and recited a poem to him, and foster mother Rumina in Kampung Kuantan, Selangor, inspired her to write many poems about Malaysia, which were published in the book Veter Bungaraya (The Wind of Bunga Raya) in 2003, in Moscow.
Surely through Taneva’s poetry, more Russians got to know Malaysia and its poets, hearing about “Jamek mosque in the middle of coconut trees”; “stars shining above the mosque tower” and “muezzin voice” that “reaches the sky”. Who knows maybe because of that in the hearts of Russian readers a desire was born to visit Malaysia, which for Taneva “was a gift of destiny”.
And it is a pity that this wonderful event stopped. Maybe it is high time to think about its revival?