In search of belonging
Celebrate all things literary with local and international personalities during this year’s George Town Literary Festival.
THE Welsh word “hiraeth” has no equivalent in the English language. Simply put, it means “the longing for a homeland that is no longer there”.
According to George Town Literary Festival 2016 festival director Bernice Chauly, this word is deeply resonant of the times we live in today. Which is why hiraeth is the theme of this year’s inaugural festival.
“It is a universal longing to belong to a place, a people, a land, a meaning. It is about the state of the planet, and the state of our current humanity,” Chauly says in an e-mail interview.
“This desire is profoundly human, it is intrinsic to who we are, and it is this that has driven the world to a certain madness. How do we reclaim a world that is on the verge on self-destruction? How will we write of this in our histories? Will we survive? And how?”
Next weekend, over 60 writers, poets, performers, filmmakers and musicians from all around the world will converge in George Town to discuss this theme. Book lovers can look forward to a three-day celebration of poetry and prose through panel discussions, readings, spoken word performances, workshops, film screenings and more.
This year’s keynote address will be delivered by leading Malaysian feminist activist and writer Zainah Anwar (who writes the Sharing The Nation column in The Star), with headlining Malaysian writers that include National Laureate of Malaysia Muhammad Haji Salleh, Tash Aw, Faisal Tehrani, Dina Zaman and Karim Raslan.
Expect also international names such as acclaimed Dutch writer Adriaan van Dis, Indonesian author Ayu Utami, Flemish writer Stefan Hertmans, award-winning Indian playwright/filmmaker Mahesh Dattani, American/Arab writer and poet Natalie Handal, Russian/ German writer Olga Martynova, Indian dancer and poet Tishani Doshi, Thai writer and publisher Prabda Yoon, and many more.
This is the sixth edition of this literary festival, which is the only one in Malaysia that is funded by a State Government.
Here are some highlights of the festival.
Zunar’s Outdoor Cartoon Exhibition
Nov 25-28, all day, Pengkalan Weld Renowned political cartoonist Zunar (full name Zulkiflee Anwar Haque) is the recipient of the Cartooning For Peace Award 2016 (Geneva) and the Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award 2011 by Cartoonists Right Network International (Washington). Twenty of his best cartoons will be displayed on giant billboards in this unique outdoor exhibition.
Hiraeth: opening lecture by A.C. Grayling
Nov 25, 8pm-9pm, Black Kettle, Beach Street
One of the fundamental aspects of human nature is the desire to belong: to a place, to a people, and to a meaning. Grayling, the Master of the New College of the Humanities, London, and its professor of philosophy, shares his thoughts on the theme. Grayling is also the author of over 30 books of philosophy, biography, history of ideas, and essays. He has twice been a judge on the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, serving as chair of the judging panel in 2015.
Panel Discussion: The Malay Dilemma Part 2
Nov 26, 10am-11am, Room 2, Wisma Yeap Chor Ee, China Street Ghaut
One of 2015’s festival highlights continues this year. Five writers and thinkers address the most crucial issues of being Malay, how religion plays a part (or not) in their work, and how it contributes to the larger issue of being Malaysian in a time of crisis and transformation.
The panellists are Faisal Tehrani, Zainah Anwar, Zairil Khir Johari, Karim Raslan and Dina Zaman, with Ahmad Fuad Rahmat as moderator.
The D.K. Dutt Memorial Award For Literary Excellence
Nov 26, 1pm-2pm, Classroom, Wisma Yeap Chor Ee, China Street Ghaut
This is a Malaysian literary award to reward the spirit of creative thinking, fostered by the late D.K. Dutt, a renowned educator and sports person who was once president of the Schools Sports Council of Malaysia. Champion Fellas, an anthology of the best submissions from 2015 is currently selling in bookstores. This year’s winners will be announced during this ceremony.
Panel Discussion: Cultural Appropriation – Who Gets to Write About What
Nov 26, 3.15pm-4.15pm Room 2, Wisma Yeap Chor Ee, China Street Ghaut
Writers should be free to create characters and inhabit their worlds as best as they can. Or can they not? In a time when literary freedoms are being challenged more than ever, how do we navigate the murky lines that deal with race, culture and identity?
Panellists are Amanda Lee Koe, Tash Aw, James Scudamore, and Nathalie Handal, with Umapagan Ampikaipakan as moderator. Dance Solo: The Things I Carry Nov 26, 6.30pm-7.30pm, Courtyard, Wisma Yeap Chor Ee, China Street Ghaut
“My body is an archive of my experiences, my sensations, my history, my ancestors.” Performer Lee Su-Feh explores these ideas through storytelling, song, movement and our electronic devices. The Things I Carry is a work that was developed during the Migrant Bodies Project, an EU-sponsored choreographic project aimed at opening up civil and artistic reflection on migrations and their cultural impact for European and Canadian societies.
Solo Performance: How Enid Blyton Changed My Life
Nov 27, noon-12.45pm, Classroom, Wisma Yeap Chor Ee, China Street Ghaut
It is Enid Blyton, Robert Dessaix believes, rather than the big literary names like Pushkin or Proust who has had the most enduring effect on his imagination. Dessaix is a writer, translator and broadcaster whose best-known books are the autobiography A Mother’s Disgrace (1994), the novels Night Letters (1996) and Corfu (2001), and the travel memoirs Twilight Of Love (2004) and Arabesques (2008).
Fixi double book launch
Nov 27, 5pm-6pm, Classroom, Wisma Yeap Chor Ee, China Street Ghaut
Indie publisher Fixi repeats its double launch from last year with brand new books by authors Regina Ibrahim and Julya Oui. Regina’s Malay novel, Delima, is about an allgirl band that takes readers on a musical, culinary and commercial journey through places like Penang and Indonesia. Oui’s short story collection, Them Horrors Be Everywhere, completes the sinister triptych that started with Here Be Nightmares (2014) and continued with There Be Monsters (2015). The George Town Literary Festival takes place at various venues around Penang’s capital from Nov 25 to 27. For more information, including a full schedule of events, visit georgetownlitfest.com. You can also call 04-261 6161 or e-mail questions to info@ georgetownlitfest.com.