This month, we paint the town purple. Join Dr Vilashini Somiah and Rizal Rozhan as they discuss Dr Vila's new book 'Irregular Migrants and the Sea at the Borders of Sabah, Malaysia: Pelagic Alliance'. Listen to stories of how migrant women found strength, courage and empowerment through the sea.

Storyteller Heidi Shamsuddin takes us into the magical world of Malaysian folktales, offering two captivating tales for young listeners: ‘The Biggest Basket in the World’ is a strange and wonderful story of how a magical talking knife manages to persuade the laziest girl in the world to weave the biggest basket in the world. ‘The Tale of Hitam Manis’ is a dark folktale that contains the secret to harvesting the coveted tualang honey from the tallest tree in the rainforest.
Recorded live during GTLF2021, 28 November 2021. 

Anthologies are textual communities, a microcosm of a larger literary society. In this conversation, Anna Tan, editor of Penang-themed ‘Home Groan’, and Deric Ee, editor of ‘KL Noir: Magic’, share their thoughts and experiences on how they put together these recently-published anthologies. What kind of conceptual ideas and editorial decisions go into the making of an anthology? What do editors look for in the works they curate, select or commission? Anna and Deric also consider how their respective anthologies capture the distinctive spirit of place and people — of Penang and Kuala Lumpur.

Recorded live during GTLF2021, 28 November 2021. 

Muara, the Malay word for estuary, is a passage of fluidity and connection, where the river meets the open sea. Muara evokes a place where we find ourselves between the memory of land and the lure of the unknown deep. In these pages, writers engage in ideas and imaginings, interpreting the shifting shoreline of our realities. The ink we leave upon this topography are traces of ourselves, inscribing this moment in the ebb and flow of existence. A collaboration between George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) and Svara journal, Muara celebrates the 10th Anniversary of GTLF and Penang as a vibrant port and cosmopolitan city in the Southeast Asian region. Featuring essays, short stories, poetry, book reviews, and translations, Muara gathers established and emerging writers from Malaysia, the region, and the world.

Recorded live during GTLF2021, 27 November 2021.

A handwritten Diary was meticulously kept by Father Marcel Rouhan, the Director of the College General in Penang, during World War Two. While most Allied citizens were evacuated before the entry of the Japanese troops, the French missionaries remained behind as ‘neutral’ subjects. The Diary, therefore, is an exceptional eyewitness account of the Japanese occupation in Malaya. As a chronicle of stories of daily survival interspersed with descriptions of major events, the Diary teems with socio-historical details. The Diary has been translated, introduced, and annotated by Serge Jardin, a French author long domiciled in Malaysia. Join Serge Jardin for the book launch of Diary of a French Missionary: Penang during the Japanese Occupation, published by Areca Books.

Recorded live during GTLF2021, 27 November 2021. 

What compels a writer to write? Is it an irrepressible need to tell a story, to delight in the play of the imagination, or perhaps as a form of escapism? In this conversation, Penang-born writer Wan Phing Lim, and Penang-based writers Regina Ibrahim and Marc de Faoite discuss the complexities of character and world-building in their short stories. They also explore the challenges of bringing a story to life and inviting readers to participate as co-creators in their little worlds of make-believe.

Recorded live during GTLF2021, 28 November 2021. 

Perbualan: Nur Adilla bersama M. Navin

Sejarah panjang sastera Malaysia sememangnya rencam. Walaupun di mata negara sastera kebangsaan hanya yang berbahasa Melayu, kita sebaliknya menemukan kepelbagaian ketika turun ke ranah masyarakat. Karya-karya ditulis, kesusasteraan dibangunkan, dan aneka kenyataan diungkapkan melalui pelbagai macam bahasa. Salah satunya bahasa Tamil. Dalam perbualan ini, Nur Adilla mengintai seperti apa ekosistem sastera Tamil di Malaysia melalui jendela M. Navin, seorang penulis cerpen yang semakin diterjemahkan ke pelbagai bahasa ini. Kita kemudian dibawa untuk melihat bagaimana M. Navin menggunakan cerpen untuk mencabar hal-hal di sekitarnya.

Perbualan: Syed Omar Husain bersama Zakaria Ali

Jika dicari satu sosok yang boleh memimpin kita menelusuri simpang-siur denai sastera dan seni Malaysia dari 1970-an hingga sekarang, maka kita akan menuju ke Zakaria Ali. Anak kelahiran Rembau ini sudah meninggalkan jejak-jejak di kedua-dua ranah yang sering berkait ini. Karya-karya beliau dalam bentuk puisi, cerpen, dan novel, malah terjemahan, mahupun seni rupa—barangkali menjadi wadah untuk beliau meneroka dan meluahkan beberapa perkara, terutamanya bahasa dan rasa. Kita mencari makna sastera nasional dan hal-hal lain seputar sastera Malaysia dari kacamata orang yang petah berbahasa Melayu, Inggeris, dan Sepanyol ini.

Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Juvita Tatan Wan, Nazry Bahrawi in conversation with Adriana Nordin Manan

How can literature decolonize? How do we know we are actively and critically decolonizing and what marks an endpoint for it? If we are resisting certain narratives because they pin us under the yoke of colonialism, what narratives should take their place, and how can they come into conversation with one another? Kenyan-US writer and scholar Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Sarawakian cultural advocate and producer Juvita Tatan Wan, and Singaporean scholar and translator Nazry Bahrawi speak to Adriana Nordin Manan about the complexities of local and indigenous vs colonizing languages, written vs oral literature, cultural erasure, and crafting new narratives in a world ripe for rethinking and renewal. They also discuss what the decolonizing project looks like in corners of Asia and Africa, and the possibilities for solidarity between writers and translators across continents.

Perbualan: Badrul Hisham bersama Linda Christanty, Noor Azam Shairi

Kewartawanan semakin ‘tenat’, bukan hanya kerana dihimpit politik, tetapi juga barah yang sedang merebak dari dalam. Mungkin kerana hidup hari ini yang selalu menuntut kecepatan dan kesegeraan dalam banyak hal. Kewartawanan ikut terjerumus dalam urusan jual beli perhatian. Mutu penulisan kewartawanan terkorban. Perbualan ini membawa pendengar menyelongkar genre penulisan bukan-cereka berbentuk kreatif yang tidak kurang penting dalam dunia penulisan. Apakah yang terjadi di pertemuan antara sastera dan penulisan esei bukan rekaan? Bagaimana juga sastera boleh menyelamatkan kewartawanan yang pernah menjadi pengasuhnya ini?

Marina Mahathir in conversation with Melisa Idris

What is it like to be the daughter of Malaysia’s most iconic leader? Marina Mahathir speaks to Melisa Idris about her newly published memoir, ‘The Apple and the Tree: Life as Dr. Mahathir’s Daughter’. She reflects on the challenges of truth-telling in a memoir — digging past our own vanities and the stories we tell ourselves, the discomfort of writing in vulnerability, the difficulty of writing about family and loved ones, and on her hopes for the future of this country.

Paul GnanaSelvam and Danielle Lim in conversation with Vernon Adrian Emuang

Can writing ‘cleanse the doors of perception’, as William Blake once said, and allow us to see life as it is? Singapore Book of the Year Award winner Danielle Lim and Malaysian writer Paul GnanaSelvam speak to Vernon Adrian Emuang about how their short stories open up our perception to the inner workings of the psyche, and reveal how the self is shaped by social forces. While Danielle’s writing examines the subtleties of personal relationships in difficult situations, Paul’s stories bring to the fore the challenges of the Malaysian Indian community in our complex multicultural milieu.

Souvankham Thammavongsa in conversation with Sharmilla Ganesan

Literature tends to view the experience of refugees and migrants through the lens of terrible tragedy or extraordinary achievement, with characters portrayed as victims or heroes. In her debut short story collection, ‘How to Pronounce Knife’, Souvankham Thammavongsa subverts these literary tropes and reveals refugees and migrants as ordinary people. In this conversation, the 2020 Giller Prize winner speaks to Sharmilla Ganesan about the role of laughter in her fiction, her reorientation of ‘centre’ and ‘margins’, moving between poetry and prose, and how her writing is an invigorating refusal of pity.

This conversation is supported by the High Commission of Canada in Malaysia.

Perbualan: Hafizah Iszahanid bersama Sheera Ghafar, Ruhaini Matdarin, Azrin Fauzi

Resah gelisah hidup dalam dunia yang tidak menentu ini tidak lain tidak bukan menuntut kita untuk berkhayal dan terus-menerus membangkitkan semula pesona hidup. Cerpen adalah salah satu pintu masuknya. Melaluinya penulis mencipta dan mengawal keajaiban alamnya sendiri, dan pembaca dibawa untuk menjelajah. Namun, apakah pembahagian alam nyata dan tak nyata, atau cereka dan bukan-cereka ini, bermakna lagi buat penulis? Bersama tiga orang penulis cerpen Malaysia bercerita tentang cara mereka menggambarkan dunia mereka melalui cerpen.

Jan Wagner in conversation with Pauline Fan

A tea bag unravels into a cosmic vision; a swarm of insects dance like ancient inscriptions freed from stone. One of the most celebrated German poets of his generation, Jan Wagner’s poetry illuminates the everyday world with a sense of wonder and playfulness. In this conversation with GTLF Director Pauline Fan, Jan Wagner shares his thoughts on the magic of poetry, his poetic sensibilities and influences, and how a detailed observation of physical reality reveals contours of the metaphysical.

This conversation is supported by Goethe-Institut Malaysia.

Sanaz Fotouhi and Indrani Kopal in conversation with Shazmin Shamsuddin

How does the medium of documentary open up possibilities of storytelling? What is the nature of the documentary lens through which a narrative plays out? Iranian-born Australian filmmaker, writer, and scholar, Sanaz Fotouhi, and award-winning Malaysian filmmaker, Indrani Kopal, speak to Shazmin Shamsuddin about how much of oneself is inherent when directing and filming a documentary, and how documentary offers viewers access to stories they may never come across.

Perbualan: Faisal Tehrani, Azhar Ibrahim

Sejarah panjang kepulauan Nusantara adalah sejarah perantau. Sejak berabad-abad, di kepulauan Sumatera, Jawa, mahupun semenanjung Tanah Melayu, orang-orang keluar masuk dan berpindah-randah atas pelbagai tujuan, baik untuk berdagang, membina keluarga, atau lari dari keluarga. Malah, kita mengenal banyak kata Melayu yang menggambarkan tindakan meninggalkan tanah sendiri ini: rantau, kembara, kelana, petualang, pelimbang, dan banyak lagi. Bagaimana sastera, khususnya sastera lisan dan tulis Melayu, baik yang dahulu dan sekarang, merakam tema ini?

Tim Parks in conversation with Eddin Khoo

In this sprawling conversation acclaimed novelist, essayist and translator Tim Parks speaks to Eddin Khoo about his myriad preoccupations and diversions — writing across genres, translating Italian literature, on language and reading, and the politics of culture today. The conversation also invokes great figures of Italian literature and history as it meanders from a reflection on Dante in our times, to Garibaldi whose footsteps Tim retraces in his new book, and a personal recollection of the towering literary polymath, Roberto Calasso.

Perbualan: Jack Malik, Ainunl Muaiyanah

Penyair hadir sebagai tukang bicara dan pembawa semangat zamannya. Mereka adalah orang yang terus-menerus berusaha untuk mencari kebebasan, bertelingkah dengan bahasa, dan membebaskan bahasa bagi mengungkap segala yang tidak terungkap oleh bahasa sehari-hari. Namun, tidak mudah untuk para penyair hari ini untuk lepas dari bayangan para pendahulu mereka, khususnya para penyair yang diangkat oleh negara. Bagaimana penyair hari ini, khususnya penyair muda, menimbang-nimbang perkara ini? Bagaimana kita mengekalkan hubungan dengan yang lama, tetapi tetap mampu mencipta bahasa dan melahirkan suara sendiri?

Perbualan: Eka Kurniawan, Wan Nor Azriq

Dua orang pengarang prolifik Malaysia dan Indonesia bertemu secara maya. Mereka mula berdialog tentang proses kepengarangan masing-masing. Di pertengahan, kedua-duanya singgah ke karya-karya sendiri, menanggapi seperti apa wajah dan semangat karya-karya mereka yang sudah menjelma dalam bahasa-bahasa asing, khususnya Inggeris. Di penghujung, kita diajak untuk membayangkan bagaimana, pada waktu yang tidak menentu, dua negara serumpun ini tetap mampu berkongsi cerita.