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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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: 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: 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?

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.

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.