A Closer Look at the Theme of Being “Unhomely” in the Works of Wong Phui Nam- An Islamic Perspective
Among other things, the poetry of Wong Phui Nam has been found to be appealing to his critics and admirers because of its unique take on the concept of “home”- in that his poems display a sense of “unhomeliness”. Take this verse from the Nocturnes and Bagatelles collection for instance:
How long must I bend
in this uncertainty
I in my thought like flowers
toward every uncertain light,
how long must I labour
working from every bud
which folds within its calyx my emptiness
toward each spoor of rain
that I in my separateness
should move toward
full flowering of the human
that my words may quicken
with the grief and laughter
of every alien heart.
in this uncertainty
I in my thought like flowers
toward every uncertain light,
how long must I labour
working from every bud
which folds within its calyx my emptiness
toward each spoor of rain
that I in my separateness
should move toward
full flowering of the human
that my words may quicken
with the grief and laughter
of every alien heart.
For a reader who is familiar with Phui Nam’s thoughts on the state and position he takes with regards to Malaysian literature in English, this verse would be taken to illustrate Phui Nam’s discontent when it comes to how both the language he chooses to write in (a variety of Malaysian English he terms as Educated Malaysian English (EMS)) and his racial status are very much marginalized by the respective national policies regarding them. This entry provides an Islamic perspective on the theme of “unhomeliness” in Wong Pui Nam’s works, with particular attention paid to the collection found in Nocturnes and Bagatelles.
The Islamic perspective we would offer with regards to this issue is as follows; there is clearly a general feeling of discontentment among Malaysian writers who either write primarily or exclusively in English, stemming from how these writers are not given the due recognition which they deserve. This is clearly an aspect of the national language policies which is lacking. The term “Malaysian literature” needs to be broadened to include literary works in other languages other than the Malay language. The Islamic approach would be to celebrate the diversity we have in Malaysian literature, as opposed to exclude literature in English and other languages besides Malay. For the sake of promoting the growth of Malaysian literature in general, the term “Malaysian literature itself needs to be more inclusive.
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About Me
- imansakinahnabila
- We are the proud fans of the works of the great Malaysian poet, Wong Pui Nam.
About Me
My name is Nabilah Lokmal.
:: aLL aBoUT Me ::
Muizatul iman...a name given by my mother.I was born on 24th November 1987 and grown up in Johor.I am a student in a well-known university called IIUM.I'm majoring in Arabic language and minoring in English language.Insyaallah this semester is my final semester in IIUM.
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My name is Nur Sakinah, i am taking BENL and majoring in Combination.i am keen to learn new things from this course as i am an enthusiast in every positive thing in this world. As simple as that.
1 comments:
This is an interesting problem. Why do the administrators of the awards refuse to change the rules to include Malaysian Literature written in English? How do they benefit by the exclusion?
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