THE heart of Malaysian literature continues to beat as a total of 860 poets submitted 1,913 poetry submissions for the Malaysian Poetry Writing Competition 2021, mooted by the University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) in collaboration with Maya Press.
The competition, curated for Malaysian writers of all ages to showcase unique literary perspectives, invited the submission of original unpublished poems on any topic.
UNM Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Dr Jason Pandya-Wood, expressed his enthusiasm for the future of literature in Malaysia following the positive response from Malaysian poets.
“I am really pleased to see that this competition has drawn so much attention and so many poets have submitted their work. The School of English at University of Nottingham Malaysia is actively involved in promoting creative writing through its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. We are also happy to promote poetry writing through this nationwide competition,” he said.
Discovering local talent
The Malaysian Poetry Writing Competition 2021 celebrates the universal language of poetry writing and its ability to communicate impactful emotions and messages. The poets, some making their debut through the competition, had the opportunity to share their work on various Malaysian worldviews and on contemporary issues.
Chair of the organising committee and UNM Emeritus Professor, Dr Malachi Edwin Vethamani, shared, “Poetry is not a very popular literary genre. Not many people read poetry. But it is exciting to see a new generation of poets emerge over the last few years. With the overwhelming response in submissions we received, it is safe to say that poetry is very much alive in the Malaysian literary scene.”
A big win for Malaysian literature
The Malaysian Poetry Writing Competition 2021 culminated in a prize-giving ceremony held at the UNM Kuala Lumpur Teaching Centre (KLTC) recently, in which Lim Jack Kin took home the top recognition with his poem titled, 'Year of the Rat', Lim Jing Yi took second place for her poem titled, 'Rape Culture Pyramid', while Allison Jong Chia Ning rounded off the winners’ bracket in third place for her poem entitled, 'A Ui/Ux Review of You'.
The winners took home a cash prize incentive of RM1,000, RM750 and RM500, respectively.
The 25-year-old Jack from Subang and 26-year-old Sarawakian Allison shared insights on their winning poems and their passion for poetry.
“My poem was inspired by everything that was going on around me in 2020,” Jack shared. “It was truly the year of the rat, in more ways than one."
"As a kid, I’ve always enjoyed playing with words. As I’ve gotten older, that’s evolved into learning to use words to make sense of what I felt. I’ve learnt that you should always chase your feelings, good or bad. Writing is an important skill that everyone should have, but your experiences, and how it makes you feel, that’s the most important part of writing poetry.”
“My piece was inspired by love and is actually dedicated to my partner, who is a product designer himself,” Allison said, “Since I was 13, I’ve always used poetry as an outlet to express myself. I think it’s important to be comfortable with being vulnerable in your emotions, especially in writing poetry. For those only starting out in poetry, the best advice I can give is to just pick up a pen and write. It will be hard and you won’t get it right, but what’s important is that you write anyway.”
Shortlisted and longlisted finalists also received a certificate of recognition as well as RM200 and RM100, respectively. Recognising great potential in a number of submissions, the judges also awarded eight poets with honourable mentions.
The shortlisted poets and their poems are: Che Lyn Li, ‘Elegy for My Tongue’; Chloe Hor Yin Yee, ‘Kota Kemuning’; Che Lyn Li, ‘Your English is Good’; Yee Heng Yeh, ‘Sultan Ismail’s Photographs from May 15, 1969’; Kristine Rimas Lee, ‘Ceremonial Cleaning at a Reunion’ and Hannah Ling Shu En, ‘Compass’.
The long-listed poets and poems are: Hazelynn anak Rimbar, ‘Messages from Petara’; Mohammad Ismim Putera bin Nawawi, ‘Jantina’; Ding Xue Er, ‘On the Cusp of Twenty-Four’ Loshni Nair, ‘Thalai Ezhuthu’; Eric Chow Kok Chean, ‘An Ox in a China Shop’; Chloe Hor Yin Yee, ‘The Swing of Things’; Haarshini Sivaparanjothi, ‘Jane’; Arvina Kaur Gill, ‘Momento Mori’; Kristine Rimas Lee, ‘A 21st Century Observation of a Chinese House’; Abhiraamee Ayadurai, ‘One Brief Moment’ and Yee Heng Yeh, ‘Time Travel’.
The following poets and their poems received honourable mentions: Vinothini Ananda Krishnan, ‘One Indian Female’; Matthew Jerome van Huizen, ‘Tiroi’; Syahida Johan, ‘Connection’; Ainin Sofia Kamarudin, ‘Home’; Lim Jack Kin, ‘Sheraton Hotel Staff’; Noor Aishah Mat Dahan, ‘Ephemerality’; Khayma Latha Balakrishnan, ‘Brown’ and Amir Muhammad, ‘On A Photograph of Annuar Musa Eating Maggi’.
The esteemed panel of judges for the competition comprised poet and writer, Wong Phui Nam, spoken word poet, Melizarani T. Selva, and poet, writer, translator and journalist Eddin Khoo.
Eminent Malaysian poet Wong Phui Nam, who spoke at the ceremony, said, “Overall, I find the poems to be more interesting than many submitted in past competitions or for selection for the purpose of publication. Some of the poems have turned out to be a pleasure to read.”
Maya Press, the co-sponsor of the competition, will be publishing a compilation of winning poems entitled, ‘Best Malaysian Poems: Selected Poems from Malaysia Poetry Writing Competition 2021’, which will be available for the public to purchase in the first quarter of 2022. – The Vibes, December 4, 2021
