THE George Town Literary Festival is an international literary festival celebrating world literature, translations and literary arts. Held annually in the Unesco World Heritage site of George Town, Penang, the festival was awarded ‘The International Excellence Awards 2018 for Literary Festival’.
This year, the Festival goes online, as we look at the role of literature and art in the time of Covid.
Seven new podcasts are out today, November 29, on Spotify, in both English and Bahasa Malaysia:
Quirky Antiquity: A Pig King, A Malay Tale. Speakers: Amir Muhammad, Heidi Shamsuddin, Evi Shelvia, Kam Raslan
Originally written by a merchant in 1775, publisher Amir Muhammad set the challenge to re-tell one of Malay literature’s strangest stories alongside author Heidi Shamsuddin and illustrator Evi Shelvia. This story of pig king offers challenges for both readers and the authors who have created an evocatively modern re-telling as well as a novel funding process to produce this beautifully illustrated book.
Kosmopolitanisme Dalam Filem Melayu. Pembicara: Al Jafree Md Yusop, Hassan Muthalib
Jika sejarah panjang filem Melayu ibarat seutas rantai emas, suasa yang menyulaminya adalah kosmopolitanisme. Manusia hidup dalam sebuah masyarakat dunia adalah citra yang sering di papar dalam filem Melayu sejak dari zaman studio lagi. Namun, manusia sudah terhantuk pada dinding kaca yang telah memantulkannya kembali ke belakang. Semakin terhubung masyarakat dunia, semakin ke dalam cara pandangnya. Kosmopolitanisme kini di asak oleh parokialisme dan nasionalisme sempit. Apakah ini yang sedang terjadi dalam filem Melayu hari ini? Bersama dua sosok filem terkemuka Malaysia, Al Jafree Md Yusop dan Hassan Muthalib, memeta salasilah filem Melayu dan membedah tema-tema utama filem-filem masyarakat Malaysia hari ini.
Stesen Titik Nol. Pembicara: Johan Radzi, Noor Azam Shairi
Setelah Tinju dan Peluru selesai diterbitkan, Johan Radzi, seorang penulis asal Kuala Lumpur, mengambil keputusan untuk keluar seketika dari dunia fiksyen dan berpindah ke bukan fiksyen. Di situ, peguam muda ini bertemu dengan dirinya di kota-kota utama di Asia Tenggara. Beliau mencatat pemerhatiannya terhadap kebudayaan-kebudayaan yang asing bagi dirinya. Kemudian lahirlah Stesen Titik Nol. Noor Azam Shairi berbual dengan Johan Radzi tentang bagaimana gamaknya menulis sambil mengembara dan kesan pandemik terhadap genre penulisan travelog.
Indigenous Art, Loudly Speaking to Contemporary Times — Wanda Nanibush in Conversation. Speakers: Wanda Nanibush, Sharmin Parameswaran
Wanda Nanibush is the current Curator of Indigenous art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada, as well as an author, educator & community organiser. She speaks to Malaysian curator Sharmin Parameswaran on the continued importance of Indigenous art in bringing forth the collective experience and knowledge of people to our contemporary lives. Additionally, how Indigenous Canadian artists are expressing out loud against authoritarian states.
This podcast is supported by the High Commission of Canada in Malaysia.
Alkisah Maka Tersebutlah: Serpihan Sulalatus Salatin. Pembicara: Fahmi Mustafa, Mislina Mustaffa
Fahmi Mustaffa dan Mislina Mustaffa, dua orang penulis dan penggiat seni yang menetap di Pulau Pinang, membacakan petikan daripada Sulalatus Salatin.
Storylines – Making Life Visible. Speakers: Karl Nadzarin, Erica Eng, Charis Loke
The world of comics, graphic novels, and illustrations in Southeast Asia has been gaining its fair share of global attention. These visual mediums have provided markers of national identity, such as that found in Lat’s cartoons, and have continuously informed our imaginations and realities. But what is it that makes these ways of storytelling so treasured? And how do they inform our collective and individual ways of seeing and thinking? Join Eisner award-winning comic artist, Erica Eng and New Naratif Comics and Illustrations Editor, Charis Loke as we explore these question and their personal approaches to the visual form.
Writing in a Wounded World — A travel writer’s unlikely journey around the Covid-19 globe. Speakers: Marco Ferrarese, Ruzanna M. Zuknik
Covid-19 has wounded people the world over in untold ways. Although some wounds may never truly heal, there is always hope for healing and change. In this podcast, travel writer Marco Ferrarese shares his first-hand experience of this pandemic with the loss of his beloved parents in the killing fields while he was stuck in Peru due to global border control orders. Listen to his story, how this has affected his work, and his take on what the future holds for travel writers.
For the full GTLF 2020 programme, please visit http://www.georgetownlitfest.com/
To listen to the full lineup of podcasts, got to Spotify. – The Vibes, November 29, 2020
The Vibes is a proud media partner of The George Town Literary Festival 2020.
