STARTING tomorrow (November 24) and running up to Sunday (November 27), the George Town Literary Festival makes its return in more ways than one as in-person events make a comeback for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The last couple editions, while successful, were done online.
The theme of this year’s festival is ‘Taming the Wild”. To elaborate on this, the official website says “We look at the ways in which Wilderness has shaped the creative power of our imagination. We also consider the dark side of human nature – our propensity for violence, brute power, war, and the destruction of the natural world.”
Here are some highlights to look forward to:
The Lure of Myth and Folklore
Speakers: Kathrina Mohd Daud, Ninot Aziz, Tan Jit Seng, Saqina Latif
Moderator: Amalina Kamal
Thursday, November 24
1.30pm - 2.30pm
UAB Building (Event Hall, Ground Floor)
Gat Lebuh China, George Town, Penang
Underwater kingdoms, ancient jungle spirits, beautiful bloodthirsty pontianaks. Myth and folklore take us on journeys into the collective unconscious, unleashing the wild side of the human imagination. How do writers and storytellers draw from the rich repository of Nusantara folklore in their own work? How can literature rediscover age-old stories while recasting them to throw light on aspects of contemporary life?
Time-Travel with a Cup of Coffee
Toshikazu Kawaguchi in conversation with Shazmin Shamsuddin
Friday, November 25
3.30pm - 4.30pm
UAB Building (Multipurpose Hall, 1st Floor)
Gat Lebuh China, George Town, Penang
In this special one-on-one session, Shazmin Shamsuddin speaks to famed Japanese writer Toshikazu Kawaguchi, author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold book series. Heartwarming, wistful, mysterious and delightfully quirky, Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s internationally bestselling novel explores the age-old question: What would you change if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time? (This session is supported by the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur).
Untamed Tongues: The Translator as Shaman and Rebel
Speakers: Daisy Rockwell, Anton Hur, Nguyen An Ly
Moderator: Adriana Nordin Manan
Friday, November 25
11.30am - 12.30pm
Digital Penang (Event Hall)
Gat Lebuh China, George Town, Penang
Literary translators are shamans of meaning and essence, inviting readers to uncharted realms of experience. At the same time, translators are rebels by nature – subverting conventional codes of language and introducing the unfamiliar into our vocabularies of literature. We speak to three masterful translators on the wild interplay and tensions of these two impulses – to render a text understandable and enjoyable in another language while challenging the limitations of language itself.
Exile is My Trade
Habib Tengour in conversation with Eddin Khoo
Sunday, November 27
10.00am - 11.00am
UAB Building (Multipurpose Hall)
Gat Lebuh China, George Town, Penang
Considered as one of the Maghreb's most forceful and visionary poetic voices of the post-colonial era, Habib Tengour explores the Algerian cultural space in all its ramifications: the oral and hagiographic traditions, the popular imagination and the founding myths, collective memory, raï music and the lived experiences of exile. He speaks to Eddin Khoo about cultural identity and memory, exile and longing, and the poetic imagination. (This conversation is supported by the French Embassy to Malaysia and Alliance Francaise de Malaisie.)
Tomb of Sand – Geetanjali Shree & Daisy Rockwell
Geetanjali Shree & Daisy Rockwell in conversation with Ann Lee
Sunday, November 27
11.00am - 12.00pm
UAB Building (Multipurpose Hall)
Gat Lebuh China, George Town, Penang
In this special session, Dr Ann Lee speaks to the formidable writer-translator duo Geetanjali Shree & Daisy Rockwell, winners of the 2022 International Booker Prize. The conversation will focus on Geetanjali’s Shree’s masterpiece Tomb of Sand, the first book written in Hindi to receive the accolade. Rather than respond to tragedy with seriousness, Geetanjali Shree's playful tone and exuberant wordplay results in a book that is engaging, funny, and utterly original, at the same time as being an urgent and timely protest against the destructive impact of borders and boundaries, whether between religions, countries, or genders.
Publishing Southeast Asia
Speakers: Nora Nazerene Abu Bakar, Kristen Vida Alfaro, Ng Kah Gay
Moderator: Kam Raslan
Sunday, November 27
1.30pm - 2.30pm
UAB Building (Multipurpose Hall)
Gat Lebuh China, George Town, Penang
The literatures of Southeast Asia are as complex and varied as its people and topographies. Yet writing from Southeast Asia is largely overlooked by international commercial publishers, who tend to view Southeast Asia as exotic backdrop for neo-colonial adventures or lesser cultural outposts of China and India. This panel features three publishers breaking new ground by publishing Southeast Asian literature on its own terms for international readership – Penguin Random House Southeast Asia, Tilted Axis Press, and Ethos Books.
For a full listing of events taking place this weekend, check here. – The Vibes, November 23, 2022
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