Glimpse into Malaysian-Singapore literature in English
In this week's column I focus on Anglophone Singaporean literature
against the backdrop of Lit Up, Singaporean Emerging Writers and
Performers' Festival. I was privileged to participate in the festival
which gave invaluable insights not only into the genesis, evolution and
the current state of Malaysian-Singapore literature in English but also
potential vibrant future.
In the previous columns, we discussed the life and times of Prof.
Edwin Thumboo, a path founder of Singaporean literature in English and
Asia's foremost English poet. The generation of literati who moulded the
Malaysian -Singaporean English literary landscape were also associated
with the struggle for independence and the subsequent socio-economic and
political developments which led to the birth of Malaysia and Singapore
as newly independent nation states.
Although the turbulent political events from 1946 to 1965 provides
the backdrop against which the Malaysian Singaporean literary culture in
English began, the focus is on the formation and evolution of tradition
of English writing in Singapore and how the language of the coloniser
found expression in the adapted soil.
Formation of English literary culture
In examining the genesis of the indigenous tradition of English
writing in Malaysia and Singapore, the pivotal role played by the
English educated middle -class youth should be assessed primarily on
their zealous enthusiasm in the nation building and their struggle to
craft a national identity.
The initial steps for an English literary culture in Malaysia and
Singapore were taken by young, English- educated undergraduate students
in the University of Malaya. Predominantly they were from the middle
class and largely a migrant background. At the time they began writing
in English, Malaya was torn apart on ideological lines which
subsequently led to the birth of two sovereign nations; Malaysia and
Singapore. At first they thought of devising a new language through the
mixture of major languages in Malaya. However, the idea was,
subsequently, abandoned realising the fact that what was important was
not the common tongue but common pool of ideas and values made out of
diverse practices of the races which inhabited Malaya.
This idea was articulated by English literary journals such as The
New Cauldron and writers circles such as The Penang Writers' circle; In
an Editorial on the issue The New Cauldron stated "We have assessed
previous undergraduate attempts at the creation of an artificial
language by an arbitrary mixture of phrases drawn from the existing
languages spoken in Malaya. We regret to say that this language,
Engmalchin, as its advocates termed it, is a failure if only because of
its self-conscious artificiality and failure of its 'sires 'understand
that language can never be created by edict...The crisis lies in the
lack of common cultural tradition out of which artists can draw their
inspiration and which can serve as a common pool of references. Once
this is found, however shallow it may be, the language problem vanishes.
So long as we understand the same value and "monuments of unaging
intellect "the language in which these values and monuments are
expressed do not matter" (The Challenge to create, 4-5).
In the manifesto of The Penang Writers of 1969, similar views were
expressed on the creation of new identity representing the values and
aspiration of all Malay people:
"It is the imperative duty of our writers to reflect deeply the rich
and varied life of our multinational people, help to pose correctly the
multifold problems confronting our young nation and create a rich modern
literature that reflects our national identity...so that out of plethora
of our traditions and customs it is possible to distil the essence of
uncreated conscience of our people"
The writers who were the pioneers in the tradition of English
writings in Singapore had no choice but to write in English. Prof. Edwin
Thumboo in an exclusive interview expressed this situation:
"The point is that all this (childhood memories) was increasingly
stored and recalled in English. English was the only language in which I
had some strength. As time went by, Teochew was used less and the little
Malay I had receded. Meanwhile English grew, systematically, daily, as
my world grew. If I wrote poetry, and I wanted to, it had to be in
English; there was no alternative. As I have said more than once, poets
do not chose their language; the language choose them."
However, the issue that the first generation of writers in English
confronted was how to infuse "local blood" and "local spirit" into the
language in order to root it in the adapted soil. The absence of the
local tradition of writing in English further compounded the matter.
They drew inspiration from classical English literature dominated by
authors like Eliot, Yeats, Dylan Thomas or early writers such as
Shakespeare, Donne, Wordsworth, Keats, Dickens, Hardy and Austen.
Colonial writings in English
T. Wignesan in a paper to Sharing Boarders, Studies in Contemporary
Singaporean- Malaysian Literature I, argues that there was a canon of
English writings in Colonial Malaya before the emergence of Singaporean
-Malaysian tradition and that the cannon was rich enough for local
writers to draw inspiration from. :
"If the local writers could have striven to learn from the efforts of
these for the nonce "writers", such as Spencer Chapman, Russell Braddon,
John Cross, Dennis Holman and a few others, they would not have had to
lament lack of local tradition of follow or be inspired by. It would
appear the "Raffalaisian School" and their successors simply ignored or
were ignorant of their work .
In short, this parallel literature by foreigners contains all the
ingredients of a firm and well established tradition that local writers
could have-and could still -draw from, instead of carping about being
left in the lurch to fend for themselves or blaming foreigners for not
being able to comprehend or appreciate their meagre output.."
Although the writings in English flourished in Singapore due to
pragmatic socio-economic policies, the environment for writers in
English in Malaysia was not favourable mainly due the language policy.
Following the race riots broke out on 13 May 1969, Malay was declared as
the official language relegating English, Chinese and Tamil to send
languages and the respective literatures became 'Second literatures'. In
general, this unfavourable situation for writings in English compelled
some writers to leave the county and contributed to the weaning of
literature in English in Malaysia.
The writers and their journeys
Singaporean literature in English flourished creating a distinct
literary culture owing to the Dedicated Singaporean writers in English.
Some of the pioneers in the tradition include Lloyd Fernando, Lee Kok
Liang, Rex Shelley, Ee Tiang Hong, Edwin Thumboo, Wong Phui Nam, Gopal
Baratham, Goh Poh Seng, Shirley Geok-lin Lim and Stella Kon. It is
noteworthy to record that most of these writers have gone through
several journeys having born in one country (like Lloyd Fernando who was
born in Sri Lanka) or settling down in another as Malacca born Ee Tiang
Hong who arrived in Australia in 1975 and settled down in Perth.
However, most of these writers have significantly contributed to English
writings in Malaysia or Singapore. Unlike many other writers in the
region they have seen legacies of their nations, separation from
colonial masters and transformation of their countries. For example,
Edwin Thumboo had witnessed the birth and transformation of his nation
Singapore and is one of the most senior writers in English but still
actively contributing to the regional and World Literatures.
These writers' work and journeys contain fascinating historical
capsules. Writing an insightful Foreword to Professor Thumboo's latest
Anthology, 'Still Travelling' Professor Rajeev Patke observes: "And what
a journey it has been for, and with, Edwin Thumboo, as Singapore has
travelled through the burgeoning legacies of Raffles, through the dark
and tense years of Japanese Occupation, through the wrenching separation
from the Malaysian mainland, to the transformation of an island economy
into a modern, multi-cultural nation treading the cautious path to
modernity..." |