A JOURNEY THROUGH PROSE AND POETRY (ZURINAH HASSAN, 2018) was launched at Singapore National Library on July 22nd 2018.
The book is jointly published by International Islamic University dan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
This book is about my involvement in writing. It covers a part of the long journey that I have gone through, from scribbling short poems in the unused pages of my exercise books during my childhood days, to being the first woman writer to be conferred the National Literary Award. This personal account of my experiences gives an insight into the sociological and cultural background that influence literary production of women writers in Malaysia. The book begins with a brief introduction of the early development of modern Malaysian literature and the emergence of women writers significant in the Malay literary scene. I talk of personal involvement in writing as a woman writer, the beginning and the struggle that followed. The long and winding road taken manifested the hardship that a woman in Malaysia has to overcome in pursuing the aspiration of becoming a writer. At the earlier stage, before the mid-70’s, writings by women did not receive due attention and review as they were usually considered of lesser quality than works produced by male writers.
This personal account of my experiences gives an insight into the sociological and cultural background that influence literary production of women writers in Malaysia. The book begins with a brief introduction of the notable women writers, some of which did not survive and vanish particularly after marriage.
I was born in 1949 in a rural area in the
north of Malaysia, and brought up by customs and norms typical of the place and
time. Being confined indoors by overprotective grandparents, my introduction to
literature was through traditional Malay poetry, mainly pantun and syair that
I encountered in folk songs and over the radio. I came to love reading and
writing at the time when the elders were not happy to see their young girls
spending so much time with books.
This personal account of my experiences gives an insight into the sociological and cultural background that influence literary production of women writers in Malaysia.
The
subject of women in patriarchal society is of interest and concern everywhere. For centuries human societies have tended
to assign different roles, codes of behaviour and morality, and even different
feelings and thoughts to men and women. In any society, especially so in Malay
society a few generations ago women were supposed to devote themselves almost
exclusively to the domestic sphere and avoid having strong desires and strong
opinions, especially in opposition to the men who were seen as their
‘guardians’. This situation influenced the ways in which men and women could
participate in public life including literature as writers, readers or critics.
The second part of the book contained excerpts of poetry
and short stories.
There
are mostly poetry and short stories on plight of women and other issues in
society which include poverty, the concern
for the younger generation, and the future of the nation.
This
book is a primary source of information on
the life and authorship of the only female Malaysian literary laureate, enriching the reading resources and
references on contemporary Malaysian
literature. It give an insight into
sociological and cultural background that influenced literary production of a
woman writer in Malaysia. The samples of short stories and poems in translation
included here would benefit students of
Malay literature particularly the foreigners.
The book is divided into two sections. The first part began with a brief
introduction of the early development of modern
Malaysian literature and the emergence of important women writers in
the Malay literary scene
The issues in writings are also
common in the literary works of other contemporary Malaysian
writers. This will serve as an insight especially to foreign
students and readers , into contemporary Malay literary scene and the
background that mould the thought and creativity of Malaysian
writers.
