Lawrence Pettener interviews Malaysian poet Shirley Geok-lin Lim

I corresponded with Malaysian pioneer generation poet Shirley Lim in July this year. This interview was a written response to … More

Poetry is dead. Long live poetry

By Lawrence Pettener Who said Malaysian poetry in English was dead? Many have tried to convince me but they should … More

A conversation with Malaysian poet Wong Phui Nam (part 1)

By Lawrence Pettener I was lucky enough to get a couple of interviews with national treasure, poet Wong Phui Nam … More

‘The Blood Prince of Langkasuka’ by Tutu Dutta: Why I think we should read this 12th century folklore in 2021

By Sonia Singh Since the 12th century, The Blood Prince of Langkasuka – also known as ‘Kisah Raja Bersiong’ – … More

Standing with the ancestors now, a poet of the mists: a tribute to Irish poet Eavan Boland (1944 – 2020)

By Orla Fay Eavan Boland was born on the 24th of September 1944 which makes her of the same generation … More

Malaysian literary event Readings turns 15. We interviewed Sharon Bakar who has been curating it for the past 13 years

By Mohani Niza (Main picture by Tina Isaacs) In 2005, Malaysian novelist, poet and educator Bernice Chauly created a literary … More

Life in books: This Singaporean woman curates an interesting bookstagram on social justice topics

By Mohani Niza Firqin Sumartono is a huge bookworm – especially on books on social justice. In 2017, the Singaporean … More

The 2019 Commonwealth Short Story’s Asia region winner Saras Manickam talks about her story ‘My Mother Pattu’, whether she calls herself a “woman writer” and what children can teach us about racial harmony

By Mohani Niza Malaysian writer Saras Manickam was jet lagged. She had just come back from Québec City when she … More

A review of Ocean Vuong’s debut novel ‘On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous’

By Marc de Faoite Ocean Vuong’s Debut novel ‘On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous’ is epistolary in style, that is … More

“Humour and lightness”: an interview with Australian poet Jane Williams on what moves her

By Lawrence Pettener Writer Lawrence Pettener sat down with contemporary Australian poet Jane Williams last November at a coffee house … More