wái jai: Southeast Asian Literature through a Feminine Lens
Southeast Asian Literature is itself a relatively nascent genre, and SEA Lit by women an even smaller sub-genre. We will hear from leading female poets and writers about how they have grappled with their dual identities of being female and Southeast Asian through their writing. More generally, we will explore how the literary scene in SEA has developed over the last decade.
screen shot from the panel (Top right: Quyên Nguyễn-Hoàng, Bottom left: Dr Lily Yulianti)
Literature as process of shared vulnerability – connecting with strangers by relating your experiences
Nguyễn-Hoàng: writing entails looking inward at personal experiences of grief and heartbreak and putting it out into the world: "sending a message in a bottle" and hoping it reaches someone.
Yulianti: Stories provide a mirror that reflects the audience's personal lives. Stories are engaging when they are believable and resonate with the reader.
Balancing the pressure of Western stereotypes with honouring what is authentic to Southeast Asia
Nguyễn-Hoàng: As a Southeast Asian, writing is an ongoing process of understanding your roots and family, beyond Western stereotypes of your culture. “I try to avoid exoticizing Vietnam, as a place that people go to for certain kinds of food or trauma”
Making writing accessible to all
Yulianti: Overturning the assumption that reading should be done a certain way and I s only for certain classes Additionally, need to think about the barriers to access (e.g. transportation to access library, despite the free entry)
Panelists
Quyên Nguyễn-Hoàng
Working in English and Vietnamese on modern and contemporary art, Quyên's writings generate non-elitist spaces of generosity, play, and communion. She has received awards and fellowships from the Institute for Comparative Modernities, the Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation, and Words Without Borders in partnership with the Academy of American Poets.
Dr Lily Yulianti
Published author, researcher, former journalist, and current Director of the Makassar International Writers' Festival, a position held since 2011
