The Inclusive Vision of Usman Awang | A Bridge to the Classics

About the Programme/Event:

What is the role of the literati in promoting multiculturism and inclusivity? This last lecture travels to the shores of the modern era with Usman Awang’s humanistic verses providing glimpses to competing ideologies and a clarion call for inclusivity.

A leading Malayan/Malaysian poet who stands for the literary world that speaks for justice, equality and plurality, his poems are both poetically and politically anchored. They shed light on his vision for the future which embraces idealism and moral commitment. To Usman, injustices must be rejected, and exclusivity corrected. He has penned several poems that call for a multicultural Malaya/Malaysia, and the role that the literati should serve towards this end.

What can his literary legacy teach us about hope and acceptance, and how might it lead us to a better future?   

About the Speaker(s):

Dr Azhar Ibrahim is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS). He is also Vice Chairman of the Malay Heritage Foundation.  He teaches Malay-Indonesian literature and ideologies of development at the Department. His research interest includes sociology of literature, social theology, Islamic thought, critical literacy, and the Malay-Indonesian intellectual development. Amongst his published works are:  Emancipated Education (2020), Historical Imagination and Cultural Responses to Colonialism and Nationalism: A Critical Malay(sian) Perspective (2017), Contemporary Islamic Discourse in the Malay-Indonesia World (2014) and Narrating Presence: Awakening from Cultural Amnesia. (2014).

About the Book(s):

This is an indicative list of texts that will be discussed:

Enslaved Soul (Jiwa Hamba) is an anthology of 35 poems written in Malay by National Laureate Usman Awang and translated to English by Adibah Amin and Haslina Usman, edited by Dr. Zawiah Yahya. These poems, replete with patriotism, encompass some of his early works which appeared in the press and magazines during the 1950s. The poems depict the periods before, during and after independence and lend voice to the poet’s hopes and aspirations for a colonised country. Click card?recordId=13216512">span> to find it in our Reference collection!

Greetings to the Continent (Salam Benua) is a collection of poems by National Laureate Usman Awang responding to a common humanity, calling for multiculturalism. Click card?recordId=4117645">span> to find it in our Reference collection!