Asian Centre Anthology of Malaysian Poetry in English

Book excerpt: Malaysian writing in English has had a history of over five decades since Malaysia attained independence. This anthology of Malaysian poetry in the English language represents the most complete single collection of poems by veteran as well as new authors to be released in recent decades. In keeping with general trends in poetry, the poets presented in this volume begin with themselves as centres of their own little worlds and then move outwards to those still close to them in different kinds of situations and relationships. They touch upon individual growth and experiences before taking the world and its concerns into their purview. Other poems explore religious and spiritual consciousness. The potential that Man has on his journey of life leads beyond his daily obsessions and takes him into realms of expanding consciousness, with the final stages of the long journey reaching the transcendental and mystical. Altogether, while providing a spectrum of recent Malaysian poetry in English, this collection also gives the reader insights into the unique voices of several generations of Malaysian poets dealing with a whole range of themes connected with their lives, universal issues and concerns.