George Town Literary Festival Mark your calendars, GTLF returns 24 - 27 November 2022!
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
“We speak of naughty things”: The Hidden Lives of Migrant Women
11 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This month, we paint the town purple. Join Dr Vilashini Somiah and Rizal Rozhan as they discuss Dr Vila's new book 'Irregular Migrants and the Sea at ...
Little Worlds of Make-Believe
24 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What compels a writer to write? Is it an irrepressible need to tell a story, to delight in the play of the imagination, or perhaps as a form of escapi...
Anthology as Microcosm
24 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Anthologies are textual communities, a microcosm of a larger literary society. In this conversation, Anna Tan, editor of Penang-themed ‘Home Groan’...
French Connections in Troubled Times: The Japanese Occupation of Penang
24 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A handwritten Diary was meticulously kept by Father Marcel Rouhan, the Director of the College General in Penang, during World War Two. While most All...
MUARA: Confluence|Pertemuan
24 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Muara, the Malay word for estuary, is a passage of fluidity and connection, where the river meets the open sea. Muara evokes a place where we find our...
Two Malaysian Folktales: A Storytelling session by Heidi Shamsuddin
24 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Storyteller Heidi Shamsuddin takes us into the magical world of Malaysian folktales, offering two captivating tales for young listeners: ‘The Bigges...
The Apple and the Tree
27 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Marina Mahathir in conversation with Melisa Idris What is it like to be the daughter of Malaysia’s most iconic leader? Marina Mahathir speaks to Mel...
Menghidupi Sastera Tamil di Malaysia
27 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Perbualan: Nur Adilla bersama M. Navin Sejarah panjang sastera Malaysia sememangnya rencam. Walaupun di mata negara sastera kebangsaan hanya yang berb...
Lima Dekad Kepengarangan Zakaria Ali
27 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Perbualan: Syed Omar Husain bersama Zakaria Ali Jika dicari satu sosok yang boleh memimpin kita menelusuri simpang-siur denai sastera dan seni Malaysi...
Doors of Perception: Writing the Psyche and Social Self
27 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Paul GnanaSelvam and Danielle Lim in conversation with Vernon Adrian Emuang Can writing ‘cleanse the doors of perception’, as William Blake once s...
Kewartawanan Sasterawi
27 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Perbualan: Badrul Hisham bersama Linda Christanty, Noor Azam Shairi Kewartawanan semakin ‘tenat’, bukan hanya kerana dihimpit politik, tetapi juga...
The Page Is Not Your Colony
27 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Juvita Tatan Wan, Nazry Bahrawi in conversation with Adriana Nordin Manan How can literature decolonize? How do we know we are active...
Ways of Seeing: Storytelling through Documentary
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sanaz Fotouhi and Indrani Kopal in conversation with Shazmin Shamsuddin How does the medium of documentary open up possibilities of storytelling? What...
Asam dan Garam: “Merantau” Dalam Sastera Nusantara
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Perbualan: Faisal Tehrani, Azhar Ibrahim Sejarah panjang kepulauan Nusantara adalah sejarah perantau. Sejak berabad-abad, di kepulauan Sumatera, Jawa,...
Laughter at the Edge of the World
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Souvankham Thammavongsa in conversation with Sharmilla Ganesan Literature tends to view the experience of refugees and migrants through the lens of te...
Travel, Translation and Other Diversions
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Parks in conversation with Eddin Khoo In this sprawling conversation acclaimed novelist, essayist and translator Tim Parks speaks to Eddin Khoo ab...
Cerpen: Alam Nyata dan Tak Nyata
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Perbualan: Hafizah Iszahanid bersama Sheera Ghafar, Ruhaini Matdarin, Azrin Fauzi Resah gelisah hidup dalam dunia yang tidak menentu ini tidak lain ti...
Magic of the Second Order
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jan Wagner in conversation with Pauline Fan A tea bag unravels into a cosmic vision; a swarm of insects dance like ancient inscriptions freed from sto...
Antara Kissa dan Ensera: Alam, Kata-kata dan Jati Diri
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Perbualan: Thira Mohamad bersama Kulleh Grasi, Clariessa Kesulai, Nelson Dino Kata-kata lahir dari kisah, seperti yang diceritakan melalui ensera Iban...
Antara Bayangan dan Kebebasan
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Perbualan: Jack Malik, Ainunl Muaiyanah Penyair hadir sebagai tukang bicara dan pembawa semangat zamannya. Mereka adalah orang yang terus-menerus beru...
Bitter Fruit: Art and War in Afghanistan
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Saleh Sepas in conversation with Lilianne Fan In August 2021, Afghanistan fell once again to Taliban rule. What impact is the Taliban takeover having ...
Plagues of Mind and Matter
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee in conversation with Nithiya Muthusamy Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee’s book, ‘The Town Slowly Empties’, charts his thoug...
Pertemuan Dua Pengarang
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Perbualan: Eka Kurniawan, Wan Nor Azriq Dua orang pengarang prolifik Malaysia dan Indonesia bertemu secara maya. Mereka mula berdialog tentang proses ...
Tumpah Kuah Ke Nasi
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Perbualan: Fadli Al-Akiti bersama Engku Roestam Alias, S.M. Zakir, Haslina Usman Di mana tumpahnya kuah kalau tidak ke nasi. Begitu perumpamaan buat t...
Literacy and Cosmopolitanism in an Era of Crisis
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ooi Kee Beng in conversation with Sharaad Kuttan Penang is home to the George Town Literary Festival and the cosmopolitan culture it has long hosted. ...
Wan Hanafi Su Membaca Angin Timur Laut (S. Othman Kelantan)
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Bacaan petikan novel S. Othman Kelantan oleh: Wan Hanafi Su Kehidupan nelayan pesisir di Pantai Sabak merungkai tentang derita kaum nelayan bukan saha...
Unearthing the Universe
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tina Makereti in conversation with Lee Chwi Lynn How can fiction be a force against collective forgetting? Tina Makereti’s powerful fiction unearths...
The Shifting Shores of Language
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Minae Mizumura in conversation with Pauline Fan Minae Mizumura, one of Japan’s most distinguished writers, was profoundly shaped by the cultural and...
Circles of the Afterlife: 700 Years of Dante
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Giuliana Nuvoli and Masturah Alatas in conversation with Andrea Paduano GTLF pays tribute to the great Italian poet Dante Alighieri, commemorating th...
Illusive Elucidations: Aida Redza in Conversation
20 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Spirits, systems, control and release. How does one bridge the chasm between contemporary life and elusive memory-fragments of a past, to reclaim what...
Alkisah Maka Tersebutlah: Serpihan Sulalatus Salatin
28 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Fahmi Mustaffa dan Mislina Mustaffa, dua orang penulis dan penggiat seni yang menetap di Pulau Pinang, membacakan petikan daripada Sulalatus Salatin. ...
Writing in a Wounded World — A travel writer’s unlikely journey around the COVID-19 globe
28 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
COVID-19 has wounded people the world over in untold ways. Although some wounds may never truly heal, there is always hope for healing and change. In ...
Kosmopolitanisme Dalam Filem Melayu
28 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jika sejarah panjang filem Melayu ibarat seutas rantai emas, suasa yang menyulaminya adalah kosmopolitanisme. Manusia hidup dalam sebuah masyarakat du...
Indigenous Art, Loudly Speaking to Contemporary Times — Wanda Nanibush in Conversation
28 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Wanda Nanibush is the current Curator of Indigenous art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada, as well as an author, educator & community organise...
Stesen Titik Nol
28 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Setelah Tinju dan Peluru selesai diterbitkan, Johan Radzi, seorang penulis asal Kuala Lumpur, mengambil keputusan untuk keluar seketika dari dunia fik...
Storylines – Making Life Visible
28 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The world of comics, graphic novels, and illustrations in Southeast Asia has been gaining its fair share of global attention. These visual mediums hav...
Quirky Antiquity: A Pig King, A Malay Tale
28 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Originally written by a merchant in 1775, publisher Amir Muhammad set the challenge to re-tell one of Malay literature’s strangest stories alongside...
Black Milk of Morning — Paul Celan Centenary
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Celan remains one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. Grappling with the long shadow of the Holocaust, Celan’s poetry was forged from la...
Poetry and Exile
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Exile has been a recurring theme and metaphor in poetry since ancient times to the present day. How do the social, political and existential condition...
The Sandpit by KS Maniam
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In tribute to the late legendary Malaysian writer, K.S. Maniam, GTLF offers a special reading of his play, The Sandpit — a story of tradition, oppre...
Sastera Dalam Kurungan
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Suasana sepi, tersisih, dan terpinggir adalah antara suasana yang sering dikaitkan dengan pengkaryaan sastera. Perbualan ini akan meneroka tentang kar...
In Solidarity: the Writer, his Conscience and the Nation — F. Sionil José in Conversation
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Best known for his “Rosales Saga” novels, multi-award-winning Filipino writer F. Sionil José, is known equally outside his country for his interv...
Fatimah Busu: Memecah Tempurung Belenggu
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
“Tiada guna menjadi penulis jika karya yang ditulis tidak menyuarakan kepentingan dan kebajikan masyarakatnya”. Begitu menurut Fatimah Busu. Sedar...
Peta Seribu Diri Terbentang
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tatkala terkurung, puisi menjadi jalan keluar. Ia membawa kita menuju ke ruang-ruang yang jarang disinggahi melalui bahasa yang melampaui kebiasaan. D...
Short story: ‘The Wall’ by Ho Sok Fong
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Artist and performer Foo May Lyn reads a short story by acclaimed Mahua writer Ho Sok Fong. ‘The Wall’ stands at the threshold between the real an...
Riwayat Kebudayaan Malaya (1940-1960) Melalui Sastera Mahua
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Seperti apa sastera Mahua mempengaruhi perkembangan serta riwayat kebudayaan Malaya pada takah 1940 sehingga 1960-an? Dengan bolak-balik migrasi yang ...
The Burmese Labyrinth
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Since ancient times, labyrinths have been paradoxical by design. Serving as a path to spiritual rebirth, a trap for evil spirits, and a place to hold ...
Memayungi Obor Kritikan Sastera
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kritikan menghidupkan sastera dan karya tumbuh melalui penulis dan pengkritik. Setidak-tidaknya begitulah alam kesusasteraan di Nusantara khususnya di...
Road Trips of the Imagination
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If road trips bring us a change of scenery, road trips of the imagination take us to vistas along a horizon only limited by the expanse of our creativ...
The Long 20th Century — Wang Gungwu in Conversation
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With his follow-up memoir, Home Is Where We Are, renowned historian Wang Gungwu continues his personal journey through the 20th Century as a participa...
Ketika Kata Menyapa Kertas
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dunia digital semakin menguasai. Penerbitan beralih bentuk. Gedung-gedung buku di biar runtuh. Namun, di celah-celah puing runtuhan ini lahirnya Svara...
Cerpen: ‘Suami dan Isteri’ oleh Usman Awang
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pelakon terkemuka negara, Sharifah Amani, membacakan karya cerpen Sasterawan Negara Usman Awang. Pembicara: Sharifah Amani
Windows of the Word
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Journals of literature in translation open windows to unfamiliar landscapes of the imagination, inviting us to discover worlds we would otherwise have...
Menterjemah Yang Tak Terjemahkan
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Penterjemah adalah perantara di alam sastera. Peranan hakikinya adalah untuk memindahkan makna dan rasa pada landasan kata-kata supaya yang dibawa sel...
What Remains of the Light
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Poetry has long been the vehicle for translating the ineffable, offering a slice of hope in troubled times. As inner lives become enmeshed with uncert...
The Malay in Me: Covid-19 and Identity
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Identity is an ever-present matter in discussions about Malaysia and her southern neighbour, Singapore. And none more contentious in that mix is that ...
Writing Peril in the Personal and Political
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast focuses on two novels by leading writers in the region, now published by Penguin Random House SEA: Indonesian author and journalist, Leil...
GTLF2019 - New Trade Routes of the Word
18 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Literature moves through underground channels, often regardless of the economic and geopolitical currents above, yet the old routes of trade—East an...
GTLF2019 - Temuramah Khas bersama Sabri Yunus
18 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Mohd Sabri Yunus, seorang pelawak, pelakon, pengacara dan pengarah di Malaysia memberikan pandangan beliau tentang maksud "Gedebe", sebuah kosa kata k...
GTLF2019 - Temuramah Khas bersama Namron
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Seorang Pengarah Filem Unggul Malaysia, Namron berpendapat bahawa budaya kritikan filem yang semakin berkurangan akan menjejaskan pembangunan industri...
GTLF2019 - Temuramah Khas bersama Al Jafree Md Yusop
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Pengarah filem dan penulis skrip, Al Jafree Md Yusop mengkongsikan pandangan beliau terhadap prestasi FINAS untuk membangun semula industri filem nega...
GTLF2019 - Special Interview with Jomo Kwame Sundaram
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Political economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram presents his views on the evolving state of the country since May 13. How different are we now? Does economics...
GTLF2019 - Special Interview with Hanna Alkaf
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The author of The Weight of Our Sky relates her journey to the multiple ideas of identity: the identity of cities, individuals and communities. What d...
GTLF2019 - From Ink to Blink
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Reading is the heart of publishing’s business proposition but as reading habits change, what challenges will it pose for the industry? Is it true th...
GTLF2019 - Now Everyone Can Tell Stories
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Today the expression “storyteller” is being appropriated by so many professions and for so many purposes, is it in danger of losing its meaning or...
GTLF2019 - Wise Crowds, Terrifying Mobs
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We draw on the collective wisdom of our invited guests and friends to grapple with censorious power of governments and interest groups. What is the wr...
GTLF2019 - Make History Great Again
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
From China to India and through to Turkey, the re-telling of national histories are coupled to the consolidation of state power. Can a deeper understa...
GTLF2019 - It’s the End of the World as We Know It
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sci-fi, fantasy, surrealism and speculative fiction open up endless possibilities of how we imagine our past, present and future. How do writers harne...
GTLF2019 - The Sea and the Mirror
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Poetry charts outer topographies and inner landscapes in a language of storms, shadows, and silence. We speak to poets who voyage into the sea of the ...
GTLF2019 - Through A Glass, Darkly
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The date May 13, 1969 has long been memorialised as a national trauma albeit one best ‘buried and forgotten’. On its 50th anniversary this year, a...
GTLF2019 - Loghat dan Karya
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Bahasa Melayu sarat dengan loghat daerah yang mengungkapkan pandangan dunia dan gaya pertuturan harian sesebuah masyarakat setempat. Perbualan ini men...
GTLF2019 - Sapardi Djoko Damono
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
George Town Literary Festival presents 1-1 conversations with authors currently making waves in world literature. Melissa Idris speaks to celebrated I...
GTLF2019 - Mencari Chairil?
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dunia sajak Melayu sejak beberapa dekad lalu dibayangi oleh Chairil Anwar. Penyair sesudahnya dikatakan sama ada mahu menjadi Chairil atau bergelut un...
GTLF2019 - Perumal Murugan
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
George Town Literary Festival presents 1-1 conversations with authors currently making waves in world literature. Eddin Khoo speaks to acclaimed India...
GTLF2019 - Ada Apa Dengan Kisah
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Penceritaan adalah teras pelbagai seni, bukan sahaja karya sastera, tetapi juga karya filem dan teater, bahkan rencana akhbar dan majalah. Apakah caba...
GTLF2019 - The Chinese Century
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We reflect on China’s past 100 years, paying particular attention to the May Fourth Movement of 1919, the Communist Revolution of 1949, and the Tian...
GTLF2019 - What is to be done? History and Literature in China’s Twentieth Century
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This talk takes the classic political-literary-historical question posed by Cherneshevsky, Lenin, Lu Xun, and others to meditate on the various ways i...
GTLF2019 - Women Writing the Body
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Women’s bodies have long been objectified in popular entertainment, as well as in art and literature. How do women write about their own bodies, sub...
GTLF2019 - What Makes Greta T. Angry
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A form of ecological pessimism is threatening to overwhelm us, robbing us of the will to imagine other, non-apocalyptic outcomes to the story of the p...
GTLF2019 - Is the Screen Our Enemy?
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Younger people are probably reading and writing as never before, but they are doing so on mobile devices and on platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok. ...
GTLF2019 - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (It Will Be Spoken)
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The power of spoken word lies in its visceral immediacy. In the days of the Harlem Renaissance, the Beat poets, and Gil Scott-Heron, spoken word becam...
GTLF2019 - Menterjemah Nusantara Kepada Dunia
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Apakah sastera Nusantara jaguh kampung atau sebenarnya cukup layak untuk ditonjolkan ke persada dunia? Sertai perbualan menarik tentang kegiatan pente...
GTLF2019 - Tubuh & Puisi
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Tubuh adalah daya yang sering dilupakan, yang memberi puisi pergerakan lisannya. Chairil Anwar telah kembalikannya ke puisi kita. Puisi pun hidup dari...
GTLF2019 - Writing in the Juggernaut’s Shadow
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Extraordinary pressures have been put on India’s democratic culture in the last few years, with the country’s press freedom ranking dropping to 14...
GTLF2019 - Hamid Ismailov
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
George Town Literary Festival presents 1-1 conversations with authors currently making waves in world literature. Kam Raslan speaks to renowned Uzbek ...
GTLF2019 - Let Us Speak Freely Now
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Southeast Asia entered the 21st century with the hope that its collective market of 600 million people would help propel its further growth. With a fe...
GTLF2019 - Mahua Lit in a House of Mirrors
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The trajectory of the Chinese Malaysian imaginary speaks to the fluid, multiple identities of the modern person. Malaysian literature in Mandarin is a...
GTLF2019 - The Angel of History
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Invoking Walter Benjamin’s ‘Angel of History’, this conversation will explore how writers grapple with the rubble and fragments left by the ‘s...
GTLF2019 - Perbincangan: Wartawan Melayu Terakhir
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Kewartawanan dan persuratkhabaran Bahasa Melayu memainkan peranan yang penting dalam masyarakat kita sejak zaman pra-Merdeka lagi. Apakah selok-belok ...
GTLF2019 - Saras Manickam
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
George Town Literary Festival presents 1-1 conversations with authors currently making waves in world literature. Tehmina Kaoosji speaks to Commonweal...
GTLF2019 - Tee Kim Tong
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
George Town Literary Festival presents 1-1 conversations with authors currently making waves in world literature. Zhou Hau Liew speaks to Mahua Litera...
GTLF2019 - Journey to Activist Island
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Penang has the enviable reputation within the Federation of being a hub of social activism that has deep, rhizomic roots cross the Island, linking uni...
GTLF2019 - Mandarin Dan Melayu
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What are the stories being told in Mahua Literature, and which ones have been translated for a Malaysian audience? This special reading highlights not...
GTLF2019 - The Beauty and Chaos of Translation
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Literary translators live in several worlds at once, traversing boundaries of language, time, space and social context. What are the highs and lows, t...
GTLF2019 - The Translator Gives It Visible Form: Translating Malay and Indonesian Literature
13 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Literary translation is easy. You just replace the words in one language with the same words in another language. If only this were true. A compelling...
GTLF2019 - Kata Tanpa Aksara
13 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sastera bermula dari kata. Sebelum perkembangan sastera bertulis, sastera lisan merupakan salah satu bentuk kebudayaan yang ulung di Alam Melayu dan r...