Pulau Pinang | Penang Tourism & Travel Guide | Georgetown UNESCO World Heritage City | Penang Hotel Resort | Penang Food Paradise

By WINNIE YEOH

GEORGE TOWN: The launch of a book by national laureate Muhammad Salleh will be one of the highlights of the inaugural George Town Literary Festival 2011 which opens on Nov 26.

The pantun in the book, titled Bila Terkenang Zaman Dahulu: Pantun Pulau Pinang were sourced from the oral and written archives of Penang, written by Penangites from all backgrounds.

His other outstanding collections include Sajak-sajak Pendatang (Poems of the Outsider, 1973), The Travel Journals of Si Tenggang II (1979), Time and Its People (1978), Sajak-sajak dari Sejarah Melayu (Poems from the Malay Annals, 1981), Dari Seberang Diri (From the Other Side of the Self, 1982), and Rowing Down Two Rivers (2000).

The poet is among five writers and poets who will showcase their works at the two-day festival.

Not to be missed: Ooi (left) and Chee showing the festival’s promotion poster at China House in Lebuh Victoria.

The others are writer and columnist Farish Ahmad Noor, authors Iskandar Al-Bakri and Shih-Li Kow, and 2007 Man Booker Prize nominee Tan Twan Eng.

Themed “History and Heritage Where are our Stories?”, the two-day event by Penang Global Tourism (PGT) will be held at China House (an artspace, cafe and restaurant at Lebuh Victoria) and E&O Hotel at Lebuh Farquhar.

Producer Chee Sek Thim said the festival was a platform for art practitioners to showcase their works, hold dialogues and exchange ideas.

“It’s very important that the state kickstarts an arts infrastructure project as practitioners rarely have the funding to host such events,” he said at China House yesterday.

An array of activities has been planned for the event, starting with the official opening tea on Nov 26 at 9.30am at the upper floor of China House, followed by the book launch by Muhammad at the same venue at 10.30am.

The first reading and discussion with Muhammad and Farish will be held from 2.30pm to 4.30pm at the same venue and in the evening, the public can enjoy dinner, reading, conversation and question-and-answer (Q&A) session with Tan at E & O Hotel at 7.30pm.

Entrance is priced at RM50.

On Nov 27, the second reading and discussion session by Tan, Iskandar and Kow will be held at China House from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

There will also be a high-tea session with Farish, and reading, conversation and Q&A session at E & O Hotel from 3pm to 5pm with tickets priced at RM35.

At the closing of the festival, composer and guitarist Az Samad will perform at the Canteen and Bar at China House at 9.30pm.

Chee, an art practitioner himself, encouraged the public not to miss the programmes while PGT managing director Ooi Geok Ling said the festival was fully sponsored by the state government.

“We could have waited to do it on a bigger scale next year but we wanted to keep with the momentum set at the recent month-long George Town Festival,” she said.

China House is located at 183B Lebuh Victoria.

For details and purchasing of tickets, call Chee at 017-8727721, e-mail gtlfestival@gmail.com or log on to www.gtlfestival.blogspot.com.

News link

Posted by admin on November 17, 2011 under Tourism Event.