A Haiku for Liew Suet Fun
I enjoy meeting other writers. Young writers’ makes you feel like you are talking with an old-friend; they share the same problems and emotional dilemma as you have. Veteran writers, on the other hand, give you inspiration; their words are saturated with ideas and wisdom. I had the opportunity to meet such a writer last week in my class at UNITAR. Her name is Liew Suet Fun; author of the book in the picture. It is her collection of short stories/anecdotes about the daily lives of our Malaysian women (you can check the URL below for more info on the book).
Liew Suet Fun, for me, is one of those writers who are flexible with multiple genres. She can write documentaries, news articles, short stories, poems, etc. More importantly, she enjoys doing her work. You can feel it when she is talking to you because there are no signs of regret in her eyes. She used to live in U.S (a typical background for many Malaysian writers who are writing literature in English) which seems to have an important impact on her life. Currently, she is living alone with a big garden behind her house, and many pets: three dogs, birds, an iguana, and maybe even more.
My meeting with her gave me such big boost in terms of work production. She believed that the more you write, the better your writing will be. Then she talked about Salman Rushdie and Orhan Pamuk (the Nobel Prize Winner) and how their life turn upside down due to the their rigorous working hours. For example, Salman Rushdie would wake up early in the morning, and can write all the way to eight hours without even producing a single chapter. Should a writer become a jack of all trade? According to her, young writers should be one because it allows them to stretch their creative muscles. Only after gaining maturity in writing, then they should choose a genre they are comfortable with.
As a sign of appreciation for this very wonderful writer, I have written a haiku for her:
PEARL OF ADVICE
Time sleeps on the river
While the writer plays magic
With words of wisdom.
We lay our carpet
So she can play in our garden
Of inspiration.
Time opens its eyes,
Her lips wishes us goodbye
With pearl of advice.
(dedicated to Liew Suet Fun)
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/2/17/lifefocus/20295184&sec=lifefocus
Liew Suet Fun, for me, is one of those writers who are flexible with multiple genres. She can write documentaries, news articles, short stories, poems, etc. More importantly, she enjoys doing her work. You can feel it when she is talking to you because there are no signs of regret in her eyes. She used to live in U.S (a typical background for many Malaysian writers who are writing literature in English) which seems to have an important impact on her life. Currently, she is living alone with a big garden behind her house, and many pets: three dogs, birds, an iguana, and maybe even more.
My meeting with her gave me such big boost in terms of work production. She believed that the more you write, the better your writing will be. Then she talked about Salman Rushdie and Orhan Pamuk (the Nobel Prize Winner) and how their life turn upside down due to the their rigorous working hours. For example, Salman Rushdie would wake up early in the morning, and can write all the way to eight hours without even producing a single chapter. Should a writer become a jack of all trade? According to her, young writers should be one because it allows them to stretch their creative muscles. Only after gaining maturity in writing, then they should choose a genre they are comfortable with.
As a sign of appreciation for this very wonderful writer, I have written a haiku for her:
PEARL OF ADVICE
Time sleeps on the river
While the writer plays magic
With words of wisdom.
We lay our carpet
So she can play in our garden
Of inspiration.
Time opens its eyes,
Her lips wishes us goodbye
With pearl of advice.
(dedicated to Liew Suet Fun)
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/2/17/lifefocus/20295184&sec=lifefocus
Comments
Pearl of advice,
macam pernah dilihat sebelum ia dipost...
hehe...
It simply means that Salman Rushdie is a very meticulous person when it comes to writing. He wants the perfect piece of writing.
What a nice haiku. Thank you; I have never had a poem dedicated to me - this is the first one.
I just chanced on your blog today. And on Salman Rushdie, the context of that story was that he was going through a breakdown in his marriage and he sat and wrote, 8 hours a day, for weeks and nothing came out right.
Keep writing!
Suet
What a nice haiku. Thank you; I have never had a poem dedicated to me - this is the first one.
I just chanced on your blog today. And on Salman Rushdie, the context of that story was that he was going through a breakdown in his marriage and he sat and wrote, 8 hours a day, for weeks and nothing came out right.
Keep writing!
Suet
What a nice haiku. Thank you; I have never had a poem dedicated to me - this is the first one.
I just chanced on your blog today. And on Salman Rushdie, the context of that story was that he was going through a breakdown in his marriage and he sat and wrote, 8 hours a day, for weeks and nothing came out right.
Keep writing!
Suet