Thai national artist and prominent writer Prabhassorn Sevikul grieves over the state of Thai contemporary literature. He concedes that there no longer seems to be any serious literature, that works these days are mostly light and very commercial. He believes Thai popular contemporary literature is only for those who have won awards.
"Good literature that doesn't make it into a competition simply doesn't get read. We are going to have to make people read more widely," said the 67-year-old former president of the Thai Writers Association.
Prabhassorn said this at the Asean and Asian Conference on Literature & Culture, organised by the Department of Cultural Promotion, Ministry of Culture, in Phuket last month.
In the past couple of years, there has perhaps been too much "AEC 2015" hype. Countless projects with the Asean Economic Community theme have been launched, both by the government and private sector, and often these are merely slogans with no practical ends, too preoccupied with economic integration, even though social and cultural concerns play a crucial part in strengthening the community too.
Notwithstanding this, the Asean & Asian Conference on Literature & Culture was in fact a welcome initiative — at least on the cultural side.
The two-day conference featured more than 20 writers from both Southeast Asia and the rest of the continent. Attendees included Proeung Pranit from Cambodia, Somsouk Souksavath from Laos, Zakaria Ariffin from Malaysia, Dao Viet Hai from Vietnam, Syed Ahmed Ali Aziz from Bangladesh, Sasim Kumar Barai and Thailand's Prabhassorn Sevikul and Ussiri Dhammachoti, to name only a few.
Aside from a packed academic schedule, there were also traditional performances from students of Phuket Rajabhat University and field trips on the last day for writers and participants to study the way of life in Phuket.
In his opening speech, Phuket's Governor Nisit Jansomwong stressed how Asean and Asian literature and culture is something of beauty, with this conference enabling the region's literary and visual artists to share their views and perspectives.
Prabhassorn Sevikul.
"As we all know, it is only some months until we will fully have an Asean Community," said the governor. "Hence, we are members of the family who will contribute to strengthen solidarity in Asean, and also in Asia. This will show the international community that the nations of Asia are completely in unity and rich in a culture that has been passed on for thousands of years, especially our languages." Department of Cultural Promotion Director-General Nuntiya Swangvudthitham said that this conference was intended as a central stage for writers from each country, Asean and Asian, to join and exchange views on literature.
"This will be a first step for further co-operation and development," said Nuntiya. "We get to learn about all the challenges, for example, the language barrier. In the future we can maybe start a translation project, having important literature from each country translated and also work in the publishing industry, which goes hand in hand with a reading promotion strategy." Before the conference commenced, there was also a special lecture by Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat, who gave a historical overview of cultural exchanges and influences involving Thailand, both with neighbouring and Western countries, and stressed the uniqueness of Thai culture and language.
Despite being a good initiative, it seemed the conference was only an introduction between writers. Whether in speeches or panel talks, most of the content was an overview of the literary scene in each country. Thai National Artist and SEA Write award-winner Ussiri Dhammachoti said that, unlike in the past, Thai literature seems to be more about individualism than a reflection on society.
"During the Oct 14 uprising in 1973 or Black May in 1992, literature was very much about the quest for freedom," said Ussiri. "Now I think contemporary literature from the new generation is mostly politically confused."
Countries outside of Asean — such as India, Pakistan, Nepal and Taiwan — were a colourful addition to the conference. Prakash Subedi, general secretary of the society of Nepalese writers in English, gave a short but exciting account of the evolution of Nepalese literature.
"The history of modern Nepalese literature dates back 200 years," said Subedi. "For works written in English, it's only been 50 years but it's growing really fast. Literature has always been important in shaping society. We have had quite a few revolutions and in every change, writers were always at the forefront.
Ussiri Dhammachoti.
"The most recent revolution, about 10 years ago, which toppled the monarchy and made Nepal a federal state, was led by writers, poets and artists."
Apart from an overview of literature in each country, the main challenges in creating a literary community between member countries were discussed. Most writers agreed the language barrier and lack of good translation was a significant hurdle to overcome.
"The most important step is translation," said Nepalese Subedi. "It's the best medium to connect people when it comes to political, social or religious issues. In Nepal, there's a journal, Of Nepali Clay, an English-language literary magazine, in which a story by Prabhassorn Sevikul was published and in the next issue we're going to include work by a Thai poet."
Prabhassorn admitted that the nature of the publishing industry now makes good translation difficult. Good literature doesn't necessarily mean commercial viability. During a panel talk, Singaporean writer Elangovan proposed the establishment of a "cross-cultural translation bureau", totally devoid of all government involvement.
"When you have writing which has to be blessed by the state, it is not art," said Elangovan. "As I often say, art erupts, money corrupts and power will make sure money is fed to corrupt the art. This exists in every country in the world, and especially in Southeast Asia. You need to translate because how else do you promote literature? How do we share the truth, or convey problems of the oppressed, economically or politically, spoken by Thai, Lao or Vietnamese writers? How else do they convey their writing across the world?"
