KALAM Kreatif KL is a three-day satellite event of the Kreatif KL Festival in 2024. Curated by Pauline Fan, Hafiz Hamzah, and Roestam Alias, KALAM was envisioned as a community-driven event that will explore the evolving landscapes of writing and unwritten narratives of the city, country and region. The program brought together more than 40 speakers from nine countries for 27 programmes that took place mainly at Muzium Telekom. I participated in one panel, titled Imagining Communities: Writing Southeast Asia.
How do contemporary Southeast Asian writers connect with readers and fellow writers in the region? Does our imagined literary community of Southeast Asia go beyond nationalism and national identity? This panel gathers writers across Southeast Asia whose works offer vital counter-narratives to official histories and ideologies, particularly those shaped by nationalism.
Crafting stories, poems, and essays that challenge dominant discourses, the authors weave alternative perspectives drawn from deeply personal experiences and observations. Our conversation will delve into how their creative work blurs the lines between the political and the personal. Their writing not only questions historical and ideological constructs but also shines a light on the nuanced, lived realities of their societies, using the transformative potential of storytelling to reveal what is often left unsaid.
Panelists: Kosal Khiev, Han Lynn, Jo-Ann Yeoh, Duong Manh Hung
Moderator: Faisal Tehrani
Date: 3rd November 2024
Day: Sunday
Time: 1:30pm – 3:00pm
Venue: Dewan Pak Sako, Muzium Telekom