Cultures in Conflict: Essays on Literature & the English Language in South East Asia

by Lloyd Fernando

These essays are explorations in a field which has remained obstinately difficult to define precisely. In discussing such authors as E. M. Forster, Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, Patrick White, Raja Rao, Han Suyin, Wong Phui Nam, and many others, the essays probe the disturbed personalities of those confronted by cultures in conflict.

261 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1986

About the author

Lloyd Fernando was born in Kandy, Sri Lanka in 1926, and migrated to Singapore with his family in 1938. After obtaining his PhD in Literature in English from Leeds University, he served as Head of the English Department at the University of Malaya from 1967 to 1978, then took an early retirement at 52 to study Law in London. Fernando was admitted as Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1980, at the age of 54.

Fernando is best known in the literary world for his novel Scorpion Orchid. His other novel, Green is the Colour, also explores the issues of identity and cultures in a multi-ethnic society. For his contribution to the University of Malaya, he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus in 2005. Fernando passed away in 2008, leaving behind his wife, Marie, two daughters and four grandchildren.