The First Five: A New Collection of Southeast Asian Writing

by Chan Wai Han (Editor), Angelo R. Cuesta (Contributor), Clara Chow (Contributor)

This anthology of poetry and short stories—to be launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair on 12 October 2017—marks another milestone in the literary tradition of Southeast Asia and co-operation among its publishing community. There were five founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967—Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand—and this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of the establishment of this regional grouping.

The publishers believe that the literature of Southeast Asia is a rich mine of creativity and that the peoples of this region should be invited to share their stories and poems with one another. These two genres are more readily accessible to readers who wish to take a quick dip into the literatures of their neighbors. And the English language, being the de facto lingua franca for all of us, has been chosen for the same reason.

The other four publishers involved with this publication are Ateneo de Manila University Press, Philippines; Buku Fixi, Malaysia; Silkworm Books, Thailand and Yayasan Pustaka Obor, Indonesia.

214 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[micha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teilweise umwerfend tolle Kurzgeschichten, die erzählerische Inhalte weiter und radikaler denken als bei uns im Westen - teilweise aber auch noch etwas unausgegorene Frühwerke einiger Autoren, denen es an Erfahrung und Souveränität fehlt. Vor allem im letzten Abschnitt des Sammelbandes, den Gedichten, nimmt die Qualität deutlich ab. Insgesamt aber eine tolle und lesenswerte Zusammenstellung.

[Gerald]

As with every anthology a hit or miss. The selections by Ateneo press from the Philippines are nothing short of phenomenal though. That noir set in Batangas by Angelo R Lacuesta lingered for a while, and Ricardo M. De Ingrid's "A Tale for this Mountain" with their sharp, precise language.