Malaysian Millenial Voices

by Malachi Edwin Vethamani (Editor)

MALAYSIAN MILLENNIAL VOICES is a volume of poems by Malaysian writers aged 35 years and below. It brings together thirty-seven fresh voices in a collection of sixty-nine poems in the second decade of the twenty-first century. The poems touch on themes that range from everyday concerns to identity, growing up, dealing with the loss of parents and grandparents and political satire. Among the poets in this collection are a few who stand out and might be the future voices we can look forward to reading. These are confident emerging Malaysian voices.

Genres: Poetry

117 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am sad because I feel like this book does not have enough publicity. I only found out about it from one of my friends who is also one of the poets featured in this book. Personally, I only know Malaysian poets who are in the spoken word scene. Unfortunately, that is the one local event that I seldom make any effort to attend because the atmosphere, for some reason always felt so aggressively confrontational. I really enjoyed reading this and was immensely pleased that it's only RM25 and available on Shopee. It's affordable for its primary target audience and I AM HERE FOR THAT.

Some of my favourite poems from this are:
- “Two lyrics for the afterlife: two trees” by Aisha Hassan
- “Hourglass” by Evelyn Chow
- “Daddy” by Loshni Nair
- “At times, silence embalms you” by Hon-Wai Wong
- “A political story” by Yee Heng Yeh

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of 69 poems by 37 millennials, selected from 135 writers who submitted a total of 530 poems. I love that there is a book amplifying Malaysian voices as it's definitely a heritage and culture that I don't read enough of, even though I live in a neighbouring country.

An okay collection overall, with some really good poems. I particularly liked Hourglass by Evelyn Chow, Mispronounced by Hana Sudradjat, and MCO Food Diary by Hong Jinghan.

I think a large part of poetry is about one's own interpretation so I didn't care for the overly long introduction, which felt like a lot of unnecessary mansplaining.

[Ashvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm truly thankful and excited that my poem, 'Father Figure', is now published in Malaysian Millennial Voices, amongst many great poems, some of which were written by my peers.

I remember writing this poem during my final year in university. My friend Amanda said to me, "find the core of what you're feeling, dig deep", and now I've let the world have it.

This poem means a great deal to me. Sometimes I think about how scared I was writing it in the first place, but now I feel light. I feel thankful to have addressed these 'things' that would have usually, initially scared me, but now I hope I'll never stop writing more.

A huge shoutout to my classmates Yu Huan and Loshni, I am in awe of the both of you. What a great platform for us. I'm excited to see what we do next.

Lots of love to my biggest creative inspiration, the late Sylvia Plath. The first time I read 'Mad Girl's Love Song' on the screen during a lecture, I fell in love with poetry. How great is it to find someone who we can relate to so well. When I wrote 'Father Figure', I imagined it was yours.

[Rahdika K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently came across this book and enjoyed reading it. It’s a compilation of 69 poems by 37 new voices. It was refreshing to be absorbed into this book. Some of the themes revolve around identity, grief and political satire.

The poem I resonated with would be the one by Emmanuel Yogan Lourdes, with the title Indian.

Another poem that I loved was by Julianne Jeyapragasam, titled Gunpoint. It may be concise by speak volumes.

I would recommend Malaysians to pick this book up and enjoy the invigorating voices of our very own. ❤️

[Aria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of my definite favorites (in no particular order):
✒ "Song of an Undesirable Color" by Aqil Najhan
✒ "At Times, Silence Embalms You" by Hon-Wai Wong
✒ "Oh Saudade" by Kaiven Ng
✒ "The Wind Called to Me" by Kristine Rimas Lee

Also, some of my poems are in here and I'm immensely grateful for the opportunity for them to see the sunlight. I hope this collection will have more readers soon!

[Sharon Bakar · Rating 4 out of 5]

We need to encourage new voices in Malaysian poetry and this collection introduces some promising young writers with a fresh perspective on what truly matters in life.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

".....
Maybe then, you'd see me for who I am:
A little sun-kissed sure; but still a child of the earth,
Just like you."
— Emmanuel Yoga Lourdes, Indian.

It's a truly wonderful experience spending Malaysia Day with this poetry collection published by Maya Press.

This book features a collection of poems written by Malaysian poets of diverse background and ethnicity; Covering on various range of topics including the negative ones such as sexual abuse, death, societal pressure, racism, COVID-19, political issues, corruption and some are more heartwarming such as memories with our loved ones, embracing our identity, etc.

Of course when it comes to poetry collection, I always fail to understand some of the poems and just find them unrelatable and the language used is just not for me. This is on me for failing to fully understand or even trying to dissect the poems and read more between the lines. Some poems just appear rather insignificant to me.

However, I find myself loving some pieces and relate to the poems a lot. The words used and the topics hit right on the spot, especially on embracing our identity, racism and the political ones. Some of my favourite poems would be: Chindian is..., Indian, Daddy, Mispronounced, The Land of Unknown Grandfathers and Santa's Funeral. These poems are talking about truths and they instantly pull me back to reality. These poems would really stick with me for a good while.

Oh, I also love when some words are written in the original language such as Tamil and Malay in certain poems. But fret not, they also include footnote for those who don't understand the words. It feels more Malaysian when you see familiar words appear in this poetry collection.

Overall, it's a good collection of poems. If you're a poetry lover, would recommend you to get it. If you're in doubt, maybe you can borrow from a friend to get some kind of preview before deciding to get a copy for yourself. And this book is available at @gerakbudaya .

[Introvert Insane · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a millenial, I can relate to many things from this collection. I wish more of this are out here. I also want to hear Gen Z voices for some reason. Or maybe Gen X and Boomers.

[Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've felt the joy and grief that was hidden within this book.

[Alia Rihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to read poems written by Malaysians and learn more about them and our cultures in Malaysia. I wish I can read more from them. A nice quick read yet, lots of thoughtful and deep words.

[Azalia Suhaimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly pleased and honoured to have my poem included in this anthology. 😊