A relaxing evening with poets

UTAR Centre for Modern Languages and Literature (CMLL) organised a poetry reading session titled WORDSCAPES: An Evening with Poets on 27 July 2022 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus and via Zoom.

A Landscape of Malaysian Poems: A Perspective was the theme of the event. It was conducted to allow students and staff to relax while giving them a chance to learn more about poetry.  Invited to present the poems was Malaysian Indian teacher, trainer, poet, writer and critic, Emeritus Professor Dr Malachi Edwin Vethamani.

A few other UTAR staff and alumni were also asked to present their respective poems, including Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS) lecturer Dr Paul Gnanaselvam Pakirnathan, Dean of Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI) Dr David Tneh Cheng Eng, FCI lecturer Dr Swagata Sinha Roy, and FAS alumni Celeste Tan, Piravina Ragunathan and Isabelle Pinto. Meanwhile, the moderator for the event was FCI lecturer Nur Farhana binti Abdul Wahid.

The poetry session began with a short speech by CMLL Chairperson Dr Nadya Supian, who said, “Thank you Dr Malachi for taking the time out to join us in our poetry reading session. It is a great honour to have you here. Welcome to the WORDSCAPES, which is organised by CMLL to help all of you to relax and take your minds off the real world for a while.” The poetry reading session then kicked off with Dr Malachi reciting poems mainly from his books titled It’s Complicated and Life Happens. The titles of the poems were A New Beginning, Sanctuary Slave, The 7’o Clock Tree, and Speed Matches Silence.

In the following session, UTAR alumni took turns showing off their respective poems. The first to present was Celeste Tan, who stated that literature is a form of art, before going on to present her poems named Odd Family and Duality. Pravina, who had a love for writing and reading since a young age, then presented her poems, titled Blue Ticks and Red Flags, Live and Let Live, and The F Word. Following after was Isabelle Pinto who presented her poems too.  

Clockwise from top left: Celeste Tan, Piravina and Isabelle delivering their poems

The first to present among staff was Dr Paul. He delivered his poems titled A Hearty Breakfast and Police people. Next, Dr David presented the poems Orchard Seams and Monsoon Memories, while Dr Swagata ended the session with her poems called Random Jottings, A Dyelogue, and What’s My Malaysia: A Soul-Full Outpouring.

Dr David (left) and Dr Paul reading out their poems

WORDSCAPES came to an end with the presentation of souvenirs and a group photography session.

The speakers with the participants