Birokrasi legal-rasional seperti yang dikejar-kejar oleh manusia kota moden barangkali menjanjikan kecekapan, tetapi pasti kering jiwa. Apakah yang selalu kita bayangkan tentang kota? Paling tidak, kita membayangkan kota sebagai apa sahaja yang tidak dimiliki oleh lawannya, iaitu kampung. Bangunan-bangunan pencakar langit, pusat-pusat membeli-belah besar yang berselerakan, lebuhraya yang bersimpang-siur, dan manusia-manusia penghuninya datang daripada pelbagai latar budaya. K

Malam tadi pergi lebih awal dibawa deru kereta yang mendadak cemburu. Kita dibius suara lagu dalam kotak waktu itu. Menyelimut kata-kata yang belum sempat lahir dalam titis hujan di jendela kaca yang enggan mendukung lalu terbang bersama debu jalan kota. Aku menyambutmu lagi kelopak yang tekal berlabuh dengan embun di pangku fajar sentiasa lebih awal utuh dalam kesepian dan setia dalam kebingitan. Rejowinangun, 2025

Terapung pada Waktu Diam dalam Rona Senja yang tiada hujung. Tokyo 16/01/2025

Di rumahmu, titis air pada keladi tak pernah berhenti mengikis rekah jatuh dalam kabus tahun-tahun sepi Teratai Bulan Sebelas di rumahmu aku mengintai kata-kata yang telah lama pergi Kuala Lumpur 02/11/2024

Malam itu, setelah kau menyerah pada buas angin yang datang menyambutmu, ingin aku biarkan keretapi itu memutar-mutar kota, lewat dalam kelam, lalu pergi mengabur mata. Kita membaur, enggan lagi memarahi bulan yang menyunting bintang, menuduh bayu mengusik dingin. Di Gerabak Tujuh, kau ada, dalam kata-kata yang sudah lelah, bubar dalam keriuhan yang setia memangku hening. Tokyo 17/01/2025

The craft of poetry can draw upon the power of age-old incantation—language that strikes at the essence of where we come from, who we are, and who we want to become. My relationship with poetry has always been mercurial, fluctuating, and ambivalent. I don’t indulge in poetry as religiously as I do in essays, personal stories, and any other form of literary non-fiction. Poetry finds me occasionally, most of the time by chance. I first encountered the works of Romanian poet, Pa

The role of the current curatorial team is to make sure that GTLF remains relevant and speaks to the needs of our literary community. Photo by Dario Fernandez Ruz In late 2019, I received a text message from Pauline Fan, the director of the George Town Literary Festival (GTLF). She had just concluded the 9th edition of Malaysia’s largest literary festival held in Penang. Pauline and I have known each other for several years mainly through our essays and translations. Her earl

Although the infectious rhythms of dikir-dangdut are no longer ubiquitous on the streets of Kelantan, they still resonate through the subterranean channels of the virtual realm. Source: Penang Monthly, originally from ajriya © 123RF.com. Rosalinda kept her head down and her eyes fixed on the floor as she walked out of the Gua Musang Lower Syariah Court in June 2014. Hot on her heels was a throng of journalists from local newspapers bombarding her with questions and cameramen

It is not a remnant of feudalism or a mark of fatalism, but an expression of a community deeply rooted in its sensibility and culture. Tok Dalang Pok Wi. Source: Putra Othman @ PUSAKA. In the 60’s and 70’s, almost everyone in the small town of Kota Bharu knew who Mat Zin Korea was. He was born and spent most of his childhood in Kampung Padang Bemban, a small farming village 12 kilometres to the east of Kota Bharu. At the age of fourteen, unable to stand the routine and strict