Poetry
Awan putih
Not translated into English
Masuri S. N. · 1958
Synopsis
White cloud: eighty poems written between 1944 and 1951, in which the young poet speaks of the struggle and anxiety of a dominated people and of his attachment to the nation. Pieces such as “Membela Nusa”, defending the homeland, or “Nyiur Melambai”, the swaying coconut palms, carry a patriotic tone, and the collection, moving from the traditional pantun to freer verse, opens up the themes of nation and community.
Context
The collection appeared in Singapore in 1958, from Geliga; it is its author's first book, whose first poems had appeared in the press in September 1944. In it the poet can be seen leaving the traditional quatrain for a freer versification. The eighty pieces gathered range from 1944 to 1951 and deal with the struggle of an enslaved nation and its desire for freedom; other collections followed over nearly half a century.
Who it is for
Poems in Malay, short and in simple language, which exist neither in French nor in English; they can be read separately.
Prizes and reception
The first collection of a poet whom the National Library of Singapore regards as a pioneer of modern Malay poetry.
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