The Reader

Kata Suara

I am glad that this time,I managed to attend the 3rd Kata Suara event for the first time,despite heavy rainfall on the way.First,let me thank YM Raja Ahamd the owner of the gallery and the host for inviting me and second I must congratulate YM Raja Ahamd for his tireless efforts with cost him a lot of time and mioney to promote the young unpublished/not yet known authors,painters and musicians.Bravo to you,YM Raja Ahmad!

I really enjoyed the event.First was from Dr Siti Zaiton Ismail.She told the story how she lived in Jogja as an art student and I really like her sketches with jawi captions.InsyaAllah,I will imitate her style when I do my sketches in my moleskine notebook.As you all know, imitation is the highest form of congratulation!

Next came my friend Jiwarasa.My congratulations to him for his ability to share his reading with others.We need more young men like him who read a lot of books and write about them.

Dewanggasakti is a musical group that captured my heart.My left foot was tapping as they play the guitar and the gambus!Encore,young men.U Wei read some of his work in progress and Dr Zakaria Ali read his English and Malay poems.

For better photos,I will try to connect to those who uploaded to flickr later.Mine were taken using a mobile phone.

PS:Please click here for photos of the event.

Sword

Poetry was not written to be analysed,it was meant to inspire without reason,to touch without understanding.-From The Notebook-The Novel,by Nicholas Sparks.

I seldom read poems and I must confess that as far as I could remember,I have not bought any English poetry book.What a shame!

Something happened in the middle of January,2007 when my mentor bought me  a book in Makkah entitled Heaven Without Stars - a collection of poems in search of peace by Waleed A. Maktari.Now, I am happy to put on record that I do read poems even though at a much older age...as they say, it is better late than never.

In the first paragraph,I quote a nice sentence from my favourite author;and it is my guiding principle when I began to read poems.Slowly and steadily,I am crawling to arrive at the meaning,hopefully..

Let me share a Waleed A. Maktari poem on Sword:

Once prepared
And not scared

I am the sword of the light
made with the prayers of the night,

To the delight
Defending those in plight
Who are weak in might.

I will ignite
The dormant knight
Like a candle light,

Inscribed on my blade:

Is an accolade
In Arabic calligraphy
Like that of the Al-Hambra's Tapestry
In our Andalusian history.

I am the sword of the light
Powered by an internal light.

I will sever the chain
Of material gain,


To attain...

The station
Of realisation.

KL International Literary Festival

  Book Bungee 
  Originally uploaded by Adibi.

First,let me thank my friend Chet for the tip on the above event and for a gift of book bungee as shown in the photo.I really appreciate that!

There are a few programmes I wish to attend and here is the link to it.

Let's take some time to appreciate literature...

Pride & Prejudice

What do you get when you add pride to prejudice?

First, you will get  the book and later a movie:-)

By the way, I just came back from watching the movie. All of us have our own pride and prejudice-only the quantity and locations vary from person to person.

The Peak District reminds me of my alma mater-the University of Sheffield.

Sweet as love...

While having afternoon tea with my wife yesterday at a cafe within a bookshop,I could not help but took this photo using my smart mobile phone.What captured my attention are the strong words from this Turkish proverb.Not to mention the hot coffee and cheese cake...

May I invite comments or explaination of the meanings of the proverb.

Have a good weekend.

Personal Note: This posting is # 500th in this blog-The Reader at Typepad.com