The Routledge Concise History of Southeast Asian Writing in English

by Patke; Rajeev S.

• ISBN13: 9780415435680
• ISBN10: 0415435684
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-08-25
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The Routledge Concise History of Southeast Asian Writing in Englishtraces the development of literature in the region within its historical and cultural contexts. This volume explores creative writing in English across different genres and media, establishing connections from the colonial activity of the early modern period through to contemporary writing across Southeast Asia, focusing especially on the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. In this critical guide, Rajeev S. Patke and Philip Holden: interweave text and context through the history of creative writing in the region examine language use and variation, making use of illuminating examples from speech, poetry and fictional prose trace the impact of historical, political and cultural events engage with current debates on national consciousness, globalization, modernity and postmodernism provide useful features including a glossary, further reading section and chapter summaries. Direct and clearly written, this Concise Historyguides readers through key topics while presenting a unique, original synthesis of history and practice in Southeast Asian writing in English. It is the ideal starting point for students and all those seeking a better understanding of Southeast Asian literatures and cultures.

Author Biography

Rajeev S. Patke and Philip Holden are Associate Professors in the Department of English Language and Literature at the National University of Singapore.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgements	p. x
Introduction	p. 1
Overview	p. 1
The geographical dimension: English in Southeast Asia	p. 1
The historical dimension; from colonial to contemporary history	p. 4
The structural dimension: how this book works	p. 5
The methodological dimension: a comparative approach	p. 6
Conclusion	p. 8
Historical contexts	p. 9
Overview	p. 9
Geography, culture and politics	p. 9
Early modern Southeast Asia	p. 12
Late colonialism and nationalism in Southeast Asia	p. 15
Southeast Asia today	p. 19
Conclusion	p. 26
Linguistic contexts	p. 28
Overview	p. 28
Bilingualism and multilingualism in Southeast Asia	p. 28
Spoken English in Southeast Asia	p. 31
English in Southeast Asia: code-mixing	p. 36
The relation of spoken to written English	p. 38
Conclusion	p. 42
Malaysian and Singaporean writing to 1965	p. 43
Overview	p. 43
The British in Malaya	p. 43
Malayan writing in English 1800-1945	p. 45
Malayan poetry in English: after the Second World War	p. 49
Early Malayan fiction and drama	p. 57
Conclusion	p. 61
Filipino writing to 1965	p. 62
Overview	p. 62
Educational policies and the dissemination of English	p. 62
Filipino literature before the Second World War	p. 63
After the war: 1945-1965	p. 71
Critical and educational institutions	p. 79
Conclusion	p. 80
Narrative fiction 1965-1990	p. 81
Overview	p. 81
The Philippines	p. 82
Malaysia	p. 89
Singapore	p. 92
Hong Kong	p. 96
Conclusion	p. 98
Poetry 1965-1990	p. 100
Overview	p. 100
The comparative dimension	p. 100
Philippines poetry in English 1965-1990	p. 103
Philippine poetry: writing 'woman'	p. 114
Poetry from Malaysia and Singapore 1965-1990	p. 115
Conclusion	p. 123
Drama 1965-1990	p. 125
Overview	p. 125
The Philippines	p. 126
Malaysia	p. 127
Singapore	p. 130
Hong Kong	p. 135
Conclusion	p. 136
Expatriate, diasporic and minoritarian writing	p. 137
Overview	p. 137
Expatriate and diasporic writing from British Malaya	p. 138
Expatriate writing from Hong Kong	p. 141
Diasporic writers from the Philippines	p. 144
Minoritarian writing	p. 146
Conclusion ISO
Contemporary fiction 1990-2008	p. 151
Overview	p. 151
The Philippines	p. 151
Malaysia	p. 155
Singapore	p. 157
Hong Kong	p. 162
Conclusion	p. 164
Contemporary poetry 1990-2008	p. 165
Overview	p. 165
The Philippines	p. 166
Malaysia	p. 177
Singapore	p. 179
Hong Kong	p. 186
Conclusion	p. 189
Contemporary drama 1990-2008	p. 190
Overview	p. 190
The Philippines	p. 190
Malaysia	p. 192
Singapore	p. 195
Hong Kong	p. 201
Conclusion	p. 202
From the contemporary to the future	p. 203
Overview	p. 203
From decolonization through modernity to cosmopolitanism	p. 203
Literary cultures in the era of digital technologies	p. 209
The Philippines	p. 211
Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong	p. 213
Conclusion	p. 216
Works cited	p. 217
Guide to further reading	p. 236
Glossary of terms	p. 252
Index	p. 257
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