ID :
144061
Tue, 09/28/2010 - 17:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/144061
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A humble poet's journey to success in winning 2010 SEA Write Award
The South East Asian Writers (SEA Write) Awards this year has surprised the Thai literary community as the recipient, who achieved the award by a unanimous vote, has skillfully written his poetry in an independent style, ignoring the metrical composition which has become almost a norm for poets in the kingdom.
A native of Bacho district in the southern province of Narathiwat, Zakariya Amataya adopted Malayu as his mother tongue and admitted that Islamic teachings have highly influenced his opinions and writing.
Zakariya later left his hometown for high school in Bangkok where he encountered a new world. He perfectly blended his personal interests, knowledge from school, attitudes and philosophical thinking into outstanding poetry, Mai Mee Ying Sao Nai Bhot Kavee (No Women in Poetry), which was hailed and described by SEA Write judges as timeless, spaceless and applicable to all religions.
Zakariya, 35, said he had never expected his book to win the award and he was proud to learn that his poetry received a unanimous vote and accepted nationally.
He started appreciating poetry when he was studying Islamic sciences, and Arabic language and literature in India, during which writing had become his means to cope with frustrations of language problems.
Having monks and priests as classmates, Zakariya naturally turned his interest to humanity.
"We can't deny we need the four requisites of life. Despite different cultures, religions and social status, everybody is hungry. Everybody wants to sleep," said the award-winning poet.
Realising that he himself and other people are simply human beings, he appreciates the value of humanity and strongly believes that people of all races can live in harmony if they accept their differences. He has never visualised the faces of his readers when he composes a poem.
Before becoming a full-time poet, Zakariya was captured by the mentality hidden in foreign poetry and by how metaphor was used in a different social context. He gained awareness of each new poet by reading their literary work and this one-sided intimacy inspired him to translate non-Thai poems into Thai free-verse poetry with the objective of implanting feelings across cultural differences.
"Their poems have become my friends and teachers, though we've never met. Although some poets have passed away, I don't feel lonely or sad as their poems are always alive," said Zakariya.
Zakariya humbly accepts the bitter truth that, as a poet, he cannot lead an extravagant lifestyle but rather a life with prudent spending habits, while books are the only luxuries in which he allows himself.
A few years back, he launched a website (www.thaipoetsociety.com) to serve as a forum for Thai poets to exchange opinions and promote their works.
"You must be strong enough to be just a poet since writing doesn't always make money. If you want to be a poet and live comfortably, you'll have to you find a full-time job," suggested Zakariya to youngsters who want to take the literary path.
As poetry is the least popular literary form among Thai readers, Zakariya always attempts to join literary events in the country to promote poetry.
He said the SEA Write Award, launched in 1979 to honour writers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), helps raise the voice of Thai poets and hopefully it will help promote the local poetry community as a whole.
Considering himself a stranger to his hometown, Zakariya wants to write a novel describing his nostalgia and beautiful memories of times he once had in Bacho district. He humbly said that his novel-writing skill needs improvement and that he always tries too hard to find perfect words in weaving a story.
"No Women in Poetry," Zakariya's first book, is a compilation of his work in the past ten years. He decided to publish the poetry now for fear that it would become outdated and eventually lose its appeal to the point that it could not be published anymore.
Zakariya is not satisfied with the work at his highest level but, as poetry represents itself, he says that it might be a good reading choice for others. Such an attitude prevents him from becoming arrogant and reminds him to continue to improve himself, he said.
As humble as he is, Zakariya once wrote: "Among flowers, I'm a weed. Among poets, I'm a mute." (MCOT online news)
A native of Bacho district in the southern province of Narathiwat, Zakariya Amataya adopted Malayu as his mother tongue and admitted that Islamic teachings have highly influenced his opinions and writing.
Zakariya later left his hometown for high school in Bangkok where he encountered a new world. He perfectly blended his personal interests, knowledge from school, attitudes and philosophical thinking into outstanding poetry, Mai Mee Ying Sao Nai Bhot Kavee (No Women in Poetry), which was hailed and described by SEA Write judges as timeless, spaceless and applicable to all religions.
Zakariya, 35, said he had never expected his book to win the award and he was proud to learn that his poetry received a unanimous vote and accepted nationally.
He started appreciating poetry when he was studying Islamic sciences, and Arabic language and literature in India, during which writing had become his means to cope with frustrations of language problems.
Having monks and priests as classmates, Zakariya naturally turned his interest to humanity.
"We can't deny we need the four requisites of life. Despite different cultures, religions and social status, everybody is hungry. Everybody wants to sleep," said the award-winning poet.
Realising that he himself and other people are simply human beings, he appreciates the value of humanity and strongly believes that people of all races can live in harmony if they accept their differences. He has never visualised the faces of his readers when he composes a poem.
Before becoming a full-time poet, Zakariya was captured by the mentality hidden in foreign poetry and by how metaphor was used in a different social context. He gained awareness of each new poet by reading their literary work and this one-sided intimacy inspired him to translate non-Thai poems into Thai free-verse poetry with the objective of implanting feelings across cultural differences.
"Their poems have become my friends and teachers, though we've never met. Although some poets have passed away, I don't feel lonely or sad as their poems are always alive," said Zakariya.
Zakariya humbly accepts the bitter truth that, as a poet, he cannot lead an extravagant lifestyle but rather a life with prudent spending habits, while books are the only luxuries in which he allows himself.
A few years back, he launched a website (www.thaipoetsociety.com) to serve as a forum for Thai poets to exchange opinions and promote their works.
"You must be strong enough to be just a poet since writing doesn't always make money. If you want to be a poet and live comfortably, you'll have to you find a full-time job," suggested Zakariya to youngsters who want to take the literary path.
As poetry is the least popular literary form among Thai readers, Zakariya always attempts to join literary events in the country to promote poetry.
He said the SEA Write Award, launched in 1979 to honour writers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), helps raise the voice of Thai poets and hopefully it will help promote the local poetry community as a whole.
Considering himself a stranger to his hometown, Zakariya wants to write a novel describing his nostalgia and beautiful memories of times he once had in Bacho district. He humbly said that his novel-writing skill needs improvement and that he always tries too hard to find perfect words in weaving a story.
"No Women in Poetry," Zakariya's first book, is a compilation of his work in the past ten years. He decided to publish the poetry now for fear that it would become outdated and eventually lose its appeal to the point that it could not be published anymore.
Zakariya is not satisfied with the work at his highest level but, as poetry represents itself, he says that it might be a good reading choice for others. Such an attitude prevents him from becoming arrogant and reminds him to continue to improve himself, he said.
As humble as he is, Zakariya once wrote: "Among flowers, I'm a weed. Among poets, I'm a mute." (MCOT online news)
