411:. He valued English for its practicality and widespread use, helping to compensate for the feeling that his family was "culturally rootless". Nonetheless, he did not view English as a language with an organic connection to his culture or emotions, a topic tackled explicitly in his poetry. He described his cultural background as being "stony rubbish", fragmented by place, migration, colonialism, and ethnicity. He spoke of a "triple alienation": from both Chinese tradition and Malay tradition, from the materialistic and un-spiritual culture he felt was imposed by the colonial government, and from the English language and its traditions, despite his use of the language.
367:, a poem about the spiritual and ecstatic experiences of a neophyte priestess in ancient Egypt. Originally a collection of eight unrelated poems, it was revised for publication as a single volume. Jeyam has claimed that here Wong successfully "eschews the postcolonial poetic space of contemporary and historical Malaya but, instead, chooses to delve into the possibilities of discovering a more transcendent world in the burial and funerary mythmaking of ancient Egypt." Wong described the aim as exploring "the lack of spirituality in this country". The work was republished in 2019, with new additions and revisions leaving a total of 53 sonnets.
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did not see his work as part of
English literary tradition, instead seeking to craft a new Malaysian literature for which there was no existing body of work. His use of English was practical, despite raising questions about whether the language matched his Malaysian identity. He sought to use English in a way that did not incorporate existing cultural and philosophical associations, to give his English poetry a Malaysian voice and break free from the traditions of the English poetry he learnt at school. Many of his poems were dedicated to other local prominent editors and authors who used the English language.
337:, where the body of Osiris is scattered across Egypt, is used to explore the idea of displacement across the physical landscape of Malaysia. Wong is also a noted anglophone poet, whose poetry has been described as a "series of lamentations". Scholar Leonard Jeyam has argued that with the publication of several notable poetry works by Wong Phui Nam in the 1980s and 1990s, Malaysian poetry in English, once an "underrated genre," "underwent a new surge of interest." His work is considered to be part of the origin of Malaysian English literature.
209:
Wong saw his work as part of the beginning of a
Malaysian body of literature, viewing Malaysia as containing strands of other cultures rather than having developed a common national culture. Although Wong wrote in English, he felt no connection to English literary tradition. Similarly, he felt little
370:
In his later years he remained engaged in the
Malaysian poetry scene, assisting younger authors and judging the under-35 category in a 2021 national poetry competition. His work is included in some school curriculums. He participated in recording audio versions of all of his poems, which were shared
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was published in 2006, collating his previous publications. However, some changes were made to the previous collections. Translations of
Chinese poems within each previous book were grouped together into their own section. The book also included some portions of non-poetry, including parts of a 2005
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texts usually being considered part of the national literature. While some authors from similar backgrounds emigrated from
Malaysia, Wong did not, and some of his poetry addressed his feeling of cultural displacement and being considered an outsider in what he thought of as his own country. In his
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In a 1999 interview, Wong stated that
Malaysia was "deeply divided by language", and noted that English was culturally unrelated to any of the other languages in use there. Nonetheless he saw English as a useful language to reflect Malaysia, a product of colonialism that was "culturally naked". He
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His sense of language alienation was most acute in the 1970s and early 1980s, when he stopped writing in part due to the
Malaysian government's language policies which discouraged the use of English, with only
230:. At the same time he also attended a Chinese school, although he stated he took studying there less seriously, leaving him feeling more proficient in English. He was educated at the Batu Road School and the
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affinity to what is seen as
Chinese culture, and described being an outsider in the country he considered his own. Wong's poetry often reflected these feelings, examining language, place, and identity.
424:
poetry, both language and physical landscape are used to explore the theme of identity. The inclusion of
English versions of Chinese poetry in his books has been suggested as a way of affirming his
237:
Wong's interest in poems developed out of an interest in music, with a lack of access to a piano and formal teaching limiting his expression to the spoken word. A key early influence was
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work. His second collection of poems was released in 1989, and followed by other works of collected poetry and two plays which adapted Greek tragedies to a
Malaysian context.
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identity. He described them as "adaptations" rather than translations, reflecting his specific self-identity as a Malaysian Chinese rather than a Chinese person in China.
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Shortly after his first collection of poetry was released in 1968, Wong stopped writing in response to the introduction of a national language policy that sidelined non-
299:. This work has been described as more coherent, using less poetic words than in previous work, portraying a dark view of both history and identity.
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245:, which was written in English by a local author, pushing against a feeling at the time that English literature was the preserve of white people.
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After graduating from university, Wong worked in banking and development financing. Wong and his wife Khatijah had three sons and one daughter.
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and was co-editor of two poetry anthologies from the university. The literary magazine's title reflected a desire that the magazine be a
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I have written these poems for those who truly understand what it means to have to make one's language as one goes along.
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with a coherent culture, and viewed his work as contributing to a new Malaysian identity. He did not write poetry in
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His poems have also appeared in several other anthologies and literary journals. In 1988 his work was published in
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speech explaining the fifteen years in which he did not write poetry between his first and second books.
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Peninsular muse : interviews with modern Malaysian and Singaporean poets, novelists, and dramatists
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In 1964 some of Wong's poems were included in an anthology of Malaysian writing called
187:; 20 September 1935 – 26 September 2022) was a Malaysian economist and poet. Born to a
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Chinese family. He began learning English aged 9, following the end of the
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Wong contended that the people of Malaysia had not fully developed into a
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was published in 1993, collating previously published work. In 2000
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Contemporary Postcolonial & Postimperial Literature in English
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907:"The Poet in Malaysia: Wong Phui Nam, Muhammad Haji Salleh"
834:"Malaysian literary pioneer Wong Phui Nam has died aged 87"
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was produced by Maya Press. This play was an adaptation of
933:"A Heritage of Fragments: An Interview with Wong Phui Nam"
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Wong died on 26 September 2022 at age 87, and received an
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363:In 2013, he published the final version of
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289:Ways of Exile: Poems from the First Decade
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960:. Petaling Jaya: Maya Press.
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340:In June 2006, his first play
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222:on 20 September 1935 to a
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333:. For example, the
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596:. pp. 71–94.
371:in August 2022 at
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297:Rainer Maria Rilke
252:(then part of the
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262:melting pot
104:ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄆㄟˋㄋㄢˊ
1326:Categories
1231:Dina Zaman
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