Cambridge Scholars Publishing Malaysian Literature in English: A Critical Companion

This collection of essays brings together work by some of the most internationally acclaimed critics of Malaysian literature in English from different parts of the world, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the US. It investigates the works of major writers of the tradition in the genres of drama, fiction and poetry, from its beginnings to the present, focusing mainly on thematic and stylistic trends. The book pays particular attention to issues such as gender, ethnicity, nationalism, multiculturalism, diaspora, hybridity and transnationalism, which are central to the creativity and imagination of these writers. The chapters collectively address the challenges and achievements of writers in the English language in a country where English, first introduced by the colonisers, has experienced a mixed fate of ups and downs in the post-independence period, due to the changing, and sometimes strikingly different, policies adopted by the government. The book will be of interest to readers and researchers of Malaysian literature, Southeast Asian studies and postcolonial literatures. About the Author Mohammad A. Quayum is Professor of English at International Islamic University Malaysia and Adjunct Professor at Flinders University, Australia, and the University of South Australia. He has taught previously at the State University of New York at Binghamton and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has published 34 books and 140 articles, book chapters and encyclopaedia entries in the areas of American literature, Bengali literature and Southeast Asian literature. His books on Malaysian literature include Colonial to Global: Malaysian Women’s Writing in English 1940s-1990s (2003), Petals of Hibiscus: A Representative Anthology of Malaysian Literature in English (2001; 2003), One Sky, Many Horizons: Studies in Malaysian Literature in English (2007; 2014), and Sharing Borders: Studies in Contemporary Singaporean-Malaysian Literature (2009).