The Myanmar literary world has been out of touch with the rest of the world too, ever since a strict censorship regime came into effect in the country following the 1962 military coup. Fortunately, there were a number of literary translators in what was then Burma. Dozens of world classics have been translated from English since the 1960s. However, attempts to publish contemporary world fiction in translation have been very limited under censorship.
It was only in 2012, in ‘transitional Myanmar’, that most literary censorship was abolished and publishers were free to publish and sell whatever they wanted. However, this bird kept in a coop for more than sixty years had forgotten how to fly away to her freedom when the coop was opened up.
I remember this: a translator presented his version of a novel by Haruki Murakami to a publisher, but the publisher declined it. He didn’t dare print a novel featuring Murakami’s sex scenes.
After 2015, a new generation emerged, not just of publishers and translators but also of readers who were beginning to appreciate the fruits of freedom. These days, new books by Murakami are translated as soon as they appear in Western markets. Some titles are translated simultaneously by two or more translators in a race for publication.
Myanmar readers today can enjoy contemporary writers such as Michel Houellebecq, David Mitchell, Han Kang, Yoko Tawada and Mo Yan. Some of us have started to make contact with international publishers and literary agents to obtain translation rights for certain books. Slowly but surely, we have been reaching out to the world.
Like an array of garden flowers, people from all over the world with their different views and experiences came together at the Book Fair in Frankfurt
I am proud to have the opportunity to present my books at a stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair. I have made an agreement with a Danish publisher to translate into Danish a Myanmar graphic novel, Pa Jau, about the story of artist Htein Lin, who survived some of the most awful and unimaginable tortures known to humankind at the hands of a rebel group at the China-Burma border in 1991. Pa Jau in French will follow soon, I hope.
International book fairs are crucial bridges between local and global literatures. We, Myanmar publishers and literary organisations, have a long way to go before we are fully represented in some of the biggest book fairs outside our country.
‘Where are you from?’ I asked of everyone who visited my stand. India, Mexico, France, Germany, the UK, Israel, Canada, Turkey, Norway, Switzerland, lots of places. Like an array of garden flowers, people from all over the world with their different views and experiences came together at the Book Fair in Frankfurt. Diversity is beauty.
We have been given the chance to introduce Myanmar literature at the Frankfurt Book Fair. We are now ready to present to the world creative writing from Myanmar.
Abysmal socioeconomic conditions under the military dictatorship notwithstanding, most Myanmar writers, translators and publishers have thrown in their lot with their readers, their people. We continue to support our people with what we know and what we do best – with our writing. Myanmar writers today are writing against the double plagues of COVID-19 and the military tyranny.
It’s time we showcased their work to the world.
Myay Hmone Lwin is an award-winning writer and founder of NDSP Books in Yangon, established in 2013.
Special thanks to Kate Griffin (National Centre for Writing) and Claudia Kaiser for making the NDSP Books stand possible at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2021.
