MONSTERS are how our minds picture the ugly, evil, unjust and cruel, while immortals have been relegated to spend earthly lives for eternity.

These age-old myths still have meaning in our present day, said Muhammad Haji Salleh, the 1991 national literary laureate, in his keynote speech at the launch of this year’s George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) themed ‘Monsters and (Im)mortals’.

“These old myths point to possible solutions to present-day problems as we confront demagogues, and present-day human monsters, wily politicians and military dictators who rule with outright power,” said Salleh.

This is something that Chow Yen Ling, 25 a first-time GTLF attendee agreed with.

“I like how Salleh’s keynote speech points out how the theme of the festival can be so relatable to present day problems.

“Panels, like ‘Braver Worlds: Vision of the Future/Past’ which was about writers’ vision of the future, and experimental poetry sessions that provide insight into the problems of Malaysian society, can help me understand the stigmas faced by an artist,” she said.

Chow, who is studying her Masters in Creative Writing at Nottingham University Malaysia, said the festival had helped her understand more about the writing world.

“I plan to be an editor when I graduate, truthfully I didn’t expect so many book launches. The availability of the writers to talk to their readers after the launch (of their books) is also a welcome feature of this festival.

“The writers are so friendly,” she said.

She said the GTLF team had pulled off the theme very well, and would definitely look forward to next year’s festival.

“It’s not an easy theme to go with, but Bernice Chauly, the festival director, and her team managed to pull it off,” she said.

Teoh Seng Aun, 58, said he enjoyed how the panels in the festival had related literary monsters to monsters in the real world.

“I’d been going to the GTLF for many years, for this year I enjoyed the tough questions asked in the panels,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

He also said the festival was a good event to meet international writers and get to know them before buying their books.

“And of course the festival is a place to meet up with some of my old friends who are writers here, I myself am a fan to some of the writers.

Safira Iskandar Anuar, 22, came from Semenyih, Selangor, for the Poetry Marathon at GTLF.

“I like that poets in the marathon had thought about what kind of poems that are in line with the present day problems.

She added that she would definitely come to next year’s GTLF as she loved the concept of having a bookstore where readers can browse different writer’s works at the festival.

“Yes I’ll definitely come to next year’s GTLF as there is so much to look forward to. Maybe next year they can sell some paintings in addition to the books that they are already selling,” she said.

GTLF, which ran from last Thursday to Sunday, has been an annual event since 2010.

It featured workshops, book launches and readings at various locations throughout Penang’s heritage city.

Chauly was assisted by co-curators Gareth Richards, a writer and editor who set up the independent bookstore Gerakbudaya in Penang, and Pauline Fan, a writer, literary translator and creative director of Pusaka.

This year, GTLF was accompanied by a fringe festival and a free public screening of ‘You Mean the World to Me’, a movie which was set in 1970s Penang and the first Malaysian movie to be filmed entirely in Penang Hokkien.

GTLF is funded by the Penang government and produced by the Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau, with the support of Penang Global Tourism and Penang Institute.

Supporting partners include Gerakbudaya Bookshop Penang, British Council, Culture Ireland, the Dutch and Belgian embassies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Goethe-Institute, Icelandic Literature Centre, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur, LaSalle College of the Arts, Makassar International Writers Festival, S.A. Writers Centre, Singapore Literature Prize and University of Nottingham, Malaysia campus. 

* The Malaysian Insight is the official media partner of GTLF