Alan Paton's introductions to reprints of his
novel "Cry the Beloved Country" about S. Africa -- a compilation - I
bought my copy in 1996 when the movie came out.
-- From 1987
edition: Cry the Beloved Country, though it is a story about S. Africa,
was not written in that country at all. It was begun in Trondheim,
Norway and finished in San Francisco on Christmas Eve . . . Maxwell
Perkins, sr. editor of Scribners, accepted it at once --
Perkins said, one of the most important characters in the story is the land itself -- "
Paton said, this passage in the book is where the title comes from --
Cry, the beloved country for the unborn child that is the inheritor of
our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh
too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent
when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too
moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his
heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he
gives too much.
Alan Paton, Natal S. Africa.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Comment left on my friend's Kanlaon Blog - "the disshionary"
Ooh - I love this - like a friend in USA trying to test me by reading out from the said disshionary - Little did she know that I read the disshionary for fun in Burma - so there! In fact in Burma I was the walking disshionary.
Note, photo and paintings Copyright Kyi May Kaung
Memories of Meikhtila - fiction excerpt from K.M. Kaung's upcoming novel Wolf -
Memories of Meikhtila - here is an excerpt from my upcoming novel Wolf -
I just happened to be editing it today -
"My childhood was both ordinary and extraordinary. When I was five, Father stopped going on operations. He never rose to a post higher than lieutenant, but he got a nicer position in an army truck depot in Meikhtila. Ko Ko, Inn Inn and I could visit with one of Father’s cousins named Korea.
Uncle Korea was in a trial marriage with a woman and had a small grape plantation. It wasn’t the custom to try things out this way, but Uncle Korea was modern and was trying living with a woman to see if he liked her.
Meikhtila was a big town in central Burma where all the vegetable and fruit trucks came down from the Shan Plateau. Rice grew in the paddies of Kyauksè nearby, which had been famous since the eleventh century; the time of the first Burmese kings as the great granary of Burma. We always had enough to eat. As we lived on the big military base, there was never a problem with things like getting petrol, burglary or security issues. All of us went to a good school on the base.
One of Mother’s cousins was head of the tank corps. We were poor compared to the commander, U Ah Par. But U Ah Par’s wife, a doctor, allowed me and my brother and sister to come and play in their house and garden in the tank corps compound. Sometimes we were even invited to meals.
I liked it best when Uncle Ah Par was at home, got drunk and told us stories about tanks."
Based on real people, but they are all dead and the names etc. are changed - it is of course not my own story, but the "life" of a fictional 1988 character named Wolf.
copyright Kyi May Kaung - a.k.a. K.M.Kaung
I just happened to be editing it today -
"My childhood was both ordinary and extraordinary. When I was five, Father stopped going on operations. He never rose to a post higher than lieutenant, but he got a nicer position in an army truck depot in Meikhtila. Ko Ko, Inn Inn and I could visit with one of Father’s cousins named Korea.
Uncle Korea was in a trial marriage with a woman and had a small grape plantation. It wasn’t the custom to try things out this way, but Uncle Korea was modern and was trying living with a woman to see if he liked her.
Meikhtila was a big town in central Burma where all the vegetable and fruit trucks came down from the Shan Plateau. Rice grew in the paddies of Kyauksè nearby, which had been famous since the eleventh century; the time of the first Burmese kings as the great granary of Burma. We always had enough to eat. As we lived on the big military base, there was never a problem with things like getting petrol, burglary or security issues. All of us went to a good school on the base.
One of Mother’s cousins was head of the tank corps. We were poor compared to the commander, U Ah Par. But U Ah Par’s wife, a doctor, allowed me and my brother and sister to come and play in their house and garden in the tank corps compound. Sometimes we were even invited to meals.
I liked it best when Uncle Ah Par was at home, got drunk and told us stories about tanks."
Based on real people, but they are all dead and the names etc. are changed - it is of course not my own story, but the "life" of a fictional 1988 character named Wolf.
copyright Kyi May Kaung - a.k.a. K.M.Kaung
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi makes a veiled comment with ref. to anti-Muslim riots in Meikhtila, N. Burma -
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi makes a veiled comment about racial strife in Meikhtila to reporters in Naypyitaw --
translation: "I am telling you now, just because a lot of people do it, and the majority does it, does not make it right.
"For instance if everyone was hitting one reporter, it is still not right."
See RFA TV 3-22-2013
http://www.rfa.org/burmese/
translation: "I am telling you now, just because a lot of people do it, and the majority does it, does not make it right.
"For instance if everyone was hitting one reporter, it is still not right."
See RFA TV 3-22-2013
http://www.rfa.org/burmese/
Friday, March 22, 2013
Harn Yawngwe's Euro-Burma office says there is a genocide of Rwanda proportions going on in Burma -
via Maung Zarni --
Rohingya home burning - file photo from Arakan last year.
cut and paste follows -
Harn is younger brother of late Eugene Yawngwe - Nyaungshwe Sawbwa's family -
kg
--- On Fri, 3/22/13, wrote:
> From:
> Subject: Rwanda-like genocide of Burmese Muslims is unfolding in Burma, according to Harn Yawnghwe's Euro-Burma Office based in Rangoon,
> To:
> Date: Friday, March 22, 2013, 10:39 AM
> from: bxl@euro-burma.be
>
>
> According to Harn Yawnghwe's Euro-Burma Office, the
> "Rwanda-like
> genocide" of Muslims is unfolding in Burma.
>
> I will be the last to defend the NLD on its leadership and
> organizational failure. But the ultimate
> responsibility to protect
> all citizens - yes, including the Burmese Muslims - lies
> squarely with
> Naypyidaw's generals and ex-generals.
>
> Burma's security forces are DOING NOTHING to stop the
> killings of the Muslims.
>
> Fire engines are seen to leave the Muslim homes
> burning while they
> attempt to extinguish Buddhist homes in Meikhtila.
>
> Here is the EBO's Urgent Warning - Spread the word.
>
> "EBO is very concerned about recent violence in Burma –
> especially as
> there are concerns that it could turn into a Rwandan-like
> genocide.
>
> Please see the following information sent by a reliable
> source.
>
> (From Mandalay)
>
> Students at a madrassa in Dahattan were being evacuated in
> four cars
> yesterday. The last car did not make it to safely. The
> children
> attempted to flee and hide behind bushes etc but were caught
> and 24
> were killed.
>
> Pamphlets and DVDs of an anti-Muslim nature have been
> distributed all
> over in Mandalay. They show Muslims beheading those of other
> faiths
> etc. Some Buddhist monks have been preaching anti-Muslim
> sermons.
>
> NLD members and youth leaders are behind every anti-Muslim
> disturbance. They have formed a group of 100 vigilantes. The
> leaders
> are Dr San Hlaing, Mai Pa (woman), Tin Myo Naing, Thiha
> (released from
> Putao prison), and Tin Ko Ko (MP U Win Htain’s personal
> assistant).
> These people are absconding and U Win Htain says he does not
> know
> their whereabouts. In the recent NLD intra-party regional
> elections, a
> Muslim woman leader was elected by 61 votes but was barred
> from taking
> her position.
>
> Residents of Muslim neighbourhoods were evacuated under the
> protection
> of Buddhist youths who are their neighbours. They raised
> their hands
> in the photo to show that they are unarmed.
>
> Further details will be sent to me from the affected people
> themselves.
>
> (Please note that his is not an attempt to smear the NLD but
> to reveal
> what is behind the disturbances. You may substantiate this
> from other
> sources).
>
> ***
>
> I have talked on the phone to a Muslim lawyer at a safe
> place in Meiktila.
>
> He said the killing, burning and looting is still going on
> in Meiktila
> as well as other towns and villages. There are over a 1000
> Muslims
> taking refuge in the football field with no food. Food
> cannot be sent
> to them because of “security”.
>
> The death toll is 47 including 11 women, 10 madrassa
> students and 5
> teachers. The presence of the NLD MP, 88 Generation and even
> Mandalay
> Chief Minister Ye Myint seem to be of no avail. People are
> being
> killed right before them. Security personnel are doing
> nothing.
>
> Military security and police special branch only take video
> recordings. An investigation commission is being talked
> about.
>
> Fire engines only douse burning Buddhist homes, while
> Muslims homes
> are left to burn.
>
> The couple from the gold shop who are in police custody have
> been
> handed over to a mob.
>
> The lawyer compares this to the Rwandan genocide and adds
> that it
> seems to be well planned. A monk who had been arrested for
> similar
> acts in 2003 and subsequently released had been preaching
> the
> ‘cleansing of Muslims from Myanmar’ for months now. He
> is pleading for
> diplomatic missions and international organizations to come
> to
> Meiktila before it is too late.
>
>
>
> If you would like to be removed from or added to this list,
> please
> email bxl@euro-burma.be.
>
> Euro-Burma Office
> Square Gutenberg 11/2
> 1000 Brussels, Belgium
>
>
>
> Tel: (32 2) 280 0691 / 280 2452
> Fax: (32 2) 280 0310
> Email: bxl@euro-burma.be
>
> Website: www.euro-burma.eu
>
>
>
> The aim of the Euro-Burma Office is to promote the
> development of
> democracy in Burma by assisting the Burmese democracy
> movement to
> prepare for a transition to democracy.
>
Rohingya home burning - file photo from Arakan last year.
cut and paste follows -
Harn is younger brother of late Eugene Yawngwe - Nyaungshwe Sawbwa's family -
kg
--- On Fri, 3/22/13, wrote:
> From:
> Subject: Rwanda-like genocide of Burmese Muslims is unfolding in Burma, according to Harn Yawnghwe's Euro-Burma Office based in Rangoon,
> To:
> Date: Friday, March 22, 2013, 10:39 AM
> from: bxl@euro-burma.be
>
>
> According to Harn Yawnghwe's Euro-Burma Office, the
> "Rwanda-like
> genocide" of Muslims is unfolding in Burma.
>
> I will be the last to defend the NLD on its leadership and
> organizational failure. But the ultimate
> responsibility to protect
> all citizens - yes, including the Burmese Muslims - lies
> squarely with
> Naypyidaw's generals and ex-generals.
>
> Burma's security forces are DOING NOTHING to stop the
> killings of the Muslims.
>
> Fire engines are seen to leave the Muslim homes
> burning while they
> attempt to extinguish Buddhist homes in Meikhtila.
>
> Here is the EBO's Urgent Warning - Spread the word.
>
> "EBO is very concerned about recent violence in Burma –
> especially as
> there are concerns that it could turn into a Rwandan-like
> genocide.
>
> Please see the following information sent by a reliable
> source.
>
> (From Mandalay)
>
> Students at a madrassa in Dahattan were being evacuated in
> four cars
> yesterday. The last car did not make it to safely. The
> children
> attempted to flee and hide behind bushes etc but were caught
> and 24
> were killed.
>
> Pamphlets and DVDs of an anti-Muslim nature have been
> distributed all
> over in Mandalay. They show Muslims beheading those of other
> faiths
> etc. Some Buddhist monks have been preaching anti-Muslim
> sermons.
>
> NLD members and youth leaders are behind every anti-Muslim
> disturbance. They have formed a group of 100 vigilantes. The
> leaders
> are Dr San Hlaing, Mai Pa (woman), Tin Myo Naing, Thiha
> (released from
> Putao prison), and Tin Ko Ko (MP U Win Htain’s personal
> assistant).
> These people are absconding and U Win Htain says he does not
> know
> their whereabouts. In the recent NLD intra-party regional
> elections, a
> Muslim woman leader was elected by 61 votes but was barred
> from taking
> her position.
>
> Residents of Muslim neighbourhoods were evacuated under the
> protection
> of Buddhist youths who are their neighbours. They raised
> their hands
> in the photo to show that they are unarmed.
>
> Further details will be sent to me from the affected people
> themselves.
>
> (Please note that his is not an attempt to smear the NLD but
> to reveal
> what is behind the disturbances. You may substantiate this
> from other
> sources).
>
> ***
>
> I have talked on the phone to a Muslim lawyer at a safe
> place in Meiktila.
>
> He said the killing, burning and looting is still going on
> in Meiktila
> as well as other towns and villages. There are over a 1000
> Muslims
> taking refuge in the football field with no food. Food
> cannot be sent
> to them because of “security”.
>
> The death toll is 47 including 11 women, 10 madrassa
> students and 5
> teachers. The presence of the NLD MP, 88 Generation and even
> Mandalay
> Chief Minister Ye Myint seem to be of no avail. People are
> being
> killed right before them. Security personnel are doing
> nothing.
>
> Military security and police special branch only take video
> recordings. An investigation commission is being talked
> about.
>
> Fire engines only douse burning Buddhist homes, while
> Muslims homes
> are left to burn.
>
> The couple from the gold shop who are in police custody have
> been
> handed over to a mob.
>
> The lawyer compares this to the Rwandan genocide and adds
> that it
> seems to be well planned. A monk who had been arrested for
> similar
> acts in 2003 and subsequently released had been preaching
> the
> ‘cleansing of Muslims from Myanmar’ for months now. He
> is pleading for
> diplomatic missions and international organizations to come
> to
> Meiktila before it is too late.
>
>
>
> If you would like to be removed from or added to this list,
> please
> email bxl@euro-burma.be.
>
> Euro-Burma Office
> Square Gutenberg 11/2
> 1000 Brussels, Belgium
>
>
>
> Tel: (32 2) 280 0691 / 280 2452
> Fax: (32 2) 280 0310
> Email: bxl@euro-burma.be
>
> Website: www.euro-burma.eu
>
>
>
> The aim of the Euro-Burma Office is to promote the
> development of
> democracy in Burma by assisting the Burmese democracy
> movement to
> prepare for a transition to democracy.
>
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Religious fragment from K.M. Kaung's novel Wolf
Embedded deep in the innermost portion of the stupa was the htapanar taik or
jewel chamber, which no one could reach now.
It was said to contain eight strands of the sacred hair of the historic
Buddha, Gautama ― who had once been Prince Siddhartha in a city state in
northeast India, shielded from the world by his father the King ― before he saw The Four Signs: A sick man, an old man,
a rotting corpse and a religious medicant.
Due to The Four Signs he renounced everything and became a wandering ascetic
and then the Buddha after his Enlightenment.
Copyright Kyi May Kaung
The historic Buddha, Gautama or Gautama Buddha -
-- yes, Gautama (the Buddha) was formal title -
-- here I am speaking of the historic Buddha, Gautama -
(who was once Prince Siddartha)
so I am putting in a comma -
the other Buddhas were in Gautama's past lives - Maitreya is to come - the Mahayana Buddhas were not human beings who were recorded in history, though they may have been real -
Kyi May Kaung
Fragment from my novel Wolf, describing Shwedagone Pagoda -
. . . built up in layers over the centuries by famous kings and queens who kept encasing the old in the new, each time making it bigger and taller. There were unknown kings and queens from more than two thousand years ago. They were mostly Mon-Khmer. There must have been tens of thousands of other religious patrons of many different ethnicities and city states and common people who contributed a lot, but no one knew who they were.
Kyi May Kaung
Comment on "agents not filtering out e books" of dubious quality -
Agents sometimes make mistakes, but on whole an agented book from a traditional publisher has a better chance - just because generally they know what they are doing -
but I don't think one can always wait for them - lot of agented books have flopped too - some badly written - some badly edited (even bestsellers)
This discussion needs to differentiate from point of view of readers (wading through slush) and point of view of writers (get it out there vs keep looking for agents)
but I don't think one can always wait for them - lot of agented books have flopped too - some badly written - some badly edited (even bestsellers)
This discussion needs to differentiate from point of view of readers (wading through slush) and point of view of writers (get it out there vs keep looking for agents)
Why Facebook etc cannot replace a blog or traditional networking/publishing -
Stones - each one different. Photo copyright Kyi May Kaung
Why Facebook etc cannot replace a blog or traditional networking -
I just found that cross posting probably has brought up traffic to my blog - from places where it was non-existent before - such as China.
In general - blog hits from USA and China are up drastically in last couple of days -
Now I don't know how to look at number of hits on Facebook -
I think ideally one should be using ALL the communication channels effectively -
No time?? - Well, if you want your message out, you'd better make time.
Georgia O'Keefe said,
"It takes time to see a flower, the way it takes time to have a friend."
Why would I "friend you" for nothing?
She also said, "No one sees a flower (now) - well, I will paint them big."
Kyi May Kaung
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