Poem in Cambodian language by Seserak
Several Cambodian bloggers have been sharing their poetry online. The poem above, entitled Autumn in English, is by Seserak, a Cambodian college student studying in Japan and probably experiencing quite a different fall than in his homeland. The poem is translated into English in the comments.
Tharum posted a poem entitled, Life Reading and is about the importance of reading. Tharum's poem was inspired by a gift of a poetry book from another Cambodian blogger, Jinja who blogs about the local arts and literary scene.
KhmerOverseas , a Cambodian living in Texas, often writes about the poetry he is reading by Cambodian poets, some published in online journals. His packing list for his next trip back to Cambodia, includes requests for poetry books from friends and relatives.
Those who aren't writing poems or about poems on their blogs can certainly find a wide variety of Cambodian poetry readings offline, including Swedish/Cambodian poetry.
5 comments
Fascinating. Is the preponderance of poetry in the Cambodian blogosphere a coincidence, or does poetry really have a special place in Cambodian culture?
It is another way of expression in Cambodian culture. I learn it since I was a child like all others. With blog, I feel it is good way to share it with others. In a way, blogging will make Khmer literature alive again.
Interesting. Sorta like in China, karaoke is all the rage and people record themselves singing their favorite songs and then link to the recordings on their weblog?
Michah & Tharum:
It should must be. There’s also another cluster of Cambodian poems at Khmer Connection
http://www.khmervoice.com/
Its great to know that many voices are gathered over here and poetry is the soul