Bandar Seri Begawan - The importance of historical facts and its ability to increase the literary value of a writer`s creative output was discussed in detail amongst the panellists of the International Seminar of Southeast Literature 2007, held last Wednesday at the Seminar Hall, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
The truth of the analysis was acknowledged by the Deputy Director of DBP Brunei Darussalam, Dayang Aminah bte Hj Momin in her paper entitled "Literature and History: Tradition and Continuity in `Mahkota Berdarah` by Yura Halim" at the seminar.
She said that the specialty of the novella Mahkota Berdarah was not only its historical narration, but the abundance of historical facts about the 12th 13th and 14th Sultans of Brunei.
The Assistant Director of Academy of Malay Studies, Universiti Malaya, Professor Dr Hashim Ismail, said that the scrutiny of historical literature would give researchers an opportunity to enjoy the richness of literary culture, in his paper entitled "Looking Back at History and Literature in the Context of Current Assessment".
"It also provides the opportunity for researchers to look for reasons behind historical incidents, which in the end will gauge the ability of writers in defining the events, as well reveal the beauty of their works," he said.
He however agreed that the historical texts written by literary writers must be considered as subjective as they are the authors` personal views. The international seminar was attended by representatives from member nations of the Southeast Asia Literature Council (MASTERA), namely Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, as well as Singapore as observers.
Another event that took place at the seminar was the presentation of MASTERA LiteratureAwards to winning writers from Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as to a writer of a non-fiction book, selected from the three member countries.
The rector of the Malacca Foundation, Professor Datuk Dr Ramlah Adam, in her paper entitled "Literature and History: Two Worlds in One Story", agreed that history and literature are two different genres that have a similar function - to give rise to a community of excellence.
Dr Hj Morsidi bin Hj Mohammad, the head of the Malay Literature Department, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, delivered his working paper "History and Literature: History-based Literature from Brunei - A Discussion on Reality and Imagination".
Source: www.brudirect.com (1 Desember 2007)
