A day to promote writers, literature

ON MONDAY, April 23, nations around the world, including Brunei, celebrated the World Book and Copyrights Day.

The main public libraries in the four districts of the Sultanate, managed by the Language and Literature Bureau, held open days and invited students from various schools to participate in a host of activities aimed to encourage reading.

The event which was first introduced by Spain and then taken up on a global level in 1995 by the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), is not actually that well known by Bruneians.

In fact, while talking about the World Book Day, most Bruneians educated in the United Kingdom, would think about March 1, which is when the UK and Ireland celebrate their 'World Book Day, in order to avoid conflict with another holiday which falls on April 23 (Easter).

So why is this particular day so special? For Spain, April 23 was the day Miguel De Cervantes was buried. A poet, novelist and playwright, Cervantes wrote Don Quixote, which was said to have a major influence in modern literary fiction.

And the day (April 23) also marks the death of William Shakespeare (I'm sure everyone knows Shakespeare), Garcilaso De La Vega (a historian and writer who contributed to Inca history, culture and society) and the birth of many other notable writers, including Maurice Druon (A French novelist who wrote the Accursed Kings) and Halldo{aac}r Kiljan Laxness (an Icelandic writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955)

Till the other day, other than Shakespeare, I wasn't familiar with any of those names.

While I had a brief fascination for Don Quixote (the story of a man pretending to be a knight and charging windmills tend to leave an impression), I wasn't familiar with other works of Cervantes, which also played a major influence in Spanish literature.

Truth be told, since the written work was first introduced, writers around the world have contributed towards the collective knowledge. The names I listed are European writers, but we must not forget the literary works of other people around the world.

Scholars have been celebrated in the Arab world long before the time of Cervantes. Chinese poets and writers were recognised for their contributions to society long back.

While UNESCO's website highlights Shakespeare and Cervantes, I believe that every country in the world should go out of their way to commemorate their own writers and works.

For Brunei, we have our own set of local writers who have done their bit. For example Pg Hj Metussin Pg Hj Daud who wrote more than 70 workbooks and reading material for public and schools during the past 27 years.

Or our local SEA Writer Award recipients, who have given Brunei a level of regional recognition. Hj Muslim Hj Burut, who first received the award for Brunei or Hjh Norsiah Hj Abd Gapar, our first woman recipient of the award, and all who have won the award should be highlighted as well.

Because if we don't highlight these Bruneians, capable of writing and creating our own, well-written and recognised material during this day when written work is being celebrated, then how are we to inspire future generation of writers? To let them know that as Bruneians, they are also capable of creating something special, and that they too, are contributors to society.

The UNESCO's World Book Day portal has some interesting links. A link to celebrations throughout the world. Notably, Hungary celebrated the occasion for the first time, marking it with a series of special literature lessons for school children that promote local and international literature as well as social events.

The portal also has links to articles, documentaries and various links that highlight efforts around the world to improve reading. One interesting link is the World Digital Library.

This is a collection of works in digital format from North America all the way to the Oceanic region. A few thousand notable collections from around the world in various languages. I was excited, for a moment, to click on the Southeast Asian Link, and to see Brunei listed.

I was briefly curious as to what we would have on display to the world. Of course, I was somewhat disappointed to see two maps of Borneo. But how would people know about the literary works of the country. (Well, they know where we are, at least).

Perhaps in the future, as our writers become better and more prominent, we will see more of our culture, our history, the Brunei story, on display throughout the world.

The views are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Brunei Times

The Brunei Times