Biographical Dictionary of Myanmar Writers
Every so often I read an article from one of the Myanmar newspapers and think, why couldnt they have done that a little sooner. Too late for me now, but Sarpay Beikmann have come out with a much needed book, an English language biographical dictionary of 20th Century Myanmar writers …
Compiled under the watchful eyes of literary legend U Thaw Kaung, the book contains the life and words of 137 dead and living Myanmar writers. It apparently also critiques their works which is a nice touch considering literary criticism is almost non-existent in Myanmar.
This book will be incredibly useful to anyone interested in Myanmar literature. My own attempts to feature writers under the Profile category is mostly based on brief translations taken from a Burmese language compilation of Myanmar writers and Im missing a lot of information, most importantly on the types and styles of their works.
Since leaving Myanmar Ive been keeping a desiderata of wish books in English from the country. It stands at about 30 now, but Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth Century Myanmar Writers has just powered to the top.
Image credit @wikimedia
