Sarpay Lawka (World of Books) is the granddaddy of bookshops in Yangon. Though there maybe one or two specialist shops focussing on Buddhist liturgical texts that are older, Sarpay Lawka is accepted as the oldest general trade bookshop …
The emergence of a ‘Burmese’ literature in the 1910’s and 1920’s was influenced by the import and translation of western literary forms, in novels and short stories. Though this influence has arguably been exaggerated, the first true Burmese language novel by James Hla Gyaw has been often called an adaption of Duma’s Count of Monte […]
Seikku Cho Cho’s owner, San Oo is a known poet and artist, but his real passion lies in his publishing house. Originally operating from a two-storey brick house on 164th street, the printing press was housed in the garage and a small shop selling their titles at the front of the main house.
The British Council might be a strange place to put on a list of prominent literary landmarks in Myanmar, but its library has played an influential role in the fight against decades of literary censorship in Yangon. The British Council’s original location was in Rander House on Pansodan Street, lower block, in the 1950’s.
With 5 locations across the city and 1 in Mandalay, MBC knows where the profit is. Many of their centres are heavily focussed on educational, self-help and children’s books. But their main centre, in an old colonial house with a huge garden is where to go …