Saffron Shadows

Myanmar is a fascinating country, which has largely been cut off and hidden from the rest of the world for the better part of the last sixty years due to one of the most repressive military censorship regimes in history – and its rich literary culture has mainly remained a secret too. I was lucky enough to live and work there, as a human rights lawyer, during some of the brief period in 2013 when it opened up and began to transition towards democracy. My quest to find Burmese literature in translation to read while I was there sparked the idea for Saffron Shadows (Columbia University Press, 2015): my first book. The book offers what I looked for then and was unable to find: a series of new translations of Burmese literary writing, revealing much about this distinctive culture from various perspectives. It offers personal stories too – it explores the lives and work of three generations of writers in Myanmar, all of whom were exploring exhilarating new freedoms after enduring life under one of the world’s most repressive censorship regimes, and some of whom had never been translated into English before.

I arrived in Myanmar to work on a human rights legal project, while I was also developing my practice as a writer. I had been interested in the country for a long while – I had already worked as a lawyer on a project in a refugee camp in Thailand for Karenni people who’d fled from the north of Myanmar – and the new transition inspired me to go into the country itself.

Soon after I arrived , I attended the country’s first literary festival – though I found out later that it had a long and fascinating tradition of literary performance events. I met some generous and interesting writers, who were keen to have their work translated into English, and wanted to help them to achieve that. I also realized that their incredible individual life stories revealed a fascinating cultural history of the country under censorship, and that they would pair up nicely with new translations of their literary work.

Some of the writers featured in the book were jailed for their work; some used creative literary strategies to communicate messages and get them past the censors; and some sought to break through taboos. All of them are passionate, imaginative, and unique individuals, all dedicated to their work and to principles of freedom of expression and human rights.

Alongside their life stories, the book features poetry and prose from nine literary writers, including men and women, from three different generations.

The book is suitable for courses such as comparative literature, literature and culture, and literary activism. That said, while it’s published as an academic book, I didn’t want it to feel like one – I wanted it to be accessible to any curious reader, and to appeal to anyone with an interest in Myanmar, literature in translation, censorship and international literature and culture.

Tragically, Myanmar’s people are once again living under a repressive regime. This makes it more important than ever that people from the outside are able to gain a sense what it’s like to live and try to work there, and why its rich and varied culture matters. I am still keen to help my friends and colleagues in Myanmar by speaking or writing about the situation and the importance of freedom of expression and literary culture there, as elsewhere, and sharing and amplifying their writing and messages, whenever possible.