Dr Ahmed Kamal Abdullah

The poems of Dato Dr Ahmed Kamal Abdullah (Kemala) from Malaysia, and the Bangladeshi poet Aminur Rahman, were read out at a book launch and recital of works by renowned Malaysian poets at the BRAC Centre Auditorium recently. The occasion was organised by 'Kathak'; Abdul Malek Bin Abdul Aziz, High Commissioner of Malaysia inaugurated the occasion.

This was followed by a repeat performance at Gallery Chitrak with Hashem Khan, the noted artist, as the chief guest. Fanfare and flashing of photo bulbs accompanied the poetry evening, amidst much enthusiasm of the audience comprising young and old. The poems were in English and Bangla.

Speaking to The Daily Star at Gallery Chitrak, Dr Abdullah said that his poetry features the pain and pleasures of existence. Living in both Malaysia and the US, he writes poems, essays and literary criticisms in both English and Malay. He said his natural talent at the age of ten led him to write poetry. He was inspired by his mother and the “suffering” of his family in Malayasia during and after the Japanese occupation during World War II.

Dr Abdullah said, “At that time life was remote and very challenging. My family was scattered; food and shelter were scarce. We fled our family- home in the village and took cover in the forests for three years. My mother and the four of us were separated from our father. She had to find work to support us. I wanted to go to the military school but there was no money for that.” Dr Abdullah had to work to educate himself when he was 15. He worked as a probationary teacher. He went to teacher's training college at Para, and finally got the command over both Malay and English and obtained a USIS scholarship to Iowa, US. There he did his PhD in English Literature, after studying in Penang.

“As a student in Malay, I read TS Eliot, Henrik Ibsen, Boris Pasternak, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Hafiz, Jalaluddin Rumi and Farid-ud-Din Attar. I was a literary editor by 1968, when I was 27, in Malaysia. In the US I met several novelists and poets from all over the world, including Professor Md. Rafiq from Bangladesh,” he said.

He has written 35 books of poetry, essays and literary criticism. His theme, he says, is love of various types -- of romantic and personal nature, as well as that with a pantheistic theme.

“The essence was a positive one of the innocence of love as well as the greediness of the powerful 'Third World' countries. I naturally represented the poor nations in my writings," he said.

Asked what he preferred, teaching or writing, he said that he enjoyed both as writing too is a form of teaching -- morally and aesthetically, only with a much bigger audience. “One projects the essence of what one sees and feels through one's writings,” the poet said. Dr Abdullah currently teaches at the University of Malaya.