Professor Malachi Edwin Vethamani, Malaysian poet and academic at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC), launched his second collection of poems entitled Life Happens on 19 August in Kuala Lumpur and on 29 August in Kota Kinabalu. His edited volume of Malaysian poems titled Malachin Testament was launched in December last year.
According to UNMC CEO and Provost Professor Graham Kendall: “As a full fledged university, we are constantly expanding our fields of study and research to include business, engineering, pharmacy, Islamic finance, creative writing and international relations. We also encourage our staff, researchers and students to explore new fields of interest to strengthen their talents and nurture their interests so that they can also contribute towards the community.”
“I would like to congratulate Edwin on his second book of poetry, as well as his contributions to the literary space within the University and also more widely in Malaysia.”
The Kuala Lumpur event was attended by many Malaysian writers and those who know Professor Malachi’s work while the Kota Kinabalu event was well-attended by English language teachers and academics attending the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (MELTA) International Conference. The book launch was part of the conference. Professor Malachi is a former President of MELTA.
At the Kuala Lumpur book launch, Professor Danto Remoto from the School of English, University Nottingham Malaysia Campus, introduced the poems to the guests. He described the poems as personal, social and philosophical in nature.
Also present at the Kuala Lumpur launch was Malaysian poet Wong Phui Nam. Phui Nam said that Professor Malachi’s poems should be read with patience and reflected upon afterwards, as the poems reveal a depth and richness of the poet’s engagement with life.
Professor Malachi said his poems dwelled on loss, relationships and contemporary life, especially social issues related to Malaysian life.
Professor Malachi, who is with the School of English at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, read a few poems and this was followed by readings by several invited guests. The School of English has done tremendous work in the area of arts, theatre, literary and poetry as they are responsible for the burgeoning theatre productions on campus.
Life Happens is available at local bookshops.
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More information is available from Professor Malachi Edwin Vethamani on malachi.vethamani@nottingham.edu.my or Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager on +603 8924 8746, josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my.
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2015. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
Posted on 26th September 2017