The monthly book-reading matinee, “Sharpened Word” was held at its new venue, the Old Andersonians’ Club, Ipoh on Saturday, April 16, where five panelists, Pauline (Nithya Sidhhu), Gary Wright, Luke Teoh, Angela Yap and Ritchie Ramesh shared their remarkable literary experiences followed by an engaging and interactive question and answer session with their 20-odd audience.
Pauline is a retired biology and science teacher with 25 years’ teaching experience. She is also a motivational speaker, a traveller, poet and a freelance education columnist. Pauline talked about writing, on being a freelance education columnist for The Sunday Star Educate (as Nithya Sidhhu) and The Daily Express (as Pauline Sidhhu) for 18 years and recited some of her poems.
Twenty-year-old aspiring writer Gary Seow (aka Gary Wright) writes short fiction, poems and nonfiction analytical essays. According to Gary, books, cinema and theatre have always been sources of much needed inspirational support for him.
Luke Teoh is a former UK-trained teacher and lecturer, a one-time newspaper columnist on English, a published author of supplementary English schoolbooks, and a former managerial executive of a British publisher. He is the author of Anodynes of the Heart, a self-published book about his life and why he self-published his books. According to Luke Teoh, writing has given him a lot of pleasure.
The founder of Akasaa Angela Yap (with co-author Ritchie Ramesh) shared information about being a writer, the publishing industry, and their book, Managing Yaa-hoos! – true accounts of unscrupulous conduct & the ‘nobodies’ who change things.
Before the session ended, one of the guests Jasemin Sibo talked about her latest book, HENNA: La Danseuse du Cambodge (The Dancer from Cambodia). Her poems present a story of the human spirit, exploring Cambodian history, celebrating the ancient Khmer performing arts, and overcoming evil with love and grace.
Nantini
