We talk to SHARON JOYCE BAKAR, the organiser of Readings, a writers club in Kuala Lumpur that recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Sharon has been in Malaysia for 41 years, and lives here with her three cats, aged 9, 8, and 2 – plus a boyfriend cat who sometimes stays over!
Tell us about Readings. When was this writers club set up?
Our monthly gathering of writers was started in 2005 by Bernice Chauly. Actually, it began in Darling Muse Gallery in Bangsar, when the owner, Yusuf Majid, asked Bernice if she would organise an event in his space. It was immediately successful because local writers needed a gathering like this. Since then, Ng Sek San has given the event its beautiful home at Seksan Gallery, keeping the event free for attendees.
I started helping Bernice when she took on another event, Ceritaku at No Black Tie. In 2006, she needed to take a break because her mum had cancer, so I took over. I thought it would just be a temporary thing – I called myself the “foster-mum of Readings”! But I’ve been running it ever since.
What is the aim of Readings?
To encourage writers by giving them a platform for them to read their work and socialise. This is particularly important, I think, because writing is a very solitary occupation. It’s helpful for people to have the chance to test works in progress on a live audience.
The Readings@Seksan events help to generate a wider interest in local writing and give newly published authors and opportunity to sell copies of their books. They also provide everyone with the chance to network and forge creative partnerships.
I also hope to give the audience an afternoon of enjoyable (not to mention free!) entertainment. I think there is a real sense of community created by these gatherings, and I love the way that everyone is so supportive of the work of others. One of the “rules” of the gathering is that no one, no matter how famous or critically acclaimed, is allowed to be the “star”; everyone gets the same billing and the same amount of time.
There is always a mixture of the established and newbie, fiction and non-fiction, poetry and prose, published and not yet published, in Malay and in English. We also like to throw in some music and performance when we can for variety (after all, we can all get textually constipated!).
Who are your members – are they a mix of nationalities?
We don’t have members; rather, we invite an audience via Facebook (see the profile page here). It’s an incredibly diverse group of people that come to our events. Many are writers, but many more members of the audience are just regular supporters. All ages, races, nationalities and walks of lives are represented.
We pride ourselves on being a very friendly event, without snobbishness.
Tell us about the venue.
Our venue is Seksan’s beautiful space – the ground-floor gallery of a landscape architect’s office, at 67, Jalan Tempinis 1, Bangsar. (You’ll find a map at seksan.com.)
What are your plans with Readings?
Just to keep going forward and doing more of the same thing!
The Readings writers club usually meets on the last Saturday of each month, from 3.30 to 6pm.
Find more details on Facebook or WhatApp Sharon on 017 264 4956.
