Cecil Rajendra

Cecil Rajendra
Born1941 (age 83–84)
Penang, Malaysia
OccupationLawyer, poet

Cecil Rajendra (born 1941) is a Malaysian poet and lawyer.[1][2] His poems have been published in more than 50 countries and translated into several languages.[3]

Early life and education

Born in Penang, Rajendra completed his education at St. Xavier's Institution (elementary), the University of Singapore (undergraduate), and Lincoln's Inn (legal, London).[2]

Career

Rajendra, nicknamed 'The Lawyer-Poet', writes controversial poems that address human rights and environmental problems. As an attorney, his work has focused on helping poorer people who are in need of legal aid. He is a co-founder of Penang Legal Aid Centre (PLAC).[4]

Working with photographer Ismail Hasim, Rajendra explored the backstreets of the island of Penang before the pair compiled and published Scent of an Island, a collection of poetry and black-and-white photographs of Penang.[5]

In 1993 he had his passport taken from him by the Malaysian government, to prevent him from traveling. A Malaysian High Commission spokesman stated, "Mr Rajendra's passport was retained for his anti-logging activities, which it was felt could damage the country's image overseas".[6]

Recognition

In 2005, Rajendra was awarded the first Malaysian Lifetime Humanitarian Award "in recognition of his pioneering legal aid work and exemplary poetry".[3] Also in 2005 he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, which went to Harold Pinter.[7]

Published works

Poetry

  • Embryo (Regency, 1965)
  • Bones and Feathers (Heinemann, Writing in Asia Series, 1978, ISBN 978-0686603337)
  • Refugees & Other Despairs (Choice Books, 1980)
  • Hour of Assassins (1983; Bogle-L'Ouverture Press, 1993, ISBN 978-0904521290)
  • Songs for the Unsung... Poems on Unpoetic Issues like War and Want, and Refugees (World Council of Churches, 1983, ISBN 978-2825407851)
  • Child of the Sun (Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications, 1986; Bogle-L'Ouverture Press, 1993, ISBN 978-0904521382)
  • Dove on Fire: Poems on Peace, Justice and Ecology (World Council of Churches, 1986, ISBN 978-2825408995)
  • Lovers, Lunatics & Lallang (Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications, 1989, ISBN 978-0904521474)
  • Broken Buds (Friends of Bogle [distributor], 1994, ISBN 978-8185569086)
  • Personal & Profane
  • Leave-taking

Books

  • No Bed of Roses: The Rose Chan Story (Marshall Cavendish International Asia, 2013, ISBN 978-9814408202)

References

  1. ^ "Keith Addison: Cecil Rajendra". journeytoforever.org.
  2. ^ a b Benson, Eugene; Conolly, L. W. (30 November 2004). Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English. Routledge. pp. 1328–. ISBN 978-1-134-46848-5.
  3. ^ a b "BC 2009/2010 Candidate: Cecil Rajendra" Archived 2019-12-16 at the Wayback Machine, The Malaysian Bar.
  4. ^ "The Penang Legal Advisory Centre: Where the poor can seek justice". penangmonthly.com.
  5. ^ Loh, Arnold (22 March 2015). "Lawyer-poet Cecil Rajendra's poetry remains deeply significant through the years". The Star. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  6. ^ Raymond Whitaker (7 August 1993). "Malaysia denies passport to 'anti-logging' poet: Cecil Rajendra puts verse to work in his radical criticism of environmental destruction, writes Raymond Whitaker". The Independent.
  7. ^ "Poetic Reason, acidic rhyme". thesundaily.my. 12 November 2005.