The crowd was enchanted and captivated by the reading of poems and short stories of celebrated Malaysian poet and author Professor Malachi Edwin Vethamani at the WOU main campus today.

A LARGE TURNOUT AT THE EVENT.
Prof Malachiâs poems transported readers to life growing up in Brickfields, celebrating Christmas with family, reminisces and longings for friends and loved ones, contemporary culture, incidents of national significance, and other real-life situations.
In her welcome speech, WOU Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and Educational Technology) Prof Zoraini Wati Abas hoped that the âReading & Conversationâ session with Prof Malachi would spark a passion for poems and develop an admiration for English Literature.

PROF ZORAINI RECOUNTING THAT SHE MET PROF MALACHI IN THE LATE 1980S AT UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA (UPM).
She said, Prof Malachi, whom she has known since the late 1980s, was the first Dean of WOUâs School of Education, Languages and Communications (SELC). He is currently a Professor of Modern English Literature at the School of English, University of Nottingham Malaysia.
Prof Malachi started the evening by reading three poems. First was âI Will Text Youâ which speaks of the current culture of texting rather than speaking, followed by âA New Beginningâ, both taken from his second publication titled âLife Happensâ. Next was the tragic poem âMH17â from his first published collection of poems titled âComplicated Livesâ.

PROF EDWIN READS FROM HIS COLLECTION OF POEMS.
His friends took turns to read poems from his collections. WOUâs School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) Deputy Dean Jasmine Emmanuel evoked feelings of longing as she recited âOne Christmas Morningâ and âThose Grand Womenfolkâ, while David Teoh Seng Aun delivered âIt was a Wondrous Sightâ and âThe Vowsâ.
Adeline Cruz spoke of âFarewell, Lovely Flowerâ and âVoicesâ, and Yee Heng Yeh read âBeautiful Butterflyâ and âThings Come to a Headâ.

DAVID TEOH SHARES âIT WAS A WONDROUS SIGHTâ FROM THE PUBLISHED COLLECTION OF POEMS TITLED âCOMPLICATED LIVESâ.
Lucille Dass recited the poignant âMaternal Momentsâ, which resonated with her soul as she, while in her teens, was at the bedside as her mum passed away. She also entertained the crowd with her delivery of excerpts from Prof Malachiâs collection of short stories, in which the author explores conflicts between family and sexuality that are typical in contemporary Asian societies.

LUCILLE DASS CHARMED THE AUDIENCE WITH HER READING OF EXCERPTS OF SHORT STORIES.
The reading session concluded with Prof Malachi reciting âStill Brickfieldsâ, âBoyhood Street Buffetâ, âMr Will-Have-to Doâ, âWords for the Lonelyâ, and âSpeak of Nowâ, all of which captured his astute observation of people and happenings.
SELC lecturer Arathai Din Eak then engaged the poet and short story writer in conversation, getting him to open up about his love for reading and poetry from young, and his desire to share what was lost, like the âoldâ Brickfields, with his sons and the younger generation.

ARATHAI OF WOU (LEFT) IN A LIVELY CONVERSATION WITH THE CELEBRATED POET AND AUTHOR.
Over 250 attended the event organised by the SELC, including former Dean Datoâ Dr Santhiram Raman, current Dean Prof Balakrishnan Muniandy, trainee teachers from Institute of Teacher Education (IPG) Tuanku Bainun and IPG Penang, students from SMKA (P) Al-Mashoor, and staff and students of WOU.
Several publications of Prof Malachi were on sale and people queued for the book signing and to take snapshots with the poet.