"Yangon 2010" by Maung Yu Py
On our recent episode, “A Lifetime of Advocacy,” we were treated to a poem reading before the interview commenced with Michael Haack. The poem is from Maung Yu Py. Unfortunately, like so many other creative artists, the Burmese military has shown considerable fury, and he has since been arrested and his current whereabouts are unknown. His lawyer, Nayi Myeik, also a poet, was subsequently abducted.
“Yangon 2010”
Parents and guardians jostle over the quality of education available to their children, it’s been observed. People work on mutual trust and understanding; it is important to avoid abuses, it’s been observed. Black (e)mailing and threats that undermine the social integrity and propriety of girls online are commonplace, it’s been observed. Certain teenagers now patronise and pirate barnyard videos and obscene images, it’s been observed. Youths are now overtly into neoteric fashion and luxury items, it’s been observed. Those about to leave for jobs overseas need to systematically prep themselves in every possible way before departure, it’s been observed. Documents and certificates are forged, bogus offices are set up to con the people, it’s been observed. The anti-plastic ecological campaign has not really caught on among the general populace, it’s been observed. To minimise the risk of molestation on public transport most ladies now choose special bus services, it’s been observed. The unemployment rate is on the increase and salaries are on the decrease, compared to last year; this has put migrant workers from rural areas in reverse immigration, it’s been observed. Movies that feature pleasant backdrops with an array of actors and comedies that poke fun of people tripping over, falling face down in the cow dung, are increasingly popular among the Yangon film buffs, it’s been observed.
On Poetry International Archives, Ko Ko Thet shares more about this poet’s background:
Maung Yu Py was born in 1981 to Dr. Myint Soe and Daw Yee Yee Mar in Myeik, a significant port town known historically as Mergui situated on the coast of an island on the Andaman Sea in the extreme south of Burma. In fourth grade, he represented the children of his region at the Asia-Pacific Children’s Convention in Fukuoka, Japan. He earned a degree in law in 2006. Since his 2000 debut The Bird that was Killed when the Sky Capsized, he has published two collections: There is a New Map for that Little Island Town Too (2007) and With the Big Television Turned On (2009).
Still based in Myeik, Maung Yu Py also writes in local Tavoy, a Burmese dialect of the region, and is active online. He is widely recognised for his wry poems, witty essays and articles published on the Internet. In his ‘A Real Poem,’ Maung Yu Py whines, “Only those backed up by strongboxes/ May make love after love after love/ As for me, I’m with a tokenistic girlfriend.”