Portrait of Isa Kamari by NAMIKO CHAN TAKAHASHI



ESPLANADE PRESENTS: SIDANG BURUNG (CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS)
BY TEATER EKAMATRA
PLAYWRIGHT: ISA KAMARI
DIRECTED BY: SANI HUSSIN
ESPLANADE THEATRE STUDIO
24 & 25 OCTOBER 2008
IN CONJUNCTION WITH PESTA RAYA 
 
INDONESIAN VERSION OF 'EMBRACE THE ECLIPSE' &
'IN THE NAME OF LOVE - THE NADRA TRAGEDY'

International Conference : The Novel & Its Borders
Centre for the Novel, University of Aberdeen, Scotland
8 July 08, 4:15 pm to 5:45 pm
Panel 17: Rewriting History and the Redistribution of Power
Catherine Gavin Room Chair: Jonathan Arac
Noraini Yusof, University Kebangsaan Malaysia
History into Fiction: Revisioning the Past in Isa Kamari’s Novel, Atas Nama Cinta
Liz Allen, Regent’s College
Women on the Move: The Representation of Human Trafficking in British Detective Fiction
Maria Jandyra Cavalcanti Cunha, University of Brazil
History and Fiction in The House of the Seven Women: An Analysis of a Brazilian Novel
 

Memeluk Gerhana:
Saya tak mampu mengulas. Setakat ini, novel Isa Kamari ini merupakan paling dekat dan paling sedih yang pernah saya baca. Kesan emosi sungguh membekas. Kenangan dan cinta sememangnya tak boleh dipisahkan dengan manusia.
Terima kasih Isa Kamari.
- Laxamana Tun Teja, Adelaide 

 Pengarang Isa Kamari bukanlah penulis asing dalam dunia sastera Nusantara. Kegigihan beliau telah mengurniakan Anugerah SEA Write Award tahun lalu bagi mewakili Singapura. Dan karya beliau yang terbaru ini Memeluk Gerhana adalah sebuah rakaman sosial Singapura sesudah bangkit dari Perang Dunia Kedua. Seakan-akan kita dihidangkan satu latar yang membekas hati, seakan-akan dunia Kampung Kambing dalam Salina karya SN A.Samad Said dipindahkan ke Kampung Tawakal. Sebuah novel politik yang amat menarik dengan sudut pandangan pertama menyebabkan kita rasa amat hampir. Mungkin ada bara yang kurang kita rasai dan kita fahami kerana kita tidak berada dalam lingkungan tetapi sebagai sebuah karya sastera seberang sempadan kita dapat menelan pedihnya. Apatah lagi saya berasa amat dekat dengan karya ini, kisah perjalanan menempuhi pelbagai gaya hidup yang disentakkan dengan satu Revolusi Islam tahun 1979 yang kita tahu amat menggegarkan seluruh dunia Islam. Di mana kita turut berkongsi percikan revolusi tersebut sehingga hari ini.
Ikhlas dari hati, saudara Isa terima kasih kerana menulis karya seperti ini.
Saudara, jelas sekali adalah sekutu saya dalam menjual Islam Insya-Allah.
- Faisal Tehrani, Malaysia

Ada Apa Dengan Gerhana
Berjumpa Isa Kamari merupakan satu 'hidayah' dan ‘rahmat’ bagiku. Jika orang sedang mencari cahaya untuk membangunkan remaja. Nah.. kataku; tahukah kalian yang gerhana pun bisa membuka hati mereka. Bagaimana ya?. Peluklah 'Gerhana' itu. Mengapa meski mencari gerhana yang nista sedangkan cahaya itu petunjuknya. Sesungguhnya kalian belum mendengar bila
Isa Kamari ‘berhikmah’ dengan tintanya.
Memeluk Gerhana, karya Isa Kamari
Blog Aliff Mustakim

 
 

Originally titled Satu Bumi in Malay, One Earth is the first English translation of Isa Kamari's prolific works. It is a tragic love story of a young Chinese girl adopted by a Malay family. Spanning the period from the Japanese Occupation to the attainment of independence in Singapore, the novel brings up issues of self-identity, rights, principles and personal choices.

- Ethos Books 

One Earth was launched in Singapore in March 2008 and at the Melbourne Writers Festival on 23rd August 2008

Satu Bumi karya Isa Kamari merupakan sebuah buku serius yang memajukan lagi sastera Melayu Singapura dengan unsur-unsur yang segar dan membina. Dalam beberapa segi karya ini membebaskan diri dari acuan yang pada umumnya mengongkong sastera  Melayu Singapura, baik dari segi bahasa, gaya, mahu pun perwatakan dan persoalan yang disasterakan. Satu Bumi boleh dianggap sebagai satu percubaan buat meluaskan bicara atau discourse sastera Melayu Singapura yang agak berjaya.  - Dr. Shaharuddin Maaruf, Mantan Ketua Jabatan Pengajian Melayu, NUS.

Satu Bumi (One Earth) by Isa Kamari is a serious book which elevates Singapore Malay Literature with elements which are fresh and progressive. In many aspects this work has freed itself from the clutches which have restricted Singapore Malay Literature, either in terms of language, style, characterization and literary issues. Satu Bumi can be regarded as a successful attempt to widen the discussion and discourse in Singapore Malay Literature. - Dr. Shaharuddin Maaruf, Former Head, Malay Studies Department, NUS.

Isa Kamari is a Singaporean whose book "Intercession"  (published in Malay as "Tawassul" and due out in English translation later this year) features a clone of the Prophet Muhammad.

The genesis of his book lay in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Thinking about what could trigger such terror, he decided that the issue was history - that interpretations of the past were hindering the future. He wants his faith to be adaptive, inclusive and progressive, drawing on principles established in the past but made relevant to the present.

"That's why actually I created this character - the clone of the Prophet. In my story I put him in a community. Biologically he has all the traits of the Prophet but the question is, could historical man be repeated? I try to portray this person using experiences from the past and trying to adapt to the current situation," Isa said.

- International Herald Tribune, 
  14 March 2008

"Ziauddin Sardar's response towards the naughty comment that associated the essence of the main character in Tawassul with the cartoon designed by the malicious artist from Denmark was interesting and apt. I believe Tawassul will stirr the hearts and minds of the readers in their efforts to understand the socio-political onslaught on the Muslim ummah."
- Publisher, Al-Ameen.

Impak luarbiasa!
Tawassul membicarakan kerisauan kita tentang terlalu bersandar pada sejarah Islam dengan tidak memikirkan dan menelitinya secara mendalam. Ketika membacanya, semakin jelas, semakin mendalam, semakin mengghairahkan, semakin mendebarkan.
- Sasterawan Negara Malaysia, A. Samad Said
Pelancaran Kedua Tawassul, 12 April 08, PWTC, Kuala Lumpur

Bagi aku, pengarang ini memang sangat berani mengupas isu ini. Rasanya tidak terjangkau fikiran hendak hasilkan karya macam ini. Gaya penulisan dia pun best. Kadang-kadang simple dan mudah difahami, tetapi kadang-kadang ada penggunaan gaya bahasa sastera, yang kena fikir dalam-dalam baru faham.
- Blog Talk To A Soul

A collection of 36 poems, in which the poet's priority is not in the quantity of the collection, but the quality of the compilation, the result of a very selective self-critical choice. The poet has the ability to transform a simple, everyday object to a main subject of life, forcing us to ask many questions in order to find solutions......In choice of words, the poet is very selective and economical while the verses and lines are lyrical and melodious. The poems are titled with not more than two words. They are catchy and witty, symbolizing the carefulness and characteristics of special creations. They provoke us to think, to read the whole poem earnestly and to discover the gems of philosophy that lie buried deeply in the poems. 

- Book Awards, National Book Development Council, Singapore, 1995
for Sumur Usia (Well of Time)

Munajat Sukma, menarik dan jauh beza dengan kumpulan awal Sumur Usia - satu perkembangan yang nampak berbanding kepenyairan lalu, kini lebih kreatif dengan apa yang lahir dari hati sukma, sudah sewajarnya kita harus keluar dari puisi tradisi Masuri SN / Usman Awang atau apa yang disebut gagasan asas '50'.Kini saya nampak Isa bebas untuk menegakkan pendirian sebagai penyair, tidak ada pengaruh penyair veteran, anda seorang individual penyair sejati yang tidak tunduk di bawah arahan kehendak masyarakat melalui buktinya Munajat Sukma, dalam kumpulan puisi ini anda bermuhasabah lebih dekat dengan diri anda sendiri.
- Penyair Sufi Johar Buang

Munajat Sukma (Soul Devotion) is interesting and different from the earlier collection, Sumur Usia - depicting a shift from past poetics, now it is more creative and direct from the soul, it is indeed apt that we depart from traditional poetry of Masuri S N / Usman Awang or what is known as the Asas '50 approach. Now I see Isa standing free as a poet, no influence from veteran poets, you are truly a poet who does not succumb to the dictates of society as proven by Munajat Sukma, in this collection you are introspective and closer to your inner self.
- Sufi Poet, Johar Buang.

PINTU - This debut play from Isa Kamari shows plenty of promise, with the novelist and poet integrating many lyrical moments into an engaging, if at times esoteric play. Incantation serves as a particularly effective linguistic technique here. The title of the play for door, and the motif of doors - cramped complicated pathways leading towards all manner of things - recur in several interesting ways.
- Straits Times, 28 Dec 2006


Pintu won the Malay Literature Award 2007.

The two episodic TV dramas were a result of the collaboration between the production and creative teams from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Dua Wajah (Two Faces) was shortlisted for the Pesta Perdana Award 2001 by SURIA.
 

Sirrfillsirr (Secrets Within Secrets) 
Literature seeps into the domain of song lyrics and performance art.