Chineseness and its Diversion: Chia Yong Chew’s Poetic Forms

Abstract In breaking nearly thirty years of silence, Malaysian Chinese poet Chia Yong Chew (1950-) re-emerges into the literary arena with three short articles: “Notes on Poetry (I, II, III)” on contemplations of poetry, and a new publication of a poetry collection: Chia’s SeEds: Shades of Time (2013). The publication of the three articles on poetry that convey Chia’s fruitful thoughts over the essence of poetry’s subject makes the poetry collection, Chia’s SeEds, an exemplification of his own theories. Both the articles and poetry book serve as a counterevidence to prove the credibility and validity of each other. The phenomenon of frequent publications, in only three years, from 2011 to 2013, can be seen as a sign of a change in Chia’s state of mind, namely from a long process of contemplation, to a sudden eruption of composition. The blooming of ideas and the limited capacity of poetry as a genre provokes Chia to adjust his form of poetry. Therefore, the first part of this article seeks to examine the creation of new forms, in terms of genre, in Chia’s poetry that are caused by the predicament of the urge to speak out. In “Notes on Poetry (I, II, III)”, Chia advocates the importance of “Chineseness” in poetry, therefore the second part of this article examines the radical influence of Chineseness to Chia, in composing poetry and creating poetic aesthetics that centralises the shapes and sounds of Chinese characters. Thirdly, to draw a comprehensive poetic form in Chia’s works, this article points out the foreign elements in Chia’s works that dilute the Chineseness aforementioned.