Cecil Rajendra

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]

Cecil Rajendra
Born1941 (age 79–80)
Penang, Malaysia
OccupationLawyer, poet

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. 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. "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.
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