Isan Writers, Thai Literature

Download or read book Isan Writers, Thai Literature written by Martin B. Platt and published by NUS Press. This book was released on 2013-08-20 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regional characteristics and regional language feature prominently in discussions of Thai identity, but there is little mention of regional literatures. In northeastern Thailand's Isan region, authors write primarily in Thai, but it is possible nonetheless to identify an Isan literature, which played a significant and at times pivotal role in the development of Thai literature in the second half of the twentieth century, as authors grappled with how their origins and experiences related to the Thai centre. Martin Platt's account of Isan literature is an important first step toward a broader study of regional literatures in Thailand, and shapes a model that has relevance for examining literary works in other Asian countries.