Postmodernism in ... Burma

       In Writers examine uncertainty of truth in The Myanmar Times they talk to a couple of Burmese authors of, to varying degrees, a postmodern bent, such as Thit Sar Ni.
       Another author, Min Khite Soe San, suggests:

"In our country, the decline in human values occurred in a different way. It was caused by years of living under a dictatorship," he said. "This system has inflicted a lot of pain on us, and that has produced writers who have a strong affinity for postmodernism."

Min Khite Soe San invoked the metaphor of the rhizome to represent the character of postmodernism.

"The roots and stems spread in different directions under the ground. We are unable to trace where the root starts and ends, and every branch is part of the main. The rhizome grows in many directions, and I think this is a good way to portray society in the age of postmodernism," he said.

       Meanwhile writer and blogger Nay Phone Latt explains:

"Readers [of realist novels] feel happy if the story has a happy ending, or they feel sad if the story has a sad ending. For me, this curtails the reader's right to enjoy freedom of thought and feeling. It's likely that I enjoy postmodernism because it allows me to think and feel more freely when I read these stories."

       Now if only some of this stuff was available in English translation .....