Literary Beehive in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Here’s a little secret that’s slowly growing and breaking down the walls around it to go into the wider public domain. Tap this into your PDA. Better still, tattoo it on your arm where you won’t miss it.



I’m talking about a monthly reading group that’s called Readings@Seksan. A few months ago, I stumbled upon this wonderful literary beehive in Bangsar through Facebook, and soon I was invited by one of the organizers, Sharon Bakar, to attend. Since then, whenever I’m free, I’ll make a beeline to Seksan to join in the literary buzz.



Seksan may not even be a familiar name among most locals. Google the name, and you’ll find that it’s a professional landscape and architectural design house. However, on the last Saturday of each month, this design house in Bangsar is transformed into a micro-mini literary festival which gathers writers and book lovers for an afternoon of book readings, poetry recitals, music and wine. Yes, what’s a literary festival without music and a little spirit?!



Here there’s that casual, informal, sit-back-and-relax atmosphere where you really sit up close with the writers and poets of the day. You could either sit on wooden stools - yes, even these stools have a casual air about them - or curl yourself up on straw mats as you imbibe the outpourings of the writers, poets, and musicians.



Okay, just to give you an idea what you’ll get when you go to Readings@Seksan. I was at the October 08 session and three Malaysian writers, fresh from their readings at the Ubud Writers’ Festival, were on hand to read from their novels: Chiew- Siah Tei (Little Hut of Leaping Fishes); Preeta Samarasan (Evening is the Whole Day); and, Shamini Flint (The Seeds of Time). Fantasy writer Glenda Larke, author of The Isles of Glory trilogy, also graced the occasion with her presence.


If the readings get a mite serious or erudite, there’s always a singer or poets from Poetry Underground to perk you up. Last Saturday was no different : the Poetry Underground members emerged from their warrens to display their brand of performance poetry, while local singer-songwriter Reza Salleh put the audience in a romantic mood with three self-composed love songs.

So, have I got you interested? Go to Facebook and get an invitation from Sharon Bakar.