Clara

her eyelashes unfurl
strands of her black oiled hair
coil and uncoil as if in utter unrest
then she boldly bares her life in public
speaking truths from her expanded chest
like cats we curl around the room purring for more

Text by Jasmine Low

Rooms - the audio project

It all began last year soon after we were approached by the British Council folk to co-organise Wayang Kata - a series of Spoken Word events. I must bring credit to Beth Yahp in fact, for being the catalyst. It was after attending one of Beth's creative writing workshops that I had suggested that she brought all her students (me included) to come 'read' at one of our monthly gigs. It was phenomenal. And I miss it. I miss La Bodega KL too. Am I blogging? Hmmmph. Must stop!

Ok, back to ROOMS - the audio book project. It began prior to the second coming. Of Francesca Beard. Thanks to the funky people at British Council, poetry is no longer Keats only or about 'where squirrels hide their nuts in grass'. As with most things in Malaysia (and the rest of the World) it usually begins one small seed and soon you'll have an entire paddy field. It was sort of like that in the spoken word scene. Once British Council's commitment kicked in, in flew Francesca Beard, followed by Malika Booker (pictured) and then Jacob Sam-la-Rose (read the promos here www.webprojx.com/troubaganger). After three installations of Wayang Kata, I'm pleased to say that Evelyn Hii of No Black Tie has encouraged us to bring more spoken word events to her acoustically sound venue. And so, Bernice Chauly, Sharanya Manivannan and Jerome Kugan kickstarted the series with readings. Then Sharanya Manivannan held her first spoken word Solo 'Ochre as the Earth' in June 2007. And Doppelganger Open Mic Open Stage came forth with two readings & gigs - 'Unity:Red' on 13 May and again on 6 June.

Spearheaded by Jasmine Low, ROOMS is a collection of spoken word (poetry, short stories etc) by Malaysian female writers where each person is given between 3-6 minutes to capture a moment within their own safe environment. Any room of their choice. So far, there have been 18 verbal commitments. However, only two recordings have been received.

A simple digital recording is all that's required. Unsolicited recordings will only be accepted upon prior correspondence so if you're interested to participate, please send us a short summary about yourself (no more than 100-words) and what you intend to record, then email it to Jasmine at jasminelow@gmail.com.

The organisers are planning a live performance where each woman will perform and be recorded LIVE. Details to follow soon.

Never too late

2 4 6 8
Who do you appreciate?

When you had the chance to love me
You took the chance to change me
Now you ask if it's too late
To try to love you and not hate

Hate is a four-letter I don't do
But how can I convince you
When all you care for is your pride
I have nothing now nowhere to hide

2 4 6 8
Who do you appreciate?

Running away this bride from forever
Can you blame her for ditching her lover
When even in bed cannot satisfy her
Coax her, friends, she deserves another

But before you spread the word
And tell your friends what you've just heard
Remember your lover and how you treat her
And remember, great moments can last forever

2 4 6 8
Who do you appreciate?

Start with yourself, your mother and your lover
Take all 3 on a dinner date
And don't you dare ever be late!

Copyright (C) Jasmine Low 2007
Originally performed at Doppelganger Open Mic
@ La Bodega Tengkat Tong Shin
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia