ko ko thett is a poet by choice and a Burmese by chance. In between he is a poetry translator, editor and Burma/Myanmar scholar. He is the translator and co-editor of Bones will crow: 15 contemporary Burmese poets (Northern Illinois University Press NIUP, 2013). He lives in Vienna and writes in both Burmese and English. His collection, the burden of being burmese, is forthcoming from the NIUP in 2015.

Reaffirmism, Rejectionism and Revisionism

Poetry in Transitional Myanmar

Contemporary poetry in transitional Burma/Myanmar manifests a literary trend that has been suddenly exposed to, and stirred up by, a barrage of globalization from the outside and a political transition from the inside.This essay argues that even though ‘lobby and advocacy verses’ responding to the political issue of the day abound in transitional Myanmar, ideological or anti-hegemonic critical rigour is missing in the contemporary poetry of the 'post-ideological' Burmese poets.