SOAS Research Online

Abstract

U Thein Pe Myint is one of the most widely read authors in Burma today, with novels, travelogues, political writings, biographies and plays to his credit, as well as a considerable journalistic output. In addition to writing, he has always taken an active interest in politics and was formerly a politician. This duality of interests is reflected in his belief that literature may legitimately be used as propaganda for political purposes. This thesis presents a translation of eight short stories by Thein Pe Myint. The stories were written between 1934 and 1951 when the short story was becoming established as a literary genre in Burma. The aim of the translation has been to reproduce the spirit of the stories while keeping as close to the text as possible; when there are departures from the literal meaning of the text, these have been noted in the footnotes which are appended. The footnotes have also been used to elucidate linguistic and sociological points in the text, and to provide further background where necessary. The introductory section of the thesis contains a biography of Thein Pe Myint which shows how he has combined writing and politics in his career, and an account of the development of the short story as a literary genre in Burma, as well as a discussion of the stories translated, which form an interesting example of politically committed writing which is also successful as popular literature. Because of the absence of publishers' lists and the infrequency of book reviews in Burma, it was felt that it would be worthwhile to compile a full list of the author's writings, and this bibliography has therefore been included.