Bagyi Aung Soe, “Bagyi Aung Soe’s Preface”, in Daung Nwe Swe, The Beginning Without End, Yangon, 1978.1
? I first read his poem when Taya magazine was still around. It was just after World War II. It was his original poem I first read. I next read his poems printed in the monthly periodicals. With the passage of time, I read so many of his poems which I illustrated. Till now, I contemplate on his poems which I express through my illustrations. Daung Nwe Swe has been writing poems for many years and it seems that he has created a large number of poems. Regardless, he remains passionate about writing poems. I would like to say that even death cannot stop him from composing poems. What I want to say is that he is very experienced with poetry. With so much knowledge on poetry, one would say that he already has enough significant experiences in terms of its compositional “Creation” [English]. It is then with “Past Experiences” [English] that the poet has the “Skillfulness” [English; sic] to create poems. ? Of course, what happens when the poet has so much knowledge and experiences? His third eye – that is to say the eye of contemplation – opens. For the artist, it is at this moment that he or she no longer needs to make a lot effort to create. It is like someone who no longer needs to breathe deliberately. The artist develops a “Creative Imagination” [English] based on his experiences drawn from daily life and his feelings. It is with this inspiration that he or she creates. In poetry, the artist creates poems without rhythm just as the painter creates poems without words in painting. I believe that is the moment one arrives at the summit of art’s nirvana. I do not have any book to refer to for this; I only have my own experience. I do not who first presented non-rhythmic poetry; I do not know who first created it. 1
This translation only conveys the gist of the article, not all the nuances. Bagyi Aung Soe, “Non-Objective Painting”, Hkyeyi (August 1986), 72-73.
1
AungSoeillustrations.org
What I first read of Daung Nwe Swe’s poems was the anthology of poems titled The Pearl Necklace in Poetry published in 1959 by the publisher Shumawa. ? Since I was the illustrator of his poems, I always had the chance to read them. Each time I read his poems, I see them in images. The poet told me that my paintings are poems. Now the poet and the painter are united: The poet is the painter, The painting is the poem. There is much “Moving” [English] in our times, as well as Saya Daung’s non-rhythmic poems titled The Beginning Without End. His poems encompassing all of “Art-Science” [English] and technology move forward into the 21st century. No one can hold back Daung Nwe Swe; he needs no well wishes to move ahead. It is history that will evaluate the success of his new poetic creation. That’s all. Forward Daung! Childhood friend of Daung Nwe Swe Bagyi Aung Soe December 1977
Translated by Khin Swe Win & Yin Ker
Bagyi Aung Soe, “Non-Objective Painting”, Hkyeyi (August 1986), 72-73.
2
AungSoeillustrations.org