This is my first encounter with the poetry of Baha Zain or Baharuddin Zainal, and the experience left me feeling rather edified. Overall, the verse (both the original and translated versions) is thoughtfully crafted with a great sensitivity for lyricism, and the effect ia a musically that echoes in the mind long after one has read the poems which address the beloved/lover who is sometimes a woman, sometimes God. Baha's literary preoccupations are varied. The poetry communicates a wide range of concerns, from social and political injustice to love, religion, culture, nature, and civilisation.
The tone of what can be rightly called his "protest" poems is always bold, forthright, urbane, and honest: Baha's voice does not beat around the bush even as it exudes sympathy for the downtrodden and contempt for their oppressors. The persona is unequivocal in his condemnation of tyranny in all its forms.
Agnes S.K. Yeow - University of Malaya, Malaysia
