A Discourse on Birds – and Biodiversity
By William Tham, Yong-Yu Huang
May 2022 FEATURE
BIRDS POPULATE literature and folklore as symbols of transit and freedom, embodying fleeting moments of beauty.[1] In Farid-ud-din Attar’s The Conference of the Birds, for example, the avians embark on an allegorical journey – towards truth, enlightenment and God.In the face of climatic unease and the biodiversity crisis, their characterisation as temporary beings in the book holds ever greater relevance. In conversation, Justine Vaz, general manager of the Habitat Foundation, commented that the first step to handling climate change is...
William Tham
His novel, The Last Days, is set in 1981 and covers the continuing legacy of the Malayan Emergency. He is currently an editor-at-large with Wasifiri and also an MA candidate at Universiti Malaya.
Yong-Yu Huang
is a Taiwanese student based in Penang. She doesn’t know where she’s headed, but she hopes there’ll be tea.
