ZH 02 · Living Literary Archive
A Life in Language
From a childhood love of verse in Kedah to the highest literary honour in Malaysia, her life joins education, public service, scholarship and sustained creative practice.
Biography
Beginnings in Kedah
Zurinah Hassan was born on 13 June 1949 in Bakar Bata, Alor Setar, Kedah. Her early schooling took her from the Malay school at Tikam Batu to the English school at Sungai Layar, Convent Sungai Petani and Sultanah Asma School in Alor Setar.
A public literary life
She began writing as a child, contributing pantun and poems to Radio Malaya and student pages. In 1967 “Tujuh Gunung Tidak Terdaki” appeared in Warta Mingguan, followed by “Perutusan” in Utusan Zaman.
Education and scholarship
She received a Bachelor of Arts from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 1974, completed a Master of Arts at Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2001, and earned a PhD from the Academy of Malay Studies, Universiti Malaya, in 2008.
Public service and institutions
Her professional life included service as an Information Officer and head of information management in the Department of Information, alongside teaching and literary appointments at UKM, Universiti Malaya, UUM and UniMAP.
National recognition
She received the S.E.A. Write Award in 2004 and the Sunthorn Phu Poets Award in 2013. In 2015 she was named Malaysia’s 13th National Laureate and the first woman to receive the honour; the formal presentation took place on 26 April 2016.
Major strands
A body of work in motion
Across poetry, fiction, memoir and criticism, several concerns recur and develop.
01
Women and agency
Convention, work, family and the right to speak in one’s own voice.
02
Nature and cosmology
Landscape and living things as image, philosophy, faith and cultural memory.
03
History made present
Figures from legend and Sejarah Melayu returned to contemporary ethical questions.