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In Southeast Asia, literature is not bound by books. Early on, oral traditions,

riddles, puns, proverbs, legends, and stories of cosmologies were etched into

the minds of listeners. Only later were tales set in the form of stone inscriptions

and bas-reliefs. Some early scholars characterized Southeast Asian literature

as naive and formulaic love stories and heroic epics; but this tends to express

a Western bias rather than help people understand the subtleties involved in

regional aesthetics.

Philippine literature is a diverse and rich group of works that has evolved

side-by-side with the countrys history. Literature had started with fables and

legends made by the ancient Filipinos long before the arrival of Spanish

influence. Because of its history, the main themes of Philippine literature focus

on the countrys pre-colonial cultural traditions and the socio-political histories

of its colonial and contemporary traditions. Both Filipino and English are used

as the usual mediums for writing literature, but there has been revival of

literature from other Philippine languages, and many authors now opt to write

in the native tongue. Poetry, the novel, the play, and the short story are the

usual forms in which Philippine literature at present is written.

The literature of Malaysia is infused with folk tales, Indian and Javanese

influence, and Muslim (Persian-Arab) influence. These influences brought on a

dynamic process of selective adaptation resulting in localized literary styles,

which include the hikayat (grand stories that contain elements of chronicles,
romance and epic heroism), syair, and pantun (four-line poetic verses of a

proverbial nature, oft en used in courtship). Modern Malaysian literature, like

Philippine literature, is infused with its colonial past and themes include the

clash of old and new, identity in post-colonial settings, the family, and the

importance of community. Recently the themes have come to reflect

socio-poliical issues that beset the country today. Poetry, the short story, plays,

and the novel have enjoyed popularity among Malaysians. While there is a

body of modern literature written in English, there is also a sizable amount of

literature written in Malay.

It is difficult to discuss Indonesian literature without mentioning colonization

and various other forces that have been brought to bear on Indonesian society.

Modern writers attempt to make valuable aspects of precolonial literature

stand in contrast to the models and ideals proposed by colonial forces. Th e

study of literature is marked by Generations (angkatan) of writers who, in

response to particular political pressures, have presented counterarguments to

colonial hegemony and challenges to national identity. Some of the styles of

these Generations are characterized by experimentation with Romanticism,

Realism, and socialism/ communism. Literature is taken very seriously and

authors can easily end up in jail. This was especially true during the time of

Suharto; in the wake of his fall in 1998, the literary scene opened up

considerably. Themes include the colonial and post colonial experience, social

issues, politics, the family, the clash of religion and modernity among others.

There is also a trend among the younger writers to write works exploring

themes like radicalism, rebellion against traditions, and a sense of nostalgia for
the past and a disillusionment with the present. Indonesian literature in the

modern sense is flourishing in forms like the novel, the short story, the

drama,and poetry. In contrast, Bruneis modern literary scene remains in its

infancy, with the handful of authors preferring to self-publish.