Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay
| Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay ဂျာနယ်ကျော် မမလေး |
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Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay
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| Born |
13 April 1917 Kamkalu, Bogale, British Burma |
| Died | 6 April 1982 (aged 64) Yangon, Myanmar |
| Resting place | Yayway Cemetery |
| Pen name | Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay |
| Occupation | novelist , publisher , journalist |
| Period | 1936-1980 |
| Genre | Romance, Short story |
| Notable works |
Thu Lo Lu (Man Like Him) (1947) Mone Ywa Mahu (Not Out of Hate) (1955) |
| Notable awards | Myanmar National Literature Award (1955, 1963) |
| Spouse |
Chit Maung (1938-1946) Aung Zeya (1959-1982) |
| Children | Maung Thein Dan Khin Lay Myint Moe Hein |
Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay (Burmese: ဂျာနယ်ကျော် မမလေး [ma̰ ma̰ léi]) is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest Burmese writers of the 20th century. Her stories are known for authentic portrayals of modern Burmese society. Along with Ludu Daw Amar, Ma Ma Lay was one of a few female authors in Burma. She died in 1982 at the age of 65.
Ma Ma Lay was born Ma Tin Hlaing in Karmaklu Village, Ayeyarwady Division, Myanmar in 1917. Her literary career began in 1936 when her article "To Become Knowledgeable Women" was published in the Myanma Alin newspaper. She later married Chit Maung the chief editor of Myanma Alin in 1938. Together, they founded The Journal Kyaw newspaper in 1939. She began writing articles and short stories under the pen name "Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay".
Ma Ma Lay was just 29 when her husband died in 1946, leaving her with two sons and a daughter. Despite being a young widow, Ma Ma Lay displayed her talent and ability as a writer and a publisher. Not only did she not close down the Journal, she published another one named "Pyithu Hittaing" or "The People's Voice Newspaper", in accordance with her husband's last wish.
Unfortunately, she could only run the press only for a few years due to the situation in the country. Troubles began when a group of students destroyed her publishing company's printing house for her papers' perceived leftist slant (and perhaps for her family's ties with leading Marxists like Thein Pe Myint.) Not one to back down, Ma Ma Lay continued to publish her two papers by going deeply into debt. Though she was able to repay part of the debts due to the commercial success of her 1947 book Thu Lo Lu (Like Him), she couldn't keep the presses going for long.
Ma Ma Lay continued her career as a writer and was also the president of the Writers Association in 1948, which was most unusual for a female. Traveling the world was not easy for a woman at that time but Ma Ma Lay managed it. She went to India, Japan, China and Russia, attending conferences and touring the countries. She continued writing until the 1970s. She would not get back into the publishing business again but ran a small printing business in the 1950s.
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Wikipedia