Robert Raymer

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Robert Raymer

Robert Raymer (born August 3, 1956) is an American writer and writing facilitator from Grove City, Pennsylvania, who now lives in Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

Grove City, Pennsylvania Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Grove City is a borough in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States, located approximately 60 miles (97 km) north of Pittsburgh and 75 miles (121 km) south of Erie. It is the home of Grove City College, a private conservative Christian liberal arts college; General Electric; Instron; and a number of small businesses. It is also the home to George Junior Republic, an all-boys institution. GJR serves to house, school, and treat 400 boys from troubled backgrounds. Historically a traditional industrial center, Grove City has manufactured locomotive engines, carriages, gas engines, foundry products, and motor trucks. The nearby Grove City Premium Outlets take their name from Grove City.

Kuching City and State Capital in Sarawak, Malaysia

Kuching, officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is situated on the Sarawak River at the southwest tip of the state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo and covers an area of 431 square kilometres (166 sq mi) with a population about 165,642 in the Kuching North administrative region and 159,490 in the Kuching South administrative region—a total of 325,132 people.

Sarawak State of Malaysia

Sarawak is a state of Malaysia. Being the largest among 13 other states with the size almost equal to West Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, Kalimantan to the south, and Brunei in the north. The capital city, Kuching, is the largest city in Sarawak, the economic centre of the state, and the seat of the Sarawak state government. Other cities and towns in Sarawak include Miri, Sibu, and Bintulu. As of the 2015 census, the population of Sarawak was 2,636,000. Sarawak has an equatorial climate with tropical rainforests and abundant animal and plant species. It has several prominent cave systems at Gunung Mulu National Park. Rajang River is the longest river in Malaysia; Bakun Dam, one of the largest dams in Southeast Asia, is located on one of its tributaries, the Balui River. Mount Murud is the highest point in Sarawak.

Contents

Biography

After graduating from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, he was a regional manager for Kinko, [1] in charge of 11 stores in three states before moving to Penang, Malaysia where he lived for 21 years and taught creative writing at Universiti Sains Malaysia. He also taught creative writing at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. He is the author of a collection of short stories set in Malaysia (Lovers and Strangers Revisited, MPH Group, 2008), a collection of creative nonfiction (Tropical Affairs, MPH, 2009), and a travel book (Spirit of Malaysia, Editions Didier Millet, 2011).

Miami University public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States

Miami University is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, although classes were not held until 1824. Miami University is the second-oldest university in Ohio and the 10th oldest public university in the United States. Miami also has regional campuses in Hamilton, Middletown and West Chester, as well as the Dolibois European Center in Differdange, Luxembourg. The Carnegie Foundation classifies Miami University as a research university with a high research activity. It is affiliated with the University System of Ohio.

Oxford, Ohio City in Ohio, United States

Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern portion of the state approximately 28 mi (46 km) NW of Cincinnati. It lies in Oxford Township, originally called the College Township. The population was 21,371 at the 2010 census. This college town was founded as a home for Miami University. In 2014, Oxford was rated by Forbes as the "Best College Town" in the United States, based on a high percentage of students per capita and part-time jobs, and a low occurrence of brain-drain.

Penang State of Malaysia

Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. The second smallest Malaysian state by land mass, Penang is bordered by Kedah to the north and the east, and Perak to the south. Currently, Penang is home to Southeast Asia's Longest bridge connecting the island to mainland.

Named as one of the "50 Expats You Should Know in Malaysia" by Expatriate Lifestyle magazine (January 2010), [2] Robert Raymer's short stories and articles have appeared in many publications including The Literary Review, London Magazine, Thema, Descant, The Writer and Reader's Digest. One story from Lovers and Strangers Revisited has been used for the Cambridge International Examinations and others have been taught in Malaysian universities, private colleges and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia literature in secondary schools, [3] as well as in a high school in Canada. He was the editor of Silverfish New Writings 4. Three of his novels have been "short-list" finalists in the 2009 and 2011 Faulkner-Wisdom Novel Competition.

<i>The Literary Review</i> journal

The Literary Review is an American literary magazine founded in 1957. The quarterly magazine is published internationally by Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey. In addition to the publication of short stories, poems, and essays, The Literary Review prides itself on publishing English translations of contemporary fiction from various countries around the world, often dedicating an entire issue to a single language.

Theme (Byzantine district) Byzantine district

The themes or themata were the main military/administrative divisions of the middle Byzantine Empire. They were established in the mid-7th century in the aftermath of the Slavic invasion of the Balkans and Muslim conquests of parts of Byzantine territory, and replaced the earlier provincial system established by Diocletian and Constantine the Great. In their origin, the first themes were created from the areas of encampment of the field armies of the East Roman army, and their names corresponded to the military units that had existed in those areas. The theme system reached its apogee in the 9th and 10th centuries, as older themes were split up and the conquest of territory resulted in the creation of new ones. The original theme system underwent significant changes in the 11th and 12th centuries, but the term remained in use as a provincial and financial circumscription until the very end of the Empire.

The Writer is a monthly magazine for writers published by Madavor Media.

Robert Raymer now lives with his wife Jenny (a Bidayuh from Sarawak) and their two children, Jason and Justin. He has a son Zaini from a previous marriage who is featured in Tropical Affairs, now studying in Kuala Lumpur.

Bidayuh ethnic group

Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, Malaysia and northern West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo, that are broadly similar in language and culture. The name Bidayuh means 'inhabitants of land'. Originally from the western part of Borneo, the collective name Land Dayak was first used during the period of Rajah James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak. At times they were also lesser referred to as Klemantan people. They constitute one of the main indigenous groups in Sarawak and West Kalimantan and live in towns and villages around Kuching and Samarahan in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, while in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan they are mainly concentrated in the northern Sanggau Regency. In Sarawak, most of Bidayuh population are found within 40 km of the geographical area known as Greater Kuching, within the Kuching and Samarahan division. They are the second largest Dayak ethnic group in Sarawak after the Iban and one of the major Dayak tribes in West Kalimantan.

Kuala Lumpur Capital of Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, or commonly known as KL, is the national capital and largest city in Malaysia. As the global city of Malaysia, it covers an area of 243 km2 (94 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 1.73 million as of 2016. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.25 million people as of 2017. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, in both population and economic development.

Publications

Lovers and Strangers Revisited

Lovers and Strangers Revisited (MPH, 2008), a collection of 17 short stories set mostly in Malaysia, was the winner of the 2009 Popular-The Star Reader's Choice Awards. [4] The original collection, Lovers and Strangers, was published by Heinemann Asia (1993) under the Writing in Asia Series then republished as Lovers and Strangers Revised (Silverfish, 2005). The Story Behind the Story is a blog series about each story in the collection, starting with "On Fridays". The collection has been translated into French under the title Trois Autres Malaisie (Editions GOPE, 2011). [5]

Heinemann (publisher) publishing house

Heinemann is a publisher of professional resources and a provider of educational services established in 1978 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as a U.S. subsidiary of Heinemann UK. Heinemann published the first-ever teacher professional book in 1983, and has since expanded to curricular resources, assessment systems, leveled literacy intervention, and Professional Development services. Today, the UK education imprint is owned by Pearson, the UK trade publications are owned by Random House and the US education imprint is owned by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Writing in Asia Series was a series of books of Asian writing published by Heinemann from 1966 to 1996. Initiated and mainly edited by Leon Comber, the series brought attention to various Asian Anglophone writers, like Shirley Geok-lin Lim, Western writers based in Asia like Austin Coates and W. Somerset Maugham and modern and classic stories and novels in English translation from the Malay, Indonesian, Thai and more. The series is also credited with contributing prominently to creative writing and the creation of a shared regional identity amongst English-language writers of Southeast Asia. After publishing more than 110 titles, the series folded after Heinemann Asia was taken over by a parent group of publishers and Comber left.

Tropical Affairs

Tropical Affairs: Episodes from an Expat's Life in Malaysia (MPH, 2009), nominated for the 2010 Popular-The Star Readers Choice Awards, [6] is a collection of creative nonfiction about Raymer's experiences of living in Malaysia for over twenty years, including being an extra in three Hollywood films (Anna and the King, Paradise Road, Beyond Rangoon) and the French film, Indochine, which won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992. [7]

<i>Anna and the King</i> 1999 film by Andy Tennant

Anna and the King is a 1999 American biographical period drama film directed by Andy Tennant, from a screenplay written by Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes. Loosely based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam, which give a fictionalized account of the diaries of Anna Leonowens, it stars Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-fat in the titular roles.

<i>Paradise Road</i> (1997 film) 1997 film by Bruce Beresford

Paradise Road is a 1997 Australian war film that tells the story of a group of English, American, Dutch and Australian women who are imprisoned by the Japanese in Sumatra during World War II. It was directed by Bruce Beresford and stars Glenn Close as Adrienne Pargiter, Frances McDormand as the brash Dr. Verstak, Pauline Collins as missionary Margaret Drummond, Julianna Margulies as U.S. socialite Topsy Merritt, Jennifer Ehle as British doyenne and model Rosemary Leighton Jones, Cate Blanchett as Australian nurse Susan McCarthy and Elizabeth Spriggs as dowager Imogene Roberts.

<i>Beyond Rangoon</i> 1995 film by John Boorman

Beyond Rangoon is a 1995 drama film directed by John Boorman about Laura Bowman, an American tourist who vacations in Burma (Myanmar) in 1988, the year in which the 8888 Uprising takes place. The film was mostly filmed in Malaysia, and, though a work of fiction, was inspired by real people and real events.

Spirit of Malaysia

Spirit of Malaysia (Editions Didier Millet, 2011) is a travel-guide, souvenir book with up-to-date photographs that capture the spirit of modern Malaysia.

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Sri Hartamas

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New Journalism is a style of news writing and journalism, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, which uses literary techniques deemed unconventional at the time. It is characterized by a subjective perspective, a literary style reminiscent of long-form non-fiction and emphasizing "truth" over "facts", and intensive reportage in which reporters immersed themselves in the stories as they reported and wrote them. This was in contrast to traditional journalism where the journalist was typically "invisible" and facts are reported as objectively as possible. The phenomenon of New Journalism is generally considered to have ended by the early 1980s.

<i>Chicago Reader</i> alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago

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Lydia Millet American writer

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Universiti Putra Malaysia Public research university in Malaysia

University Putra Malaysia is recognised by the independent government assessments as one of Malaysia's leading research universities offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses with a focus on agricultural sciences and its related fields. Founded in 1931 as the School of Agriculture, UPM's main campus is in Serdang, Selangor. It was formerly known as Universiti Pertanian Malaysia or the Agricultural University of Malaysia. Now, UPM offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in most fields such as science, engineering, medicine, veterinary medicine, business and social science.It was ranked as the joint 229th best university in the world in 2017 by Quacquarelli Symonds. and it was ranked 36th in Best Asian Universities and the 2nd best university in Malaysia.

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References

  1. “Writer from the Cold”, Lim S.H., Time Out KL (December 2009)
  2. “50 Expatriates You Should Know”, EL Team, Expatriate Lifestyle (January 2010)
  3. "Are You a Mrs. Koh?”, Harry, Denis, New Straits Times (August 28, 2010)
  4. “The Winners Are…”, Low, Sandra, The Star (August 30, 2009)
  5. “A French Translation for Lovers and Strangers Revisited-- it's Official!”, Raymer, Robert, Borneo Expat Writer (February 11, 2011)
  6. “Making Sense of the World”, Dias, Malini, The Star (25 July 2010)
  7. “A Tropical Affair to Remember”, Citrin, William, The Expat (August 2010)