CULTURE

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The military regime was no doubt pleased to see him come under fresh attack." He also noted that Dagon Taya was not the only casualty of this latest assault on the living bastion of Burma’s modern literary history. "The Burmese literary movement is scattering and dividing itself up," remarked the historian, adding that literary figures and other left-leaning intellectuals have always been regarded as a threat by the country’s ruling military elite. These attacks have since subsided; and, as if to demonstrate his own powers of endurance, Dagon Taya seems to have derived from them an even deeper awareness of the social and psychological state of Burma today. Recognizing the deep sense of intellectual and spiritual drift that afflicts many young writers as they desperately seek a meaningful direction for the future, Dagon Taya reaffirms his belief that writers cannot afford to lose touch with their surroundings. "One can not separate the arts from their socio-political setting," he wrote recently. "Burma is now in a transitional period, and young people naturally feel that something is lacking in their minds and in their creative efforts. Indeed, Burmese literature is now looking for a new shore."