Page 33 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL6

Being bold and honest in our feelings is a necessary quality to being a critic. At the same time we need to be careful, considering that a critical statement once published can have a great impactevaluating need to be realized consec- utively. But in reality, literary criticism in Thai society is stagnant and the reason for that has deep roots in our culture.“Seniority is a main factor why Thai people do not dare criticize some- one else, especially elders, since it counts as disrespect,” Ms Chamaiporn said. “We aren’t used to speaking out and being open to criticism. So our personal opinions are instead expressed on Facebook or behind someone’s back. That’s why critics’ circles can’t thrive in our society.”Being bold and honest in our feelings is a necessary quality to being a critic. At the same time we need to be careful, considering that a critical statement once published can have a great impact. A famous Thai novel by Win Lyovarin, Pik Daeng, was a front-runner for the SEA Write award until a committee member saw that thetabebuia tree, or chompoo pantip, the author described in the novel was not supposed to exist at the time of the story. The SEA Write award that year then shifted into another author’s hands.“If you aren’t a writer, you have no right to criticize writing” is a Thai expression commonly used to address critics. Although Ms Chamaiporn is both a critic and writer, she began writing a column of criticism in a well known newspaper without any prior experience as a writer. Everyone has the right to analyse, but only a few critics have been widely accepted by readers and maintained their reputa- tion over long periods. Ms Chamai- porn wrote her column for 17 years.“When I started writing my own novels and my works were criticized, I was not offended. Actually, I believe that writers and critics are assigned for completely different tasks.”Elite+ 31