Pakka English

Pakka English Pakka English Enterprise Purveyors of good literature and writing - We only stock the good stuff.

(Even if we don't have what you want, we can try to get it for you.)

------------

Silverfish Books was established in 1999 as an independent shop focussed on literature, philosophy, and Malaysian writing in English - areas which were either neglected or not addressed adequately by mainstream bookstores. We're essentially a book-boutique for readers BY readers, and all our titles are painstakingl

y (and arguably lovingly) hand-selected, with many unavailable in any 'mega' store anywhere - we* are* serious and committed to good, quality reading and writing. We are also the leading publishers of Malaysian writing in English - our very first book, Silverfish New Writing 1 (published in 2000), is an anthology of short stories from Malaysia, Singapore and beyond, which attracted post-colonial writers from all over the world. We're simultaneously, publishers, a bookstore, and an education center. Follow our page to be the first to get the very latest updates, to have a chat with Silverfish staff, or to share with us anything to do with literature, here or elsewhere!

Adulting is a word! And a useful one.This story from WION titled “Why millennials will still be 'adulting' at 60” starts...
11/04/2023

Adulting is a word! And a useful one.

This story from WION titled “Why millennials will still be 'adulting' at 60” starts with, “You were once there. Full of innocent hope, ready to take on the world and not knowing how to run a washing machine. Your trips to the doctor were perhaps for routine check-ups and nothing scary. You spent money like there always was going to be more. And you sucked as hell in managing daily life outside of job and partying.

“Sounds familiar?”

The story is a fun read but a little unfair on millenials. I know of men in their seventies still reliving their university days and bantering saucy adolescent jokes. I’m sure women do that too. Why, entire nations can still be adolescent. I’m not mentioning names, but can you can guess? Hint: they refer to 5000-year-old civilisations as “young democracies” because they shed their colonial yokes less than 100 years ago!

Still, there is a problem. Or maybe there isn’t, depending on your point of view. Imagine the rakyat (the sheep, the flock, the uncouth masses — see the near-universal agreement in all major religions that they are somehow less than human?) all suddenly becoming adults and refusing to be exploited by the religious classes, corporates and politicians!

Total chaos, right?

When you have to start an article with something like 'readers of a certain age...' you know you've begun to NO LONGER be part of the foremost strike group of the young brigade. Advertisers still have you in mind yes, but corporate boardrooms have already begun strategising in order to lure peeps yo...

My Unifi SagaI'm sure you all have one or two precious Unifi sagas to relate, but to me this deserves an Oscar! (Move ov...
22/03/2023

My Unifi Saga

I'm sure you all have one or two precious Unifi sagas to relate, but to me this deserves an Oscar! (Move over Michelle Yeoh!)

I have been paying my Unifi bill by credit card auto-debit for, maybe, ten years. The advantage is convenience, of course. When the bill comes and it's paid. No worries. I never looked at the charges. After all, one should be able to trust TM. No?

Recently, I discovered a disadvantage. I just found out that they had been charging me RM30.00 for the Varnam Plus package, which I never subscribed, and, looking back at my past bills, this has been going on for years. I know there are fans of the Varnam package, it but shouldn't it be a matter of choice?

Anyway, first, my set-top IPTV has never been installed - not since 2010 when I first installed Unifi. Second, no one in my household had been watching TV for years by then. Third, I donated my set to a charity about 12 years ago. Fourth, Unifi never told me about the Varnam package.

I was annoyed at several levels and wrote to Unifi. The reply was prompt, " ... we would like to inform you that the Unifi TV pack is bundled with the Unifi 100Mbps (STB) - Turbo Deals package... We regret to inform you that the Varnam Plus Pack charges are valid and payable. Thus, there is no refund for these charges."

I tried to explain that I had never subscribed to the package, that the set-top IPTV was never installed and that I have not had a TV set for more than ten years.

Unifi's reply: "... unifi lite 100Mbps 129.00 - 30.00( Discount) + 30 (Varnam Plus Pack ) = 129".

My response, "So, there was no discount at all. Is this not misleading marketing? Also Varnam pack says, “Get enchanted with the colours of Indian entertainment ranging from Hindi and Tamil movies and TV shows”. Why did Unifi assume I’d enjoy that? Does it not sound stereotypical and almost racist to you? Maybe some sensitivity training is in order."

Unifi's reply, "..as per informed, current offer for 100mbps without unifi TV pack is at RM 129.00/month. Therefore, should you wish to have 100mbps package without Unifi TV pack, the monthly fee will be the same as your current fee which is at RM 129.00/month and the contract will be renewed to another 24 months as it is considered change of package."

My last response, " Ha ha ha ha! Do you even believe yourself! My friends in the newspapers are going to love this!"

SuruhanjayaKomunikasiMultimediaMalaysia (MCMC) has been looped through this entire conversation. Is this a practice legal? What exactly is going on? Is Unifi TM siphoning off thousands of unwitting Unifi subscribers to boost their IPTV numbers? Why give a discount and then add it right back with an unwanted "free gift"?

I went to a remarkable Malaysian wedding on Saturday.What's so remarkable about weddings, you ask. So would I, ordinaril...
06/03/2023

I went to a remarkable Malaysian wedding on Saturday.

What's so remarkable about weddings, you ask. So would I, ordinarily. In fact, I detest them for all the ostentation and devoidness of meaning (except for the couple, who'd have preferred something else anyway). But this is the eldest son of our former housekeeper (we knew him as a child), so I had to reluctantly agree.

But what an eye-opener it was. (A wedding; an eye-opener?) First, our housekeeper came with an interesting story. She is from the North somewhere, and, as a child, she was given up for adoption by her mother (perhaps due to poverty) to a Muslim family in her kampong who had several children of their own. Nothing surprising, right? Quite normal. Except that her new parents made no attempt to change her birth religion (reasons unknown).

So, this Hindu girl grew up with her many Muslim siblings in her kampong with no problems. Then, she got married to a Hindu man and continued to keep in touch her Muslim brothers and sisters. They were very close as children, I gather. And they have remained akka, anneh, thatha and patti to one another till now. And her children grew up likewise. (At one point, years after she was married, the housekeeper even looked after her aging adopted grandmother, who preferred to live with her, rather than the other siblings.)

So, at the wedding, I felt like a jakun. It was a small function, mostly family, few guests. The first thing I noticed was a rather large group of women in tudong (women are always more noticeable due to that) mingling freely, affectionately hugging and kissing relatives and holding small children dressed for the occasion of a temple wedding in a plantation, and their husbands and sons and daughters. There was even a woman in a saree wearing a tudong, not in the least out of place. They all spoke Tamil. They were the groom's uncles, aunties and cousins, all there to share his joy. It was a family lovefest in a Hindu temple. Pure affection. No bitching. No contradictions.

I wanted to laugh with delight but thought it'd be considered rude. I dared not even move nearer for a closeup photo to avoid looking like a vulgar tourist or disturb the unadulterated social phenomenon going on with an anthropological observer effect. (So, my photo below is rather lame.)

They even had a dais for a bersanding!

It was my moment of realisation of true Malaysianism and the ridiculous emptiness of my middle-class urban existence. (At least, I don't have a mobile phone; that would've made it unbearable.)

Oh, God. How great is our land without the political vermin and the petty urban bourgeois (like me).

Kafka lives hereI renewed my International Passport today! Yay! It took me four hours!! Double yay!! And I am a senior c...
05/01/2023

Kafka lives here

I renewed my International Passport today! Yay! It took me four hours!! Double yay!! And I am a senior citizen, too!!! Triple yay!!!

One of the scariest words in Malaysian vocabulary is “Government” as in Government Hospital, or Government Office, or Government Department, etc. Whenever I hear that “G”, I think of hours washed down the drain. Yet, we tolerate it. Do all Governments punish their people like this? Can the "rakyat" be treated with a little more dignity? More efficiently. (This is no way the fault of the impeccably polite counter officers; the source is further up)

Initially, I wanted to apply online. Their website was dead and there was also a notice that said, “senior citizens”, SC, are allowed to “walk-in”. (It wasn’t clear if they meant “could” or “should”.) So, resigning to a potential fate worse than death, I was at the Jalan Duta office at a quarter to eight, confident about their senior-citizen promise.

There was already a 100-person queue. I looked around for a shorter old-people queue. I asked two officers who confirmed this was it! So I joined it (by which time the queue was already 150 people long) as the door was not open yet! I learned that I had to queue with everybody else, to get to the inner counter for a “nombor giliran”. After which, I waited 1 hour for my turn. So much for my SC status.

“Why don’t they give out the queue numbers at the foyer?” someone muttered. “That would have been too easy, no? Besides, it’ll make only your life easier. That’s not the function of a government department, meathead!” I thought.

At the aforementioned counter, I was told to change my IC before renewing my passport. I was flabbergasted. If there were instructions, I could have easily done that while I waited my turn. (The pleasant officer lady downstairs took only 30 minutes; they had an SC queue that worked!)

Back at the salt mine, I waited for another hour to pay my dues, when I was told to wait for another hour to collect my passport; 4 hours in all.

Here are two useful tips:

1. Make sure you completely empty your bowels before you leave home, unless you have fond memories of our 1960’s bus-station loos with the flooded floors and unmentionables floating about in the WCs. If you have children, buy health insurance. It’s deadly.

2. Senior citizens will be treated like cattle so be prepared. (I felt sorry for the doddering Pak Cik and wife, chased to the back of the long queue. They obviously had grandiose ideas of “warga emas” like I did.)

A Mandela moment?On the 9th of May 1969, I rode a taxi from Batu Pahat to Kuala Lumpur to report to the University of Ma...
25/11/2022

A Mandela moment?
On the 9th of May 1969, I rode a taxi from Batu Pahat to Kuala Lumpur to report to the University of Malaya. I had been offered a place in the Faculty of Engineering. I stayed with friends overnight and went to the 5th college the next day to register.
The general elections were over, and Tuesday morning, 13th May, had we decided to breakfast at Medan Selera in Section 14. As we were alighting from our Fiat 650 we heard the loud roar of a big motorcycle carrying newspapers behind us, with a big-haired wild woman on it, screaming, “Kolompo Cina punya, Kolompu Cina punya …’
The atmosphere became increasingly raucous. As it was too much for our rural pusillanimity; we decided to leave asap. Racism was so thick in the air; one could cut it with a knife.
That same evening, I was in PJ shopping toiletries after dinner, when the riots broke.
Anwar Ibrahim was one of the first names I heard on campus. I had heard of Syed Husin Ali, Chung Lai Huat, Justin Chang, etc, all student leaders but not Anwar.
“He is an ultra, we were warned,” which only intrigued me more. I was also told he was a great speaker. I wanted to hear him speak.
Campus politics was exciting and dangerous. We heard of government planted spies among students. Dr Mahathir (not Tun, then) had been sacked from UMNO, so he was invited to speak on campus. Racism, demonstrations, stand offs with police on and off campus and balls. Yes, we danced too!
In my mind, Anwar was a PM candidate even then, more than 50 years ago. We knew where he was headed (at least I did). Perhaps, it was too obvious.
He's clever, he's sharp. And he reads. (Eli used to buy books for him from Silverfish during his sentence. Very good books, too.)
Remember what they did to the boy who saved the island in Singapura Dilanggar Todak: the king's ministers had him killed because they thought he was too clever.
VS Naipul wrote this about him in Among the Believers: “For Anwar Ibrahim, Islam was the energiser and purifier that was needed in Malaysia; true Islam awakened people, especially Malays, and at the same time it saved them from the corruption of the racialist politics of Malaysia, the shabbiness of the money culture and easy Western imitation.”
I’ve been waiting for over 50 years for this moment, for Anwar to be sworn. Yet when it happened, I was somewhat underwhelmed, almost afraid. It feels unreal. What was I expecting? Fireworks?
The salesperson in my spectacles shop asked me what I thought. I let it float in my mind for a while before saying softly (mostly to myself), “I hope he doesn’t blow it.” Maybe, I worry too much?
So, what do you think?

Hikayat Fandom book launch4 books were launched on Saturday 24th of September at the mini auditorium at Matic, namely'1....
29/09/2022

Hikayat Fandom book launch

4 books were launched on Saturday 24th of September at the mini auditorium at Matic, namely'
1. Legenda Bidasari
2. Bentala Naga
3. Puteri Saadong
4. Puteri Seri Gumum

To say it was enjoyable would be an understatement. In the words of some who came, "It was awesome."

Organised by Ninot Aziz and her team from bZbee Consult, it was a blast. Below are some reviews:

1. The Vibes, Sunday, 25 September 2022
Award-winning author Ninot Aziz on resurrecting tales from our hikayat for modern audiences
https://www.thevibes.com/articles/culture/72398/award-winning-author-ninot-aziz-on-resurrecting-tales-from-our-hikayat-for-modern-audiences

2. Focus Malaysia, Sunday, 25 September 2022
Merging past and present: Hikayat Fandom showcase shines spotlight on Malay folklore
https://focusmalaysia.my/merging-past-and-present-hikayat-fandom-showcase-shines-spotlight-on-malay-folklore/

3. Dagang News, Monday 26 September 2022 "Hikayat Fandom – Art, Books and Cultural Showcase
Impian memperkasa Hikayat Malaysia berusia lebih 500 tahun menerusi novel grafik dan penataan estetika seni"
https://dagangnews.com/hikayat-fandom-art-books-cultural-showcase-19629

4. The Rakyat Post, Tuesday, 27 September 2022
Malay Fairytales & Folklore Back In The Spotlight Thanks To Hikayat Fandom
https://www.therakyatpost.com/living/2022/09/27/malay-fairytales-folklore-back-in-the-spotlight-thanks-to-hikayat-fandom/

5. BasKL, Tuesday, 27 September 2022
Siri Hikayat Fandom revives 500 years of Malaysian stories
https://baskl.com.my/siri-hikayat-fandom-revives-500-years-of-malaysian-stories/

6. Astro Awani, Tuesday, 27 September 2022
'Hikayat Fandom' bangkitkan sejarah masyarakat Melayu
https://www.astroawani.com/gaya-hidup/hikayat-fandom-bangkitkan-sejarah-masyarakat-melayu-383075

7. Astro Awani , Saturday, 24 September 2022
Hikayat Melayu | E-games dunia Melayu perlu diwujudkan
https://www.astroawani.com/video-malaysia/hikayat-melayu-e-games-dunia-melayu-perlu-diwujudkan-1988647

8. Astro Awani , Saturday, 24 September 2022
Hikayat Melayu | E-games dunia Melayu perlu diwujudkan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At0XXN_GC7c&ab_channel=AstroAWANI

9. Edisi Viral, Saturday, 24 September 2022
Hikayat Melayu | E-games dunia Melayu perlu diwujudkan
https://www.edisiviral.com/news/hikayat-melayu-games-dunia-melayu-perlu-diwujudkan.php

10. Head Topics, Tuesday, 27 September 2022
Malay Fairytales & Folklore Back In The Spotlight Thanks To Hikayat Fandom | TRP
https://headtopics.com/my/malay-fairytales-folklore-back-in-the-spotlight-thanks-to-hikayat-fandom-trp-30230006

Foster Unity & Progress through Arts & CultureThis is a Malaysia Day 2022 event (although it's held on the 15th Septembe...
11/09/2022

Foster Unity & Progress through Arts & Culture

This is a Malaysia Day 2022 event (although it's held on the 15th September). I have decided to share it as it says, "FREE FOR ALL" although the organisers require patrons to "WhatsApp o confirm attendance" at

Ground Floor, KL Jazz & Arts Centre,
No 1, Lorong Kapar,
Off Jalan Syed Putra,
58000 Kuala Lumpur.

There is not much information of the event online except that the very minimal website says, "The KL Jazz & Arts Centre (KLJAC) promotes arts and culture in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Our mission is to help promote and foster creativity through Arts & Culture."

The events on Saturday, September 15th from 2-6pm include:

Panel "Foster Unity & Progress through Arts & Culture"
Gerak Budaya, Riwayat, Hikayat Fandom (Book exhibition and Sales)
Negara Ku by Dr Joanne Yeoh & Bernadine Abeysekra
Dance & Light refreshment.

Interesting!

More information from the website: KLJAC houses the KL City Art Gallery, an event space called the Thinkers’ Corner that hosts forums and seminars, a Jazz Club and Restaurant called Kinda Blue (inspired by Miles Davis) and a Jazz Café called Take 5 (named after the famed Jazz standard composed by Paul Desmond and recorded by The Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1959).

Interestinger!!

See you there.

Portrait of a Malaysian Anaesthetist by Dr Anand SachithanandanIn the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the term ...
06/09/2022

Portrait of a Malaysian Anaesthetist by Dr Anand Sachithanandan

In the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the term ICU was on Malaysian lips, more often than nasi lemak, our favourite breakfast. Yet, the first two ICUs in the country only opened “within a fortnight of each other in early 1969 at the University Hospital (UH), Kuala Lumpur and the General Hospital Johor Bahru. (Fourth in Asia, before Singapore but after Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.)

This books highlights the struggles of one man, Dato Dr T Sachithanandan (Dr Sachi) — the author’s father — and his friends that led to the establishment of the facility in Johore Bahru Sultanah Aminah Hospital.

Dr Sachi, an anaesthetist, was a colourful man, a workaholic who wasn’t shy to party, who moved with kings and coworkers alike. The author, a cardiothoracic surgeon himself, says (without irony) that most patients remember their surgeons, but not their anaesthetists without whom most major surgeries today would be impossible.

Presented in the book are some interesting (and often astonishing) facts about history of anaesthesiology in Malaysia and the world.

World Intensive care medicine is less than 70 years old. 1953, Bjorn Ibsen, the anaesthetist, set up the first intensive care unit (ICU) in Europe.

John Alfred Lee, credited with establishing Britain’s first post- operative recovery ward, a predecessor to the ICU, in the late 1950s.

One of the earliest ‘assisted ventilation’ units opened at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in 1961, but the first purpose built (semi-prefab) ICU was established at Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool in 1964.

Wikipedia: “The modern anaesthetic era is only just over a hundred and sixty years old. Successful anaesthesia for surgery was first demonstrated in 1846. Before that, the few operations that were possible were carried out either with no pain relief or after a dose of o***m and/or alcohol.”

The book is full of such facts and reads like a thriller in many parts. And you’ll wonder how our parents lived!

Format: HB. Price: RM120.00.
Call/Whatsapp: 017-754 6973

End of the road for Silverfish BooksThe end came two days ago. We have been wound up by the court after 23 tiring years....
26/08/2022

End of the road for Silverfish Books

The end came two days ago. We have been wound up by the court after 23 tiring years. In a way, I’m relieved. Now, I can attend book functions, go to talks, take holidays and be in control of my life. I will focus on services like proofreading, copyediting, story critique, ghostwriting, custom publishing, besides some consultancy and, yes, writing workshops. Language skills. But they will all be at my own pace, through my own enterprise I’ve setup. No more 10am to 10 pm, 7-days-a-week “salt mining”.

We will continue have a small retail outlet under Pakka (Pakar?) English for self-published works that have been consigned to Silverfish Books for sale, if you wish us to continue. But if you don’t, we’ll settle your accounts and return your remaining books. We will send you an email. (BTW, our hours will be from 10am to 7pm Mon-Fri and by appointment only on Sat and Sun.)

For fans and wholesalers of the the Silverfish Malaysian Classics, we will continue to provide them. (We may need some consultation to figure that out how to do that.) Incidentally, the “Silverfish Books” trademark is privately owned (and has been since 2012).

All said and done, it was a good 23 years. Not profitable but exciting. Met many interesting people, made friends (mostly) and I like to believe we made a small dent in the Malaysian publishing industry by attracting may new players to the scene. We wanted to stand for something and I think we did, but you be the judge. It was never about business or personal riches. Only passion (whatever that is) to to raise standards. And, maybe, some ego. Some people thought I was mad. Perhaps, I was. Only a mad person would work for 23 years for no personal renumeration. I was accused of being delusional (besides all sorts of other things). Perhaps, I was. Actually, I can’t understand why I ran Silverfish Books for so long, either. What was I thinking?

Anyway, I’ll have plenty of time for that now, thinking. And to plan the rest of my life.

(BTW, for the time being, our phone numbers and email addresses remain the same. Drop by for some tea and (maybe) bring kueh!)

We are now at 63 Lorong MaarofOur telephone numbers are then same (finally got Telekom to move our line only yesterday a...
14/07/2022

We are now at 63 Lorong Maarof

Our telephone numbers are then same (finally got Telekom to move our line only yesterday after some drama) and so are our emails.

This was the longest move yet. I remember our first move to Bangsar: pack on day 1, move on day 2, unpack on day 3 & 4 and open on day 5. (We were 20 years younger, then.) Two weeks of moving and it’s still not over yet. Blame the weather. It was incredibly hot, we had no air conditioning (came yesterday) and everyone got sick. (Some are still unwell).

But we had to open and as a launch promotion we are giving away free books (outside the shop), 20% discounts to all walk-in customers and 50% off on most Silverfish titles to all resellers and librarians (even the latest) until August 15, 2022. Yes, you read that right.

Below is a photo of the premises. Do come and visit. We will have a launch party when we are more settled in.

SILVERFISH is movingYes, we knew this day would come. Maybe it’s the right time, after the pandemic and the lockdowns.We...
05/06/2022

SILVERFISH is moving

Yes, we knew this day would come. Maybe it’s the right time, after the pandemic and the lockdowns.

We have decided to move for two reasons. First, to cut costs. Our mall rental has become quite unaffordable. Our current retail revenue is not enough even to pay our rent! It was sustainable in the beginning, 7 years ago. The current circumstance is not the fault of our landlord; they have been wonderfully reasonable and supportive throughout the years especially the bad times. Our rent is still the same as it was when we started which was (and is) at a preferential rate. But two years of the pandemic, movement control and lockdowns has decimated retail, particularly the entire book industry.

There is plenty of whistling in the dark in the book world, that it will get back to “normal”. But reality is realty. There is only one credible bookshop left in the whole of Klang Valley: Kinokuniya. The rest are simply limping along. English book retail in Malaysia is almost dead. Fiction is surely dead.

This is true of the entire Anglophone world, of course: imagine, their biggest current publishing stars are still the ones I used to read in the eighties, Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood. Thank God for non-fiction (and Donald Trump!).

The second big reason: mall hours. Retail at a mall is no joke: 10am to 10pm, seven days a week (including holidays)! I have said that I’ll stop doing what I’m doing when I no longer enjoy it. Well, the time is here.

So, we’re thinking of moving out of the mall into a leafy suburban, going back to doing things we used to enjoy, where our customers become our friends, where we won’t have to put up with irritating walk-ins asking silly questions like: what kind of bookshop is this, please explain to me? (I’d be tempted to reply: We are really a front for … readers can use their imagination!) Or asking for photocopies, greeting cards, pens … or simply staring at the shop like deer caught in headlights!

What do we do after this? We will continue our focus on Malaysian publishing (self, not commercial), book launches and talks, book-art exhibitions, writer’s workshops, special book projects with authors … well, anything fun to do with books.

We’ll post an update when we confirm; expect it soon.

Address

163 Lorong Maarof, Bangsar Park
Kuala Lumpur
59000

Opening Hours

Monday 10:00 - 22:00
Tuesday 10:00 - 22:00
Wednesday 10:00 - 22:00
Thursday 10:00 - 22:00
Friday 10:00 - 19:00
Saturday 10:00 - 22:00

Telephone

+60322844837

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Pakka English posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Pakka English:

Share

Category

Silverfish Books - our story so far

“We love good literature and , we only stock books that matter. When we started publishing, our mission was o develop Malaysian writing, literature and publishing to internationally recognised standards.

“We believe we have achieved that; we have Malaysian literature translated into Italian, French and German. “Do we believe in serendipity? Certainly.” ------------ Silverfish Books was established in 1999 as an independent bookshop focussed on literature, philosophy, and Malaysian writing in English - areas which were either totally neglected or not addressed adequately by mainstream bookstores. We're essentially a book-boutique established for readers by readers, and all our titles are painstakingly (and lovingly) curated, with many unavailable in any 'mega' store anywhere.

Silverfish Books are also leading publishers of Malaysian writing in English - our very first book, Silverfish New Writing 1 (published in 2000), is an anthology of short stories from Malaysia, Singapore and beyond, which attracted post-colonial writers from all over the world, and which is still in print.

Besides being a bookstore and publishers, we teach creative storytelling and skilful writing, have organised literary festivals and one of the first to popularised book events in Kuala Lumpur. (Picture above shows a writing class in progress.)