Zawgyi

(pseudonym of U Thein Han). Born in 1908. Burmese poet, literary critic, and translator.

Zawgyi studied at the University of Rangoon. During the 1930’s, he was one of the leading figures of the khitsan literary movement. He is the author of short stories written in imitation of Burmese classical prose and poems in the le-jo form (four-part free form). His work contains a patriotic call to struggle for the rebirth of a free Burma, as in the narrative poem Ancient Pagan. Zawgyi is the author of many critical articles and a monograph on the life and work of Takin Kawdaw Hmain. He translated Kalidasa’sShakuntala into prose, as well as Molière’s comedies.