Soth Polin


Soth Polin is a Cambodian writer. He was born in the hamlet of Chroy Thmar, Kampong Siem District, Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia. His maternal great-grandfather was the poet Nou Kan. He grew up speaking both French and Khmer. Throughout his youth, he immersed himself in the classical literature of Cambodia and, at the same time, the literature and philosophy of the West.
His first novel, A Meaningless Life, published in 1965, was strongly influenced by Nietzsche, Freud, Sartre and Buddhist philosophy. It was an enormous success. Numerous novels and short stories followed, among them The Adventurer With No Goal, A Bored Man, We Die Only Once, and Dead Heart. He also worked as a journalist in Khmer Ekareach, the newspaper of his uncle, Sim Var, and in the late 1960s, he founded his own newspaper and publishing house, Nokor Thom. He was a militant nationalist who was both anti-Sihanouk and anti-communist. Through his newspaper, he supported the pro-American government of General Lon Nol before finally distancing himself and suddenly taking refuge in France in 1974, after the assassination of his friend, Thach Chea, the Deputy Minister of Education.
His father and two of his brothers died during the Khmer Rouge regime. He worked in Paris as a taxi driver and published his dark cult novel The Anarchist, written in French. Later he and his two sons moved to the West Coast of the United States, where he now resides. His brother-in-law is Mam Sonando.

Works

Novels and novellas (in Khmer)

Source:
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  • ខូចសតិព្រោះកាមតណ្ហា.
  • ស្នេហ៍អពមង្គល.
  • អូនជាម្ចាស់ស្នេហ៍.
  • ក្ស័យតែម្ដងទេ.
  • ចំតិតឥតអាសូរ, banned by Sihanouk authorities and secretly republished under the title ចំតិតទៀតហើយ.
  • បុរសអផ្សុក.
  • អ្នកផ្សងព្រេងអារាត់អារាយ
  • អ្នកមេម៉ាយនៅអិល-អេ.
  • ស្នេហាដាច់ខ្យល់នៅឡាសវ៉េហ្គាស.

Collections of short stories (in Khmer)

  • ឲ្យបងធ្វើអី... បងធ្វើដែរ! : 1.ការទាក់ទងគ្នា... 2.បង្គាប់មកបងចុះអូន!...3.អ្វីៗដែលផ្លាស់ប្ដូ!... 4.ឲ្យបងធ្វើអី... បងធ្វើដែរ!
  • មរណៈក្នុងដួងចិត្ត : 1.ព្រលឹងប្ដីអើយ... ខ្លួនអូនរហែក... 2.រកគន្លិះប្ដីខ្ញុំ... មិនឃើញសោះ... 3.ពស់ក្បាលពីរ... 4.ក្បាលបោកផ្ទប់នឹងជញ្ជាំង... 5.ស៊ូទ្រាំគ្រាំគ្រាយូរមកហើយ... 6.មរណៈក្នុងដួងចិត្ត...
  • ស្ដេចចង់ : 1.ស្ដេចចង់ 2.កសាងស្រមោលអតិតៈ 3.ក្លិនតណ្ហានៅហ្វ្រេស្ណូ

Play (in Khmer)

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Essays, articles and translation (in Khmer)

  • ស្រុកយើងមានសន្តិភាពមែនឬ?, Nokor Thom, 1974.
  • ស្រុកយើងអើយវេទនាដោយសារគេ, Nokor Thom, 1974.
  • ជីវប្រវត្តិសង្ខេបនៃទស្សនវិទូក្រិកដ៍ល្បីល្បាញជាងគេក្នុងបុរាណកាល, 2004, Angkor Borey.
  • , Devaraja, 2005.
  • Preface of Sang Savat’s novel, The Big Thief at the Border written in 1955 and republished by Nokor Thom in 1973.

Novel and short stories (in French)

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«The Anarchist flouts the mythology of "la belle France" and takes us to an entrepôt of broken dreams where the trauma of war haunts a Cambodian émigré, whose monologue comprises the second half of the novel. In Paris, weeks after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, the Cambodian taxi-driver Virak unburdens himself of a terrible secret. His audience is fresh road-kill: a young English tourist who is a victim of his distracted driving. Unlike other Europeans in the novel, who impose their own journalistic or ethnographic narratives on Cambodia, she cannot talk back.».Des lunettes pour la frime, short story, Paris.Du café sans sucre, short story, Paris.

Essays, articles, and miscellaneous works (in French)

La composition française au DESPC, Phnom Penh, 1964, with Ke Sokhan and To Chhun.Contes et récits du Cambodge, Pich-Nil Éditeur, Phnom Penh, 1966.Kompong Cham, symbole de notre survie , Nokor Thom, Phnom Penh, 1973.Aperçu sur l'évolution de la presse au Cambodge, with Sin Kim Suy, Phnom Penh, 1974.Dictionnaire Français-Khmer, Phnom Penh, 1974.Témoignages sur le génocide du Cambodge, collected from Cambodian refugees on the border of Thailand; one of the first books to alert the world about the genocide in progress in Cambodia, co-authored with :fr:Bernard Hamel, Paris, S.P.L., 1976.De Sang et de Larmes: la Grande Déportation du Cambodge,, Albin Michel, Paris, 1977.Petit dictionnaire français-khmer, Boulogne-Billancourt, CAMA, 1980.

Translations of his work

  • Soth Polin translated and adapted his own novel ចំតិតឥតអាសូរ into French, to use it as the first part of L'Anarchiste.
  • ひとづきあい Communicate, They Say from 僕に命令しておくれ, translated from Khmer to Japanese by, in Modern Short Stories, Cambodian Studies, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies,, 2001.
  • Translated from Khmer to French by Christophe Macquet, in Revue Europe, "Écrivains du Cambodge", 81e année, N° 889 / Mai 2003. See also, n°15, Porto Rico / Phnom Penh, 2011.
  • , translated from Khmer to French by Christophe Macquet and from French to English by,, Mānoa, University of Hawaii Press.Demonic Fragrance, short story translated into English by his two sons, Bora Soth and Norith Soth.
  • , translated by Penny Edwards, in Magazine, November 2015.
  • , with an extract of The Anarchist translated by Penny Edwards, in Mekong Review, Volume 1, Number 1, November 2015.
  • The four short stories of ឲ្យបងធ្វើអី... បងធ្វើដែរ!, translated from Khmer to French and prefaced by Christophe Macquet, Editions Le Grand Os, France, September 2017.
  • កសាងស្រមោលអតិតៈ, the second short story of ស្ដេចចង់, translated from Khmer to French by Christophe Macquet, Éditions Jentayu, magazine of Asian literature in French, Volume 9, 2019.
  • translated from French to Italian by Alessandro Giarda, Obarrao Edizioni, in-Asia/Cambogia, 2019.
  • , translated from Khmer to French by Christophe Macquet and from French to English by Françoise Bénichou,, Mānoa, University of Hawaii Press.
  • , translated from French by Penny Edwards,, Mānoa, University of Hawaii Press.
  • , translated from Khmer by Bora Soth and Norith Soth,, Mānoa, University of Hawaii Press.