Thammasat University Art of Literature Club was founded in 2505 B.E. (1962). The first objective was to gather and train ‘Nakklon’ or people with quick mind in rhyming to compete with other universities, which the club did very successfully. Many competitions* were broadcasted on national television. They even had a tour around Bangkok and the country.

Along with that main activity they also published the club’s journal with writings by the members and other students who sent their pieces to be edited by the club’s editorial staff, the only activity remaining today. The difference is that the journal in the first founding years were sold out within a few days due to the club’s fame, but now even a pile is put by the library’s door with a box for donation as much as people would please which they could have had them for free, practically, hundreds of each journal still stored in the club’s room.

The famous Nakklon on air. From left; Noranithi Setthabutr, Duangjai Rawipreecha, Pimonpan Pakdeesri, Taweesuk Tongthaworn, Nipa Bangyeekhan, Nauwarat Pongpaiboon

The club was founded during the dictatorship of General Sarit Thanarat 2500–2515 B.E. (1957-1972), known as the ‘breeze and sunshine’ years of the publishing business when the political facts were concealed by the government. People, especially students were mostly manipulated and blindfolded so much the optimism reflected in literature as the romantic tone focusing only on love and nature, including the club’s journal.

The famous Traditional Chulalongkorn-Thammasat Football Match was set up to occupy the students’ time, keeping them from the information they were not supposed to know and keeping their minds off of politics. Sooner, when some members of the Art of Literature Club had some political idea to suggest they used the privilege of their fame to push their stream over the annual football match.

The third chairman Supakij Nimmarnnorrathep along with the staff who administered the club in 2508 B.E. (1965) brought more fame to it during the year. They organised a fair, holding a national poetry competition for university students when students from all the universities over the country sent their poetry to be judged and awarded by specialists and had their works exhibited. The Thammasat Khon* still play today was originated by the club with great support and effort of Kuekrit Pramoj, the great artist and a politician who later on became a prime minister. The students performed in the presence of His Majesty the King.

In the year 2510 Wittayakorn Chiangkoon and his staff team brought a new trend in writing to Thammasat students, the content was not original, but they made it popular and so inspiring, as Supakij said, “Our stream had aroused October The 14th, this was accepted by the people that the student-published books had driven the event”. What Wittayakorn and his team focused on were political ideas and social criticising. The ‘breeze and sunshine’ were now gone from the university’s atmosphere due to both the club’s influence and the change of the government. The new government was still dictatorial, but not as strict as the former one, it gave the students a fresher air to breathe in, which somehow helped their brain to work better and ready to seek for democracy.

Other activities still went on, the journal changed from dominating in poetry into short stories and discussed much about literature and philosophy in translated versions from other cultures, debates in rhyme, Sakkawa* competitions when the competitors had to have their Sakkawa poetry written under the given topic within five minutes, panel discussions under the topic of interests and writing political satire play scripts for performing groups.
Nauwarat Pongpaiboon, one of the founders Thammasat University Art of Literature Club and a national artist in the art of literature, suggested that although the ‘breeze and sunshine’ were now viewed as nonsense by many professors, there was a value to attract a number of people in learning to express their emotions through poetry who had developed good skill in their choice of words and word arranging.

After October 14th 2516 B.E. (1973), the biggest protest against dictatorship in the history of Thailand led by the students with democratic mind, the breeze-and-sunshine writers and poets failed to develop their thinking, they were only capable of writing to serve themselves and only had their personal emotions to express with nothing interesting to suggest. Meanwhile another group of people whom after having experienced the event, had developed a big jump in their thinking which turned into great writings without having learned the basic writing techniques. Whether this is true or not and to what extent the Thai readers should be the ones to decide.

Thammasat on October 6th 2519 (1976), the following protest

Since the flourishing of democracy in 2516 (1973), students started to help the working class, mostly farmers, who were taken advantage of and were treated unfairly by the government and business organisations, in co-operating to declare the mistreat, protest for justice and making deals. Thammasat University Students’ Committee was the leader organising with the other clubs in the university, The Art of Literature Club had, at the point, developed the skill of being the editor of the Thai student movement during the event of October 14th 2516, continued taking the same part although this time for the minority of the Thai citizen. They also helped in other parts of the work for all the clubs had to work as one.

Evidently 2517-2518 (1974-1975) Lamtad*, a new trend for the Art of Literature Club, was also performed satirically in protests. At other times the club would arrange camps with political discussion themes and exhibitions of their preference, at least during 2518-2519 (1975-1976).

Later on in 2527 (1984) the two activities survived were Lamtad and journal publishing, during a few years around that year activities were rarely done outside of the university and there was no camps, which is one of the two main activities of the club today.

The club’s Lamtad performance in the freshman welcoming party 2526 (1983) at Wang Takrai, Kanchanaburi

The objective was no longer to train Nakklon for competitions nor to gather students with democratic minds and help the people, but the club was only the students’ opportunity to do activity in order to make self progress in thinking and experiencing team work as a basic knowledge before taking an occupation after graduation, especially in the area of publishing.

The activities around 2534 (1991) were volunteered camps*, panel discussions and the journal writing now objecting to have some impact to the society or at least to create an argumentative atmosphere within the university. Different activities in each year including different contents and messages of the writings are naturally related to the Thai society during their time and are somehow the reflection of the society.

Volunteer activity with children at Khun Nam Jon, Nan province

After 2534 (1991) and around 2535-2539 (1992-1996) the activities grew more irrelative to other Thammasat students and the Thai society. They wrote song to play and sing within the club for their own entertainment, they wrote plays performing on their own for people who were interested, they had trips to the mountains and the beaches, they had a seminar camp on how to write poetry, some poetry competitions and open the club as a little library with privilege of having kept a pile of the once-illegal books of political ideas hardly available in other libraries. Although it was said that these were the years when the ‘breeze and sunshine’ came back in its complete form of not getting involved with whatever going on in the Thai society and there were only unrealistically optimistic writing solely about love, nature and personal emotion express, which has developed until today, they still had volunteered camps with students go home-staying at any particular villagers, providing them with labour such as helping them build a school or with the students’ knowledge such as helping them arrange the library system.

The activities today are camps with themes relating to literature such as poetry composing and documentary writing once or twice a year. The volunteered camp was last arranged on 2545 (2002), there are panel discussion held about twice every semester most topics are about books that catch the members’ interest at the time, the main journal is released once every semester and the journal by the club member in Rangsit campus released every month or two. The writings in the journal are like those popular in the Thai publishing business these years. Which are more individualistic and not related to the society so firmly as before, but yet that is the way people in the society are like today.

The Art of Literature club has been the club of people interested in creative literature, it has been a stage to grow, believing that reading leads people to other creativity and development in life.

Individually through 41 years, Thammasat University Art of Literature club has been guiding its members in progressing their thinking and personal skills of their preference, the members whom have been inspired during the time of taking parts in the activities, the club has taught its members friendship, maturity and the working system.

It has served Thammasat students as the stage to express themselves including the ideas they would like to suggest. And although not the main objective, it had, in the first half of its age, helped reserving the Thai culture in the area of language, literature and performing art.

To the thai society as a whole the club may not have effected directly, but their writings proved their success in partly influencing people to strive for democracy. From other years there have been students who have grown through the club’s activity and have become widely influential through the Thai readers and thinkers.

Note

- All the year are written in Buddhist Era for the accuracy of the information, the Buddhist Era is 543 years ahead of the Christian Era.

- Some of the interview dates and the interviewers’ current area of especially have never been recorded.

- The rhyme competition’s detail of rules and how they competed has never been mentioned.

- Khon is a traditional Thai masked play, most of stories are taken for Ramayana.

- Sakkawa is a type of traditional Thai song, singing in rhyme as a debate.

- Lamtad is a type of traditional Thai song, singing in rhyme, taking turns each phrase for each person.

List of Interviewees

Nauwarat Pongpaiboon
One of the club’s founder
Now a national artist in literary art

Nipa Bangyeekhan
One of the club’s founders

Thaworn Boonyawat
A member of the club during the first founding years

Suchart Sawadsee
Thammasat student during the first founding years of the club
Now a respectable man in the national publishing business

Supakij Nimmarnnorrathep
The third chairman of the club
Now the chairman of the parliament’s consultant

Wittayakorn Chiangkoon
The club’s chairman in 2510
Now famous author and academic

Nipon Apithanawit
A member during 2518-2519

Jitti Nusook
A member during 2527-2530
Now manager of Double Nine Printing

Athikom Kunawutt
The club’s chairman in 2534
Now acclaimed journalist

David Sirichai
The club’s chairman in either 2537 or 2538
Now a teacher

All the interviews have been the courtesy of Thammasat University Art of Literature Club, conducted by;

Saranya Pairatnaraporn
The club’s treasurer in 2545

Mutita Chuachang
The club’s vice chairman 2545-2546

Sujane Kanparit
The club’s chairman in 2545