Singapore Literature

Mayuga Wendell C.
 The literature of Singapore comprises a collection of literary works by
Singaporeans in any of the country's four main languages: English,
Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

 A number of Singaporean writers such as Tan Swie Hian

and Kuo Pao Kun have contributed work in more than one language.

 Cross-linguistic fertilization

 Singapore has four sub literatures instead of one.

Singaporean Poetry
 It is unclear which was the first work of literature in English published in
Singapore.

 Evidence Published as early as the 1830s

Singaporean work of poetry in English

 F.M.S.R. a pastiche of T. S. Eliot by Francis P. Ng published in London in 1935.

 Wang Gungwu's Pulse in 1950.
 With the independence of Singapore in 1965, a new wave of Singapore writing
emerged, led by Edwin Thumboo, Arthur Yap, Robert Yeo, Goh Poh Seng, Lee
Tzu Pheng and Chandran Nair.

 Poetry is the predominant mode of expression; it has a small but respectable

following since independence.

 In the late 1990s, poetry in English in Singapore found a new momentum with a
whole new generation of poets born around or after 1965 now actively writing
and publishing, not only in Singapore but also internationally.

 1990s, local small presses such as Firstfruits and Ethos Books have been actively
promoting the works of this new wave of poets.

 Some of the more notable works in 1990s include Boey Kim Cheng, Yong Shu
Hoong, Avin Pang, Cyril Wong, Felix Cheong and Alfian bin Sa'at.
 In my humble hut
These ,dismay days

Sleepless
As the rain creates
Its endless rhythms

A letter to Lee Choon Seng

BY:Khoo Seok Wan You
A friend times of need
Cooking meals to carry me
Through inclement weather

And more
The comfort of your presence
And the flow of your wine
Settled in the pavilion
Here at my side.
Singaporean Drama

 The late Kuo Pao Kun was a vital force in the local theatre renaissance in the
1980s and 1990s.
Some of his plays is The Coffin is Too Big for the Hole (1984) and Lao Ju (1990).

 Stella Kon Singaporean playwright known for her play, Emily of Emerald Hill,
which has been staged internationally. She is a recipient of the S.E.A. Write
Award.

 Haresh Sharma is a Singaporean playwright. To date, he has written more than

100 plays that have been staged all over the world, including Singapore,
Melbourne, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cairo and London
Singaporean Fiction

 Fiction writing in English did not start in earnest until after independence.
 Goh Poh Seng remains a pioneer in writing novels.

 Goh Poh Seng famous works If We Dream Too Long (1972) -widely recognized
as the first true Singaporean novel-and A Dance of Moths(1995).

Goh Poh Seng, Singaporean dramatist, novelist, doctor and poet, was born in Kuala
Lumpur, British Malaya in 1936. He was educated at Victoria Institution in Kuala
Lumpur, received his medical degree from University College Dublin, and practiced
medicine in Singapore for twenty-five years.
 Catherine Lim is a Singaporean fiction author known for writing about Singapore society
and of themes of traditional Chinese culture.

Catherine Lim has been Singapore's most widely read author, thanks partly to her first two
books of short stories, Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore (1978) and Or Else, The Lightning
God and Other Stories (1980).
Children Literature
 Adeline Foo “The Diary of Amos Lee”

 Jin Pyn “The Elephant and the Tree” “Emily Lim Prince Bear and Pauper Bear”

 Jessie Wee, one of the pioneers of children's literature, released her popular
Mooty Mouse series with Marshall Cavendish in 2009.
Jessie Wee is a published author of children's books and young adult books. Some of
the published credits of Jessie Wee include Singapore (Major World Nations),
Philippines (Major World Nations), Taiwan (Major World Nations), and Let's Visit the
Philippines (Let's Visit Series)
List of Singaporean writers
Philip Jeyaretnam, novelist and lawyer
Koh Buck Song, poet
Russell Lee, mysterious author of
popular True Singapore Ghost
Stories series
Lee Tzu Pheng, academic and poet
Liang Wern Fook, Chinese writer and
songwriter
Catherine Lim, novelist
Su-Chen Christine Lim, novelist
Shirley Lim, poet and critic
Chandran Nair, poet and artist
Aaron Lee, poet and lawyer
Grace Chia, poet and novelist
Don Bosco, writer and publisher of
children fiction books
Alfan bin Sa'at, playwright, poet and
fiction writer
Gopal Baratham, neurosurgeon and writer
Boey Kim Cheng, poet
Colin Cheong. poet and novelist
Felix Cheong, poet
Michael Chiang, playwright
Goh Poh Seng, poet and novelist
 Catherine Lim

 Singaporean fiction author known for writing about Singapore society and of
themes of traditional Chinese culture. Hailed as the "doyenne of Singapore
writers", Lim has published nine collections of short stories, five novels, two
poetry collections, and numerous political commentaries to date. Her social
commentary in 1994, titled The PAP and the people- A Great Affective Divide and
published in The Straits Times criticized the ruling political party's agendas.
Thank you!