Mnari yab sndsa

Singapore lyfer
Singapore loinmer
 BJEC
OTIVE
After going through this module, you are expected to:
× Identify representative texts and authors from
Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America, and
Africa. EN12Lit-IIa-22
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 at ure
re l it er
a po
s ing
Facts about Singapore
• Singapore is one of only three surviving city-
states in the World.
• Singapore is composed of 64 islands, most of
which are uninhabited.

• Singapore is among the 20 smallest countries

in the world with a total land of area of only
682.7 square kms.

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Facts about Singapore
• Since 1905, Singapore has changed its time zones 6
times. Presently its time zone is GMT+8

• There is a maximum limit to how high buildings in

Singapore can be built, which is 280 meters.

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The literature of Singapore comprises a collection of
literary works by Singaporeans in any of the
country’s four main languages:
English,
Chinese,
Malay
Tamil.
A number of Singaporean writers such as Tan Swie
Hian and Kuo Pao Kun have contributed work in
more than one language.

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Tan Swie Hian

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Kuo Pao Kun

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 There were varying levels of activity in
succeeding decades, with poets in the late 1980s
and early 1990s including Simon Tay, Leong Liew
Geok, Koh Buck Song, Heng Siok Tian and Ho
Poh Fun.
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.
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 The poetry of this younger generation is often
politically aware, transnational and cosmopolitan,
yet frequently presents their intensely focused, self-
questioning and highly individualised perspectives of
Singaporean life, society and culture.
Some poets have been labelled Confessional for
their personalised writing, often dealing with intimate
issues such as sexuality.
 

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 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, and
most published works of Singapore writing in English
have been in poetry.

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 Drama in English found expression in Goh
Poh Seng, who was also a notable poet and
novelist, in Robert Yeo, author of 6 plays, and
in Kuo Pao Kun, who also wrote in Chinese.
The late Kuo was a vital force in the local
threatre rrenaissance in the 1980s and1990s.

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 Fiction writing in English did not start in earnest
until after independence. Short stories flourished as a
literary form, the novel arrived much later.
Goh Poh Seng remains a pioneer in writing novels
well before many of the later generation, with titles
like If We Dream Too Long (1972) – widely
recognised as the first true Singaporean novel – and
A Dance of Moths (1995).

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Catherine Lim Poh Imm

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 The doyen of Singapore stories having
written more than nine collections of short
stories, five novels and a poetry book.
 She began as a teacher, then project
director with the Ministry of Education and a
specialist lecturer with the Regional Language
Centre (RELC).
 As a writer, she would like her stories to
convey respect and regard for human values
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 She has won national and regional book prizes for
her literary contributions.
 In 1994, she also gained controversial fame for
writing a political article entitled "One Government,
Two Styles on the Great Affective Divide", in which
she noted that some Singapore leaders lacked
greater feelings for the people.
 She was the eighth child among her 13 siblings.

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Her family was Taoist and believed in ancestor
worship. However, Lim and her siblings were sent
to English-stream schools. Lim herself was
educated at an English convent where she imbued
the English culture and learnt the language well.
 However, with her divorce later on in life, she
gradually became a free thinker, or a secular
humanist, as she preferred to be called.
 Lim received her Bachelor of Arts degree from
the University of Malaya in 1963.
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The Taximan’s Story

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Answer the questions below.
1. Who are the characters presented in the story?
Can you describe them?

2. What is the irony in the story?

3. What themes are discussed in the story?

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 a n do
You c
th i s!
Activity 1
Sometimes, the text is a reflection of the life and
times of the author and is inseparable from their life
and their experiences. Thus, some texts are best
read if you know the background of the author.
 
Your task for this activity is to compare the life
experiences of Catherine Lim and the details from
the selection. Use the table below for your
responses.
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 Activity 2
Look at the pictures below and write a short photo essay about it.
Remember to relate the pictures to real life situations to make you short
photo essay believable. Use the spaces below for your answer.
 
 

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1. What are the Four main
languages of Singapore?
2. What is the most common topic
of the younger generation of
Singaporean poets?

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Test
yourself
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Directions: Choose th
e letter of the best a
chosen letter on a separ nswer. Write the
ate sheet of paper.

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assignment

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