Literature
From Betty of Balmoral Road to Emily of Emerald Hill: A New Look At Stella Kon’s Classic Play
A study of early drafts of Emily of Emerald Hill reveals fascinating choices and paths not taken.
Joseph Conrad’s Singapore
Joseph Conrad’s visits to Singapore in the late 19th century are immortalised in some of his novels, such as Lord Jim, The End of the Tether and The Shadow-Line.
A Plethora of Tongues: Multilingualism in 1950s Malayan Writing
From the melting pot of cultures and languages in postwar Singapore emerged the search for a Malayan identity, negotiated and presented through multilingualism in Malayan literature.
Interview with Rachel Heng
The Great Reclamation is a work of historical fiction set in Singapore that has received rave reviews from the New Yorker and the New York Times. A coming-of-age love story, the novel took Singaporean author Rachel Heng five years of research into topics such as land reclamation, the Japanese Occupation, and postwar politics in Singapore. We speak to her about her book, her research process, and the challenges of writing historical fiction.
Panton Malaijoe dan Portugees: A Rediscovered Manuscript
A forgotten manuscript found in the archive of a Portuguese museum offers an insight into the languages and traditions of a unique community in the Dutch East Indies.
A Different Sky: The Other Side of the Looking Glass
Meira Chand recounts how hours of listening to oral history interviews permeated her subconscious and created a memory that she could call her own when writing her novel.
The Borobudur, Mysterious Gold Plates and Singing Maps
Unsolved historical puzzles from Southeast Asia are key elements of the recently published thriller The Java Enigma by debut novelist Erni Salleh.
跨境影响、情系侨乡: 新加坡金门会馆特藏
The National Library recently received a sizable collection of letters, documents, books and other paper ephemera from the Kim Mui Hoey Kuan. Lee Meiyu examines the historical links the clan association has forged between Singapore and Kinmen.
Book Review: The Year 1000
The Year 1000 When Explorers Connected the World and Globalization Began.
On Writers and Their Manuscripts
No great work of literature is completed in just one draft. In an age where writers have gone paperless, novelist Meira Chand ponders over the value of manuscripts, and what they might reveal about a writer’s thought process.
Don’t Mention the Corpses: The Erasure of Violence in Colonial Writings on Southeast Asia
History may be written by the victors, but what they conveniently leave out can be more telling. Farish Noor reminds us of the violent side of colonial conquest.
An Ode to Two Women
Acclaimed poet and playwright Robert Yeo pays tribute to his daughter and a noted author in chapter two of his work-in-progress sequel to his memoir Routes.
文言与白话的抗争与磨合: 近代华文教学语体的蜕变历程 (Classical and Modern Chinese Education)
Classical and Modern Chinese education in Mainland China and Taiwan has been debated for over a century. Chua Chee Lay analyses its development and provides valuable lessons from history.
Tales of the Malay World: Manuscripts and Early Books
Literary works in the ancient Malay-speaking world were not enjoyed silently but read aloud to an audience, as Tan Huism tells us in this latest exhibition by the National Library.
தமிழ் முரசில் 1936–1960 வரை வெளிவந்த சிறுகதைகள் – ஒரு பார்வ
Sundari Balasubramaniam reviews a selection of short stories published in Tamil Murasu during the tumultuous years from 1936 to 1960 when Singapore transitioned from British rule and Japanese Occupation to self-governance.
Alam Puisi Melayu Singapura Selepas Merdeka
Singapore’s Malay publishing scene was thrown into disarray when the country exited Malaysia in 1965. Juffri Bin Supa’at charts the development of Malay poetry in Singapore since Independence.
Sci-Fi in Singapore: 1970s to 1990s
The sci-fi frenzy took off in Singapore in 1978 when Star Wars was screened at cinemas here. Nadia Arianna Bte Ramli looks at sci-fi works produced between 1970s and 1990s.
A History of Singapore Horror
Singaporeans have always had a morbid fascination with the supernatural. Ng Yi-Sheng examines the culture of horror in our oral folklore, books and films.
寻找“南洋”: 从1920年代末文艺理论初探文人对南洋之印象
Chinese authors in 1920s Singapore were faced with the call to produce works with a distinctive “Nanyang flavour”. Goh Yu Mei explains how these early writers defined this new genre of literature.
Ties that Bind: The Story of Two Brother Poets
An American Studies scholar unravels a decades-old mystery surrounding a bone fragment and uncovers a brotherly bond from beyond the grave. Michelle Heng has the story.
哎哟 华文字真难写!
Students in pre-1970s Singapore had to learn the correct way of writing the Chinese script. Ho Phang Phow describes the painstaking process of mastering this craft.
The Tiger Within
These fanged beasts are by turns both captivating as they are terrifying. Patricia Bjaaland Welch explores the tiger motif in the art and literature of Asia.
Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year
In Remembrance of Reading
Our memories of reading are inextricably linked to the joy we derive from reading books and the places where we read them. Loh Chin Ee explains why.
Pay It Forward: The Tamil Digital Heritage Project
Chitra Sankaran charts the history of a community-driven project that has seen the digitisation of 350 homegrown Tamil literary works.
Di Balik Pintu: Seksualiti di dalam Sastera Melayu
This article examines the treatment of sex and sexuality in Malay literature and how these subjects are represented in both traditional and modern literary texts.
Poetry 101: It Does Not Have to Rhyme
One of this year’s Read! Fest initiatives is a celebration of Singapore poetry. Sharon Lim tells you what to expect.
Stories We Can Call Our Own
Han Fook Kwang shares some of his favourite stories from Singaporeans as told in Living The Singapore Story, a book commemorating the nation’s golden jubilee.
Travelog Melayu
On the Trail of Francis P. Ng: Author of F.M.S.R.
In her effort to republish one of our unknown literary treasures, Dr Eriko Ogihara-Schuck tracks down the elusive Francis P. Ng, author of possibly the first notable work of poetry in English by a Singapore writer.
Writing from the Periphery: Dorothy Cator in British North Borneo
Janice Loo explains how the travel writings by women such as Dorothy Cator reveal the complex relationships between colonisers and the colonised.
Home and Away: Literary Reflections on Nation and Identity
Michelle Heng meanders through Singapore’s post-Independence literary landscape and discovers diasporic works that display a quiet strength even as they explore refreshingly dissonant views on nation and one’s identity.
Going Places: The Place Poetry of Singapore
Heat and Rain in the Poetry of Khoo Seok Wan
சிங்கப்பூர் பெண் எழுத்தாளர்கள் – ஒரு பார்வை
1980年代儿童小说中的”新加坡儿童”
叶若诗为李光前参考图书馆之参考咨询馆员，专责中文艺术类馆藏。她毕业于北京大学中文系，后赴英国剑桥大学东方学系专攻中国现代文学，考获硕士学位。身为土生土长新加坡人的她，自小喜爱中华文学。
Suratman Markasan: Malay Literature and Social Memory
Azhar Ibrahim examines how the illustrious Malay writer Suratman Markasan uses literature as a means to propagate ideas and mark signposts in our social memory.
First Words: Women Poets from Singapore
Poems written by Singapore’s women writers in the 1950s to 1970s depict both their personal and national struggles. Gracie Lee highlights these poets and the literary works that captured the sentiment of the times.
A Journey into Memory
Meira Chand shares with us her experience writing A Different Sky ; what it was like to study the memories of others – and what it was like to make them hers.
My Memories of Reading
Each book is a memory, a reminder of the person we were when we read it. Here, Claire Tham shares with us the books she remembers – the ones that shaped her thoughts and her writing, and ultimately the person she became.
