Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking in a panel organised by the Select Centre. The first of 3 panels exploring the influence of Singapore's changing society on Literature and how it is taught and learnt, I was joined by fellow panellists Tan Tarn How and Prof. Tan Chee Lay, moderated by Prof. Philip Holden. The venue was packed thanks to fortuitous timing (it was the March school holidays), excellent coordinating by William Phuan and his team, not to mention the relevancy of the topic at hand.
Our topic for the evening was on why study Literature. As the first speaker, I pointed out that we are dealing with vanishing things, be it interest in English Literature, reading, or the state of Chinese Literature. My opening remark was met with slight dismay from Prof. Tan, but the fact remains that regardless of language, literary appreciation in Singapore is in dire straits. Tan Tarn How, in positing reading as a protest against power structures and a general deficit in the soul, admitted his remarks were akin to selling ice to Eskimos—a concerned crowd was in attendance tonight, and what we had to say was perhaps nothing new to them. That said, much was (un)covered over the course of 2 hours. The speakers, moderator and audience contributed various perspectives, which made for stimulating discussion. Among the points covered—and there were plenty—Prof. Tan's observation that literary writing holds a cracked mirror to ourselves, revealing our flaws and frailties, resonated with me. Science often speaks from a position of strength; new breakthroughs are couched in terms denoting power (even the term "breakthrough" suggests forceful action). However, Literature doesn't do that. Literature, while inaccurate at times, seeks to illuminate the human condition like a lone star streaking across the sky. Tongues and backgrounds may divide us, but when we read, when we look up in the night and name the stars in our own language, we call out to a shared humanity, a commonality of experience beyond words. I left the panel pondering about Singapore's education system and its proclamations of world-class firsts in Math, Science and so on. Mastery of facts and function par excellence, in other words. But where Literature was concerned, Tan Tarn How was right: the ones who should be listening were not there.
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Speaking about my latest book Bitter Punch to students is tricky. First, there is the issue of audience: are they there of their own volition, or were they coerced by their teacher(s)? Second, how do I manoeuvre around touchy topics like sex in my writing without treading on unseen toes? Last, and this is most important as far as I am concerned, how do I give a talk such that the participants leave having gained something new from it? Thankfully the 17-year-olds who attended the Book Chat at Anglo-Chinese (Independent) allayed my worries. Together with Ng Kah Gay & Foo Peiying of Ethos Books, the three of us intrepidly infiltrated the school compound on 9 March 2016. I invited Kah Gay & Peiying to join me because I believed it would be fascinating to learn about publishing from various perspectives. Call it a Bitter Punch Director's Cut, if you will. Too often we only hear one side of the publishing story, and that is from the writer's mouth. That is a shame because a book is never just the writer's voice alone; there are those whose expertise contributed in one way or another to the title's production. When we get a chance to hear from individuals such as the editor or creative director, seemingly trivial choices like the type of paper assume greater weight. A book strives to please the eye apart from stimulating the mind. Without design and editorial finesse, a book is nothing but mere ink stains on dead trees. I had hoped the listeners could appreciate that.
And they did. The ACS(I) students wanted to be there, and it showed in what they were curious about. One asked about our creative influences, while another wondered why I like to write about the city. Some even approached us after the talk to find out more about book design and balancing a day job with writing. There was much laughter and candid admissions all around. Here's to another enriching talk! The Sunday Times did an interview with me on books and burning houses. Check out the full article here.
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