Sing Lit 101: How to Read A Singaporean Poem

Lectures

Co-presented by The Arts House and Gwee Li Sui

The Arts House is proud to present an inspiring new literary series that celebrates the life and power of Singaporean poetry, Sing Lit 101: How To Read A Singaporean Poem.

Literary critic and poet Dr Gwee Li Sui will give six lectures, each focused on a major English poem from Singapore’s formative decades. He will introduce their writers and the times before unpacking these poems for a whole sweep of riveting and hidden meanings and implications.

If you find poetry a difficult form to enjoy, or if Singapore’s literature appears a mystery, this is the place to start! Dr Gwee will take you on a journey packed with thought, passion, and wit that should show you Singaporean writing in a new light. Whatever your age or background is, you will be charmed and enlightened by the analyses and come to appreciate the value of verse and its inquiry, what poetry does and what can be known through it.

This groundbreaking series will come to a close also in style, with a revisit of one of the region’s key historical anthologies. Seven Poets: Singapore and Malaysia (1970), together with its now-famous contributors, will be honoured in a special panel session. A number of these pioneers will join Dr Gwee for a conversation about their remarkable writings, thoughts, and lives.

For more information about the different sessions, please select:

2 Mothers in A HDB Playground by Arthur Yap

Ulysess By the Merlion by Edwin Thumboo

Dragon-Fly by Wong May

My Country and My People by Lee Tzu Pheng

Bird With One Wing by Goh Poh Seng

after the hours, this rain by Chandran Nair

Panel Discussion: Poetry and Existence

Additional Information