Singlit, where ART thou?
“Poetry is a luxury we cannot afford.” Such a proclamation is a death sentence to the
literary scene in Singapore. Literature has essentially been placed on the
backburner, tucked away on a dusty bookshelf like an unwanted second child.
Pragmatists would argue that back when Singapore was still a developing nation,
other pressing concerns such as economic and social stability took precedence over
books and stories. After all, these paper dreams cannot feed hungry stomachs
(although arguably, paper dreams are what feed the hungry soul).
Fast forward to the turn of the 21 st century. Singapore is flourishing as a developed
nation, a globalised city with a growing voice of her own. The very same people now
echo the voices that bemoan how Singapore, for all its astounding economic growth
and global presence, is essentially a “cultural desert”, bereft of what makes a country
vibrant and nuanced.
Literature essentially feeds the soul. I think it is thus high time that people realise that
the literary scene is not a fast-food meal, that it is not just about manufactured
“engmalchin” poetry that can be pre-heated and packaged into neat takeaway boxes.
Nor is it a packet of instant maggie mee that can be dipped in the boiling depths of
heavy-handed government initiatives (that wish to shape Singapore into an “art hub”)
and expected to emerge, somehow appetising to the local palate. Instead, it is and
should be a homemade meal, words painstakingly hand-wrapped in familiar
dumpling skin, to be lovingly parsed out by teeth and tongue.
It is thus a testament to the blood, sweat, and tears of local writers that today, the
Singapore literary scene is thriving more than ever. We must acknowledge how local
writers have been working away tirelessly, not just at polishing and publishing
wonderful works of their own—in fact, there has been an increase in the number of
works published monthly by local publisher Math Paper Press! We must also
acknowledge the many groups of writers have been trying their utmost to reach out
to the Singaporean public. The most prominent example would be Sing Lit Station, a
non-profit organisation that brings local writers together to organise literary events to
engage Singaporean readers. They have organised a slew of activities, ranging from
invisible poetry on the sidewalks that reveal themselves in the rain to book-hunting in
the heartland. In fact, the past weekend was truly an exciting one for Singapore
literature. The #BuySingLit movement was in full swing as Joshua Ip and other local
poets took to the MRT to recite their works of poetry.
Despite these efforts, we certainly still see the repercussions of such a pragmatic
proclamation reflected in the mind-sets of Singaporean readers of today. According
to the 2015 National Literary Reading and Writing Survey, only four out of ten
Singaporeans read a literary title in the past twelve months. Unsurprisingly, only one
out of the four readers had read a work of Singapore literature. In fact, as seen from
the topic of a radio quiz question which stumped many, it is considered difficult to
name a Singaporean author, and this speaks volumes about the sorry state of
engagement with local literature, not to mention the oft-cited statistic of how the
number of literature students has been on a steady decline in recent years. Clearly,
to many Singaporeans, poetry is still framed to be somewhat of a luxury, something
that is not absolutely essential to our day-to- day lives.
Of course, Rome was not built in a day, and we cannot expect to see troves of
Singaporeans descending upon bookshops like aunties at a supermarket sale
tomorrow, although I am firmly optimistic about the arrival of such a day. For many of
us who have yet to pick up a local literary title, it is never too late to start. Let us
acknowledge to ourselves that poetry is something we can afford but beyond that, let
us recognise that this is something our nation cannot afford to live without.