Urban PoetryUrban Poetry

Scope of the Lecture

1. Concept of ‘Urbanness’

2. Lines of tension brought about by change

3. Background of Singapore Poetry

4. Reasons for creating an anthology of Singapore Poetry

5. How do the editors decide on what to include in the anthology and how to divide the various sections of the anthology?

6. General Themes in No Other City

7. Poetry as a literary genrea) The sound of poetryb) The way poets think c) The product of a poem

8. How to make this lecture relevant to IOP

Urban Poetry

‘Urban’ as a modifier Think of as many words that collate

with ‘Urban’.

What is the general feeling that the word ‘Urban’ gives to you? Is it Positive or Negative?

What would Urban Poetry be about?

Draw a connection with your earlier discussion to these words.

“We had moved, in the space of a generation, from kampong to metropolis, from kopi to cappuccino, from semi-literacy to palmtop microcomputers. Our writing, we realised, was and had always been trying to deal with this flux.”

Introduction, p.22

SOME EXAMPLES of CHANGES

kampong to metropolis

- living spaces

kopi to cappuccino

- lifestyle

- taste

- class/status

semi-literacy to palmtop microcomputers

- technology

- education/mindsets/ behaviour/ interaction

Lines of tension brought about by change New vsvs Old

Past vsvs Present

Modernity vsvs Tradition

Technology vsvs Nature

Me vsvs Them

Foreign vsvs Local

Development vsvs Destruction

Space vsvs Place

Landscape vsvs Mindscape

Comfort vsvs Community

Day vsvs Night

Growth vsvs Regression

Vision vsvs Execution

Good vs Bad Logic vs Passion Man vs Environment

Nature vs ManAge vs YouthWisdom vs Intelligence

Private vsvs Public

Poetry in Singapore (I)

• Our colonial heritage and English-based education system, Singapore is one of the few Singapore is one of the few territories in Asia territories in Asia with a strong tradition of writing in English.

• The first significant native writing occurred in the 50s and 60s, energised by the independence energised by the independence movementmovement, and the decades of “nation-building” which followed.

Poetry in Singapore (II)

• Poetry in the late 90s enjoyed something of a renaissance, with the happy confluence happy confluence of several positive factors: – Rise of the Internet– Emergence of small literary presses– Arrival of a new generation of young

poets.

Poetry in Singapore (III) • New poets typically

– in their twenties to early thirties– many are professionals in fields far removed

from poetry. – several have been educated at top schools

overseas. – their very different backgrounds allow this new

breed of Singaporean poets a fresh perspective and energy that has been lacking in the scene for decades.

Poetry in Singapore (IV)

• The new poetry is wonderfully diverse, yet distinctively urban and cosmopolitan, modern, frequently street-wise, often startlingly intimate.

Poetry in Singapore (V)

• But poetry seldom make the headlines (given the nature of the market forces): literary arts play poor cousin to glitzier genres such as the performing arts, visual arts and music

• Singaporean writing is also glaringly absent from our schools, which at any rate are steeped in the Cambridge exam syllabus and tend to eschew the “difficult” subject of literature.

What are some reasons for creating an anthology?

• allow publication of works that would otherwise find difficulty in being published

• increasing number of young people writing in poetry to express themselves

• exploration of the urban city-state from different points of view

• allow for diversity of voices which were of a certain standard, spanning different generations

Reasons for the creation of the anthology given by the editor.

• coming of age of a country’s poetry• recognition of the different voices in a

country• easy reference (eg. anthology of

English or American poetry gives an overview of the subject)

• Can be seen as a selection of what is worthy of publication and hence, preservation of memory, in a country

Other reasons for the creation of anthologies.

How do the editors decide on what to include in the anthology and how to divide the various sections of the anthology?

• p.23-24 Introduction gives reasons for WHAT was included:– “resonance & relevance”– “strength of writing” which were fully formed – Balanced “new voices and perspectives” with older

voices even then, the editors looked for new works

– Avoided canonised works because relevance rather than reputation guided entry into anthology

How poems were selected…

• (p.24-25):– “broad thematic clusters” narrowed

down

– tended to follow a certain chronology with the concerns reflected being that of each generation

Division of various sections

THEMES:

Tradition vs Modernity (eg. A brief history of Toa Payoh, old house at ang siang hill)

Change (eg. Singapore River, Change Alley)

City-Planning/Nation building (eg. The Planners, The Way Ahead, Cranes, Road-works)

Loss / Nostalgia (eg. Amoy Street Houses, old house at ang siang hill)

THEMES:

City vs Nature (Urbanisation)(eg. Trees are Only Temporary, remembering trees, Trees)

Identity (eg. Made of Gold)

Advancement (Upgrading) (eg. Bigger, Newer, Better)

City-living & Restrictions (eg. The Flat-Owner, Train Ride, Animal Farm)

Poetry as a literary form

- memorable, lives in our head and hearts

- valued for its wisdom, consolation and consolidation.

- immediacy

Poetry as an auditory medium

- Poetry is something that is read aloud – a form of address, a way of speaking, something said and heard

- the voice that we hear in a poem is ‘made’. Is it close to ordinary ‘conversational’ speech or theatrical? Do we hear the poetry on a public occasions such as a weddings or funerals or overhear it, like an intimate bedroom conversation?

- We hear the tone of the poem in pitch, pace, in timbre and intonation; would the meaning of the poem change if we alter volume, pace and pitch?

- what kind of emotional colouring is given to a subject matter because of the way it is being ‘heard’?

Approaches – Poets ‘think’ in a number of ways.

- reflect on experiences

- advance general statements

- take unfamiliar looks at common phenomenon/beliefs/etc

Poets essentially think in and through the images and symbols they deploy, by that they create imaginative worlds

Dream worlds

New worlds

Re-created worlds

Familiar worlds

A world where present and past co-exist

in the case of No Other City, the poets remake Singapore and present essential features of a world familiar to us.

How to make this lecture relevant to you preparation of IOP

1.While you read the anthology and contemplate on an appropriate IOP topic seek out relevance and resonance.

2. Consider how has the poet used a relevant subject and connected it to relevant theme.

3. Investigate how the relevant subject and relevant theme(s) have been made to resonant.

a. The quality of the resonance – intellectual, emotional, inventive …

b. Reaction to the resonance - introspection, retrospection, contemplation, revelation, provocation.

a.Grouping poems or texts based on - common subject- common theme(s)- quality of resonance - type of response (attitude)- common literary devise (symbols, imagery, structure)

b. Close analysis of ONE poem