a luxury (omnibus edition)
A Luxury: Omnibus Edition is simultaneously a time capsule and a time-machine. The first volume, A Luxury We Cannot Afford, bottled the lightning of poetry, prose and plays in 2015. The second, A Luxury We Must Afford, took a leap forward into the unknown future of Singapore. You will find something to please and pique every reader in this anthology. Buy here.
a luxury we cannot afford
|
|
"Singapore is a country of many invented, transplanted, or self-made myths and fables,
but one looms above them all. 1969 marks the famous declaration of the myth: 'Poetry
is a luxury we cannot afford.'
As our island nation approaches its 50th anniversary wielding extraordinary wealth and
prosperity, it is timely to review the narrative that has shepherded us through the past
half-century. Indeed, it seems only poetic justice to examine this polarising mythos
through the ballyhooed medium of poetry. To praise and appraise this most poetic of
figures, 56 of Singapore's finest poets offer up 65 poems that promise to excite,
exhilarate, and electrify, to a man."
- the blurb at the back, A Luxury We Cannot Afford, Math Paper Press.
"Christine Chia and Joshua Ip have done a wonderful job in collecting a rich variety of poems by both established figures and newly emergent voices: as the editors point out, the youngest contributor is 15 and the oldest 95. "
- Philip Holden, The Myth That Dare Not Speak Its Name, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore
"Under the editorship of poets Christine Chia and Joshua Ip, 56 of Singapore’s finest poets contribute their take on who the anthology will only call the Man. Anyone with the least acquaintance with Singaporean politics will know who the Man is; it is an indication of his power–and the style of his politics, his critics may charge–that he remains unnamed but it is also an indication that the Man is no ordinary man, but a potent Symbol. "
- Koh Jee Leong, A Luxury We Cannot Afford, Singapore Poetry
"There are so many standout poems here, in a range of forms: the aforementioned sonnet, a ghazal, haiku, excerpts from verse plays... There are barbed edges, too... But the playfulness at work here is important; it's clear that the writers are largely in line with the editors' declaration of "love and honour," though sometimes those feelings are directed more at Singapore itself than The Man. And across the board, as Gwee notes, 'this anthology is as much a social document as it is artistic pleasure.'
It is a portrait, a biography, an anti-hagiography and it should be required reading."
- Collier Nogues, Singapore Anthologised, Cha: An Asian Journal
"A man’s history is the story of a country, and a country’s history is the story of a man. This pair of truths forms an Ouroboros, a magic circle within which many Singaporeans understand their development from a colonised people to First-World citizens. The spell, to be sure, is one they are happy to live under. It neatly explains Singapore’s existence and place in the world the way a creation myth explains the existence and place of everything...
Despite obsessing over and wooing the same love, The Man and poetry hardly meet. The dominant image in Singaporean verse is rather the Merlion, a gimmicky symbol of the national will. So common is the Merlion across languages and generations of writing that we have come to speak of its depiction as obligatory for aspiring poets. Critically, it is not presumptuous to say that all Merlion poems are ways of writing about The Man and avoiding his mention. In all of them is an image of the nation that is an image of him...
A Luxury We Cannot Afford is an important celebration of The Man through the powerful feelings he arouses. Credit must be given to Chia and Ip for their inventiveness, audacity, and farsightedness in drawing such a volume out of the shadow of a missing precedent in English. I must also thank them for believing me to be without favours to gain or grievance to air and thus objective enough to write a creative foreword few would have the folly to attempt. Yet, this anthology is as much a social document as it is artistic pleasure, and my curiosity as both a poet and a critic has been piqued. I am convinced that lovers of writing will be relieved to find poetry’s moral responsibility to this pillar of Singaporean identity finally met. We have now poetic voices reflecting at the crucial tail end of an era, just before they can rethink how they feel against what happens next. This is poetry at the edge of a personality storm, and it electrifies."
- Gwee Li Sui, Foreword, A Luxury We Cannot Afford.
but one looms above them all. 1969 marks the famous declaration of the myth: 'Poetry
is a luxury we cannot afford.'
As our island nation approaches its 50th anniversary wielding extraordinary wealth and
prosperity, it is timely to review the narrative that has shepherded us through the past
half-century. Indeed, it seems only poetic justice to examine this polarising mythos
through the ballyhooed medium of poetry. To praise and appraise this most poetic of
figures, 56 of Singapore's finest poets offer up 65 poems that promise to excite,
exhilarate, and electrify, to a man."
- the blurb at the back, A Luxury We Cannot Afford, Math Paper Press.
"Christine Chia and Joshua Ip have done a wonderful job in collecting a rich variety of poems by both established figures and newly emergent voices: as the editors point out, the youngest contributor is 15 and the oldest 95. "
- Philip Holden, The Myth That Dare Not Speak Its Name, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore
"Under the editorship of poets Christine Chia and Joshua Ip, 56 of Singapore’s finest poets contribute their take on who the anthology will only call the Man. Anyone with the least acquaintance with Singaporean politics will know who the Man is; it is an indication of his power–and the style of his politics, his critics may charge–that he remains unnamed but it is also an indication that the Man is no ordinary man, but a potent Symbol. "
- Koh Jee Leong, A Luxury We Cannot Afford, Singapore Poetry
"There are so many standout poems here, in a range of forms: the aforementioned sonnet, a ghazal, haiku, excerpts from verse plays... There are barbed edges, too... But the playfulness at work here is important; it's clear that the writers are largely in line with the editors' declaration of "love and honour," though sometimes those feelings are directed more at Singapore itself than The Man. And across the board, as Gwee notes, 'this anthology is as much a social document as it is artistic pleasure.'
It is a portrait, a biography, an anti-hagiography and it should be required reading."
- Collier Nogues, Singapore Anthologised, Cha: An Asian Journal
"A man’s history is the story of a country, and a country’s history is the story of a man. This pair of truths forms an Ouroboros, a magic circle within which many Singaporeans understand their development from a colonised people to First-World citizens. The spell, to be sure, is one they are happy to live under. It neatly explains Singapore’s existence and place in the world the way a creation myth explains the existence and place of everything...
Despite obsessing over and wooing the same love, The Man and poetry hardly meet. The dominant image in Singaporean verse is rather the Merlion, a gimmicky symbol of the national will. So common is the Merlion across languages and generations of writing that we have come to speak of its depiction as obligatory for aspiring poets. Critically, it is not presumptuous to say that all Merlion poems are ways of writing about The Man and avoiding his mention. In all of them is an image of the nation that is an image of him...
A Luxury We Cannot Afford is an important celebration of The Man through the powerful feelings he arouses. Credit must be given to Chia and Ip for their inventiveness, audacity, and farsightedness in drawing such a volume out of the shadow of a missing precedent in English. I must also thank them for believing me to be without favours to gain or grievance to air and thus objective enough to write a creative foreword few would have the folly to attempt. Yet, this anthology is as much a social document as it is artistic pleasure, and my curiosity as both a poet and a critic has been piqued. I am convinced that lovers of writing will be relieved to find poetry’s moral responsibility to this pillar of Singaporean identity finally met. We have now poetic voices reflecting at the crucial tail end of an era, just before they can rethink how they feel against what happens next. This is poetry at the edge of a personality storm, and it electrifies."
- Gwee Li Sui, Foreword, A Luxury We Cannot Afford.
|
|
a luxury we must afford
For us Singaporeans, 2015 has been a year for burying hatchet-wielding legends, letting old dogmas lie, and ultimately looking forward into a great wide absence, which is also a great wide space.
Singapore at 50 stands on the cusp of a mid-life crisis with a multitasker’s schizophrenia – even as she mourns the loss of an almost all-defining founding father, she celebrates a significant birthday; even as she seeks to refine or redefine her interpretation of history, she awaits an election that could be a milestone or, well, just another election.
If A Luxury We Cannot Afford was effectively the story of Singapore before SG50, we feel that the tale is, as told, incomplete. As such, we decided to compile a companion volume, entitled A Luxury We Must Afford, which will tell the tale of Singapore from SG50 onwards. This year, we believe we can finally assert that a Singaporean poetry, here and now, is a luxury we must afford.
Looking forward and beyond, the editors have added Cheryl Julia Lee to their number, and gathered new hopes, daydreams, nightmares and considered perspectives about the future of our island nation. We would like to consign the topic of the previous anthology to the past, and instead look forward.
The anthology was launched on 15 January 2017 at the Chamber of The Arts House.
Singapore at 50 stands on the cusp of a mid-life crisis with a multitasker’s schizophrenia – even as she mourns the loss of an almost all-defining founding father, she celebrates a significant birthday; even as she seeks to refine or redefine her interpretation of history, she awaits an election that could be a milestone or, well, just another election.
If A Luxury We Cannot Afford was effectively the story of Singapore before SG50, we feel that the tale is, as told, incomplete. As such, we decided to compile a companion volume, entitled A Luxury We Must Afford, which will tell the tale of Singapore from SG50 onwards. This year, we believe we can finally assert that a Singaporean poetry, here and now, is a luxury we must afford.
Looking forward and beyond, the editors have added Cheryl Julia Lee to their number, and gathered new hopes, daydreams, nightmares and considered perspectives about the future of our island nation. We would like to consign the topic of the previous anthology to the past, and instead look forward.
The anthology was launched on 15 January 2017 at the Chamber of The Arts House.