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@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ the name of Lord Christ Jesus. Amen.
<li><a href="#black">Stephen Black. "I ate Tiong Bahru".
</a>
</li>
<li><a href="#singh">Editor: Kirpal Singh. "Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature. Volume 2: Poetry".
</a>
</li>
<li><a href="#koh">Jee Leong Koh. "Equal to the Earth".
</a>
</li>
@ -98,6 +101,38 @@ Does Mr. Black come across as astute, through the pages of this book? I leave it
</p>
</div>
<br />
<div id="singh">
<p><b>Editor: Kirpal Singh. "Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature. Volume 2: Poetry".
</b></p>
<p>
I felt turned off by the Introduction. (And stopped reading shortly after that).
</p>
<p>
I take issue with how the (un-identified) writer of the Introduction - whom I guess to be Mr. Kirpal Singh - focused on the "what should" instead of "what is".
A sentence like "we must set our standards as any genuinely independent nation must and it is by these standards that we should judge ourselves" seems to be more
appropriate for a book titled "Mr. Kirpal Singh's Opinions" instead of a book titled "Studies in Singapore Literature: Volume 2: Poetry".
</p>
<p>
A reader with an interest in delightful poetry may be better served by reading Jane Hirshfield's book, "Nine gates: Entering the mind of poetry". Ms. Hirshfield talks engagingly about the "what is" instead of "what should", as I fondly recall.
</p>
<p>
And a reader with a curiosity towards poetry from Singapore may be better served by
reading the selection at:
<a href="https://www.lyrikline.org/en/authors?nav=1&country%5B%5D=SG">
https://www.lyrikline.org/en/authors?nav=1&country%5B%5D=SG
</a>
</p>
<p>
Please let me conclude by saying this book seems to be crying out for a healthy dose of humour. May I quote from Eric Linklater's lovely 1929 work, "Poet's pub"?
The fictional character of Sir Philip Betts, a professor, remarks (on Page 33 of my copy, published by The Penguin Group): "I'm sick of scholarship and the graveyard
way we go to work explaining what Shakespeare meant in places where all he meant, probably, was a billiard-room joke."
</p>
<p>- 24th May 2021.
</p>
</div>
<br />
<div id="koh">
<p><b>Jee Leong Koh. "Equal to the Earth".
</b>