Written Country: A Literary History of Singapore
Edited by Gwee Li Sui
Written Country intriguingly reconstructs, from works of literature, the history of modern Singapore through fifty defining moments from the Fall of Singapore to the Japanese during WWII to the death of its founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew. The works of Singapore’s best novelists, poets and playwrights anthologised include:
Japanese Occupation by Goh Sin Tub
Maria Hertogh Riots by Alfian Sa’at
Hock Lee Bus Riot by Meira Chand
First Merdeka Talks by Hedwig Anuar
Women’s Charter by Lee Tzu Pheng
Operation Coldstore by Said Zahari
National Theatre by Boey Kim Cheng
Singapore in Malaysia by Rosaly Puthucheary
Creation of the Merlion by Stella Kon
Prophet Muhd’s Birthday Riot by Robert Yeo
Independence of Singapore by Edwin Thumboo
Toa Payoh New Town by Koh Buck Song
Family Planning Campaign by Felix Cheong
National Campaigns by Catherine Lim
Social Development Unit by Michael Chiang
Hotel New World Collapse by Haresh Sharma
Operation Spectrum by Aileen Lau
Caning of Michael Fay by Tan Tarn How
Singapore in Recession by Toh Hsien Min
Escape of Mas Selamat by Marc Nair
Little India Riot by Muhammad Sharif Udin
The death of Lee Kuan Yew by A Martyn Chew
Here is a book for those who wish to have a taste of Singaporean literature and a sense of Singapore’s history.
Size: 130 x 195 mm
Extent: 356 pages
Binding: Paperback
Weight: 450 g
ISBN: 978-981-4189-66-8
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Reviews
The interplay between the fact and the imagined lingered throughout my experience of Written Country… The idea behind the book is an attractive one, exploring history through the literary. In execution, Gwee does the work of the masterful tailor. The book is a patchwork quilt, stringing together pieces like lenses into each pocket of time… Read this book. Read it for authors you haven’t heard of yet, but need to. Read it to glimpse times in this country’s pre-conception too often overlooked. Most importantly, read it to understand Singapore’s past through the eyes of those that lived it, whether those eyes are flesh and blood or ink and paper.
– Gideon Goh, mackerel.life
From Goodreads
This wonderful anthology tells Singapore’s history through excerpts of prose, drama and poetry. A brief informative commentary on key events from the fall of Singapore to the death of Lee Kuan Yew accompanies the literary texts.