ABOUT THE BOOK/ BLURB

Ubin Dreaming, as the title suggests, is in part inspired by the Arvon workshop organised by The Literary Centre and the National Arts Council. It reflects the literary aspirations of a still young nation – a dream that is continually forming and broken.

“we languish in inspired idleness

this, no place to be seeding dreams

the umbilical cord still attached”

His fourth collection, the poems are characteristic of David Leo’s earlier works; though personally experiential, the poems evoke “a quality of universality beyond their immediate milieu” (Tara Dhar Hasnain, Interlogue, Studies in Singapore Literature, Volume 2: Poetry, Ethos Books, 1999)

While he continues to explore the Singaporean identity in some of the poems, by and large David finds inspiration in almost anything – from a thunderstorm to a zucchini, underlying his love of nature and animals, and a keen observation of human behaviour. Reading his poems is like watching a painter at work at his easel – the poems quickly become visual.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Leo is one of Singapore’s most prolific writers. He has produced a repertoire of works of poetry and prose that have won awards, including the Publishers Prize for fiction, NBDCS commendation and Singapore Literature Prize commendation.

Several of his short stories have been adapted and staged in Mandarin and English by various theatre groups.His award-winning works include Sins of the Father which won a Book Award from the NBDCS in 1994, as well as a commendation award from the Singapore Literature Prize in 1995 for "Wives, Lovers & Other Women".

Leo enjoys travelling. Not surprisingly, much of his poetry is inspired by places that he has been. Between books, Leo writes commentaries on a wide range of subjects but specialises in aviation and customer service as a freelance columnist.

He confesses he writes best when he swims.

Other titles by David Leo:

Shakespeare Can Wait (2009) (Novel)

iDENTiTY (2008) (Poetry)

Life's So Like Dat (revised ed.) (2008) (Non-Fiction)

News At Nine (2003) (Short Stories)

One Journey Many Rivers (1997) (Poetry)

Different Strokes (1993) (Novella)

Somewhere A Tiny Voice (1993) (Poetry)

The Sins Of The Father & Other Stories (1993) *Winner of Commendation Prize, NDBC Book Awards, 1994* (Short Stories)