Memorandum
Featuring new translations of previously untranslated Chinese short stories, Memorandum maps out seven decades of Sinophone Singaporean Literature. From bargirls to student activists, from trishaw men to tea merchants, this collection provides a glimpse into a world that has been previously invisible to Anglophone readers. Paired with critical essays, these stories showcase the richness and diversity of Singapore’s Chinese community, but also its inherent interconnectedness with other cultures within Singapore.
Memorandum
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$32.71 SGD
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$32.71 SGD
Reviews
"This comprehensive and definitive collection of Sinophone Singaporean short stories is now translated into English, making it available to the Anglophone readers around the world. It offers a long-overdue tribute to the vibrancy and creativity of Sinophone literature in Singapore that has a history of over one hundred years, and corrects the mistaken view that only Anglophone literature is of consequence in and out of the former British colony." —Shu-mei Shih, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of California, Los Angeles, and President-Elect of American Comparative Literature Association
“Memorandum is a pathbreaking anthology that refracts over half a century of Singapore’s history through its lens. The translated stories do much more than simply bridge Sinophone and Anglophone worlds: they actively cross geographical, cultural, linguistic and class boundaries, causing us to think more deeply about the nature of social power, and the transformative interventions literary texts can make.” —Philip Holden, scholar of Singapore & Southeast Asian literatures
“The reader’s curiosity about Singapore Chinese literature will be sated by this ample survey of fiction spanning eight decades. From accounts of cultural displacement in “scar literature”, to stories about dance hostesses, coolies and sailors, to experimental prose born out of the encounter between Chinese and other languages, the stories here reveal the breadth of subject matter barely touched by English literature in Singapore. To read this collection is to experience a world being unveiled in front of one’s eyes, a world that has been hiding in plain sight." —Alfian Sa’at, playwright and writer
"A thoroughly enjoyable collection of short stories. If not for such worthwhile translations, many like myself would not have access to large and meaningful collections of creative writings by fellow Singaporean writers. This exquisitely curated anthology opens a window into the richness of Chinese language fiction over seven decades. It’s my wish that more Singapore writings get translated into other different, and just as valuable, languages." —Haresh Sharma, Resident Playwright, The Necessary Stage
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Attunement
Is life hustling you out of tune? As the week roars by, we invite you to a slice of attunement penned lovingly by our authors, friends, and yours truly. Freshly delivered weekly with care. Intimacy guaranteed. Read selected letters below.
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No negotiation for blood debt
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The Burmese language resistance poetry is deeply embedded in the country’s colonial past. When mo...
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Burning holes in the darkness
Feb 7, 2022
Poets killed in broad daylight, writers tortured and maimed. I wonder if their ghosts watch on fr...
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