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Southeast Asia,South and East Asia,Asia,:Ethos Books,1999 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
The political and social situation in Singapore has tended to lead to a hermeneutical approach to language, precluding an endless variety of meanings but allowing for some flexibility in interpretation, with the range of meanings partly determined by a sense of ethics.
The author suggests that Lee's canonization as a 'national' poet can be attributed to her intense self-scrutiny and her crisis of belonging, both of these being symptomatic of the national psyche of the period.
Examines Thumboo's experiences as an 'internationalist' Singaporean travelling within Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific and the impact of these travels on his poetry. Particular attention is drawn to Thumboo's naming of personal friends and acquaintances in his poems and of the link between relationships and a sense of place.
