You Cannot Count Smoke

Babette's Feast #2

by Cyril Wong

These little poems are my orphaned children, with no book or anthology to call their home (until now) due to their mysterious, even surrealist, qualities that have begun to occupy my writing in a gradual but certain way. The ambivalences of love, depression, mortality -- you will find all of these themes here, all grounded in a perspective that remains, I hope, fiercely introspective and personal. ~ Cyril Wong

Genres: Poetry

40 pages, Chapbook

First published August 1, 2011

About the author

Cyril Wong is a two-time Singapore Literature Prize-winning poet and the recipient of the Singapore National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award for Literature. His books include poetry collections Tilting Our Plates to Catch the Light (2007) and The Lover’s Inventory (2015), novels The Last Lesson of Mrs de Souza (2013) and This Side of Heaven (2020), and fiction collection Ten Things My Father Never Taught Me (2014). He completed his doctoral degree in English Literature at the National University of Singapore in 2012. His works have been featured in the Norton anthology, Language for a New Century, in Chinese Erotic Poems by Everyman’s Library, and in magazines and journals around the world. His writings have been translated into Turkish, German, Italian, French, Portuguese and Japanese.

Reviews

[Mirvan. Ereon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got my own copy from my beloved friend Cyril Wong himself. I have always loved Cyril since the time I discovered him years ago and we became friends through emails and Facebook chat. He is a genuine person who exudes kindness and wisdom and I am honored that he gave me some of his own written works and books from his own personal library.

I love this little gem of a book. Cyril once again captured my heart and made me love him more. I am so glad to be the owner of his books because they are really worth having. The poems in this short chapbook will haunt you and make you wonder about the profundity of existence, love and depression. Cyril calls the poems in this collection his orphans because as he said, these are poems that do not belong to a certain book or collection of him. This might be true when he had written this although I can remember reading some of the poems here in his website and his other books. This is a short read although the impact of the poems here are humongous.

Finishing this book only made me hungrier for Cyril's poetry. I am so in love with this little book that I have kissed it a lot of times and ran my lips across its smooth pristine surface. Like Japanese Buddhist art, the cover art is minimal and yet remarkable. As part of the Babette's Feast collection, this book will certainly make you want to read the rest. Singapore is truly a home of wonderful writers and Cyril Wong is definitely one of the greatest of them.

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here, Wong's quietude shines through. However, the metaphors feel a tad too 'easy' and not as surreal as advertised, and the quiet voice that his poems take on work against his favour. In spite of all this, he casts a light on his subjects that is neither too serious or self-aware, nor slipshod or shallow. The work possesses a surprising unity, and hangs together nicely as a collection.

[Review 1 - 05/05/17.]

[Julie Koh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharp, lyrical, breathless. This book is too short and only leaves me wanting more from such a tender Singaporean voice!