The Best of Kirpal Singh

Singapore Pioneer Poets

by Kirpal Singh

Kirpal Singh is a poet, literary and cultural critic. An internationally recognised scholar, he was the first Asian director for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and also the first Asian and non-American to be made a director on the American Creativity Association’s board.

This collection, handpicked by Singh himself, features seminal works They Say and Creative Thinking as well as many others, and is essential reading for anyone interested in Singapore’s literary heritage.

“A wise creative mentor to many, and a beautiful poet for all. To read him is to profoundly experience inspiration itself.”
—Dillon McKinsey

Genres: Poetry

124 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

Kirpal Singh is a poet, fictionist and cultural critic, and is currently Director of the Wee Kim Wee Centre at the Singapore Management University where he also teaches creative writing. He was a founding member of the Centre for Research in New Literatures at Flinders University, Australia, in 1977, served for many years as chairman of the Singapore Writers' Festival in the 1990s and has the distinction of being the first Asian director of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 1993 and 1994.

He is an internationally recognised scholar whose core research areas include post-colonial literature, Singapore and Southeast Asian literature and technology, and creativity thinking. His research articles and critical writings have been published in international journals such as Ariel, Diogene, Commonwealth Novel In English, Literary Criterion, Quadrant, Southern Review and Westerly. He has written four books of poetry, two collections of stories and edited over twenty-five publications, including the prestigious literary journal, World Literature Written in English. He has attended international writers' festivals all over the world, in places such as Adelaide, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Mexico, USA, Toronto and Kent. In addition, Singh is a member of several international literary journals and associations. In 2010, he represented Singapore at the Shanghai World Expo. Currently, he is also involved in conceptualising and promoting creative thinking in Singapore's undergraduate education system at the Singapore Management University. In 2004, Singh became the first Asian and non-American to be made a director on the American Creativity Association's (ACA) board where he is now Vice-President and Chair of ACA International.

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Singh, though demonstrating his prowess in a few pieces here and there, never quite channels it to its fullest potential. While his aim — to convey 'basic politics', as stated in the introduction — is a respectable one, he misses out on so much more. This is clear in poems that touch on woe, heartbreak, and the hurt that comes with loving. Unfortunately lacklustre.

[Review 1 - 20/05/17.]