The Invisible Manuscript

by Alfian Sa'at

Alfian Sa'at's first unpublished collection of writings composed when he was 22, it was first distributed unofficially to selected friends and colleagues. Bearing passionate testimony to private and public memories, this gathering of poems and prose fragments documenting the intimate challenges of homosexual longing gives voice to an invisible minority still struggling to be recognised today. Now published at last, this book, full of fierce confessions, ambivalences and flinty epiphanies, will shock and devestate. Here is an uncompromising confluence of unfulfilled desires wrought through language by one of Singapore's most outspoken and critical voices.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Queer, Asia

113 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Ree. · Rating 4 out of 5]

What you gain from this collection will commensurate with what you gave.

[Ron Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just, wow! Very intimate, arousing and thought-provoking! A guide to the inner thoughts of Singaporean gay men and their struggles.

[mm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Invisible Manuscript is not very invisible but brings the pathos very visible to the reader. The poet explains he lost himself in the writing of these poems and prose and that they are the stories of so many others but it reads like the growing up and realisation of one person.

[CuriousBookReviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one takes the cake this week though, because even tho it talks about the taboo subject of sexuality, you're basically pushed into this theatre that's screening a show called: "all the brave loves and loss you never really knew existed" and you're completely reeled in until the last page.

I can't say too much or I'll spoil the book but yes, this book is called the invisible manuscript for a very good reason; all that's deep and rich and felt in the heart is invisible to the eye - until you read this, and invisibility becomes visibility in your hands.

Alfian Sa'at is a raw genius of the heart, possibly singapore's undubbed Shakespeare

Curiosity level: feeling of having visited a whole new world of feels

[chu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry collection is a frank exploration of Sa'at's many unresolved romances. There is a lingering melancholy to his poems, unfulfilled and hungry for more. It eventually reaches a point where a relationship is enough for him, where "it doesn't have to be anything". He appears satiated. Yet, the collection ultimately returns to the erasure of the self, the author who must be obliterated. He wills himself to become a spectre as with his collection, an "invisible manuscript", by embarking on the impossible task of universalising the gay experience. He erases his own experiences and appropriates those of others. Perhaps he is still hungry for a home that recognises the gay citizen universally so that he wouldn't have to jostle with words.

[S.q. Ng · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are more misses than hits with this collection. Granted, this was a book which was never intended for publishing, nor were the poems and proses written at the poet's current state of craft. I found many of the metaphors employed not working out, the resolutions of some unsatisfactory and the descriptions a tad too blatant at times. That being said, I appreciated the intimate look he offered of the gay experience, ranging from the personal reflections on romance, hidden desires, shallow love to self discovery and identification through the people and lovers he had encountered.

I've enjoyed The Kiss, Seven, The Fringe, Drowning in Pairs

[jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no words. After reading the first few poems I already knew that this poetry anthology was a 5 star read. Alfian's writing is divine, in every sense of the word. His anthology outlines the experiences of a homosexual in a Singaporean context, and perhaps the gay psyche. The potent nature and weight of his writing makes his words linger in your mind even after finishing the book. What a book.

My favourite is probably 'Your Honesty'.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alfian Sa'at is my new favourite poet.

[Petal Athirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title itself gives a hint on what the content of the book is. It’s heartwarming and heartfelt, I love the rawness of each poem. My favourite one is “Anthem”, it really hit close to home for me.

[QY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it!

[bleh · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at pg 50. I just can’t I’m sorry.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of local poetry from a Singaporean writer, all about the experience of being a gay male in Singapore. I generally liked this, except some parts were very voluble, and some metaphors didn't quite work. The quality varied quite widely and there were some good poems and a few average ones. A common thread I didn't like in all the poems was the very brazen descriptions of sex/masturbation - I get that it's edgy, but it was overdone (practically present in all the poems).

My favourite part was actually the short story, "Seven", which condensed all the themes of the entire collection and delivered them pretty effectively.

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a lot different to what I usually read. Actually, one of my friends recommended me this book and I have to say, I don't regret it. I found Sa'at's writing to be very genuine. Though some metaphors that he values didn't work for me, I still understand his struggles of being a gay man, conveying what it's truly like. Some may be very arousing and intimate as he describes it many times in this book.

But what I like most about The Invisible Manuscript is that Sa'at's ability to bring me, a reader opposing to his belief and lifestyle closer and closer to pathos. It is a great platform to understand a world that is totally different to my own and I regret nothing.

[Judith Huang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moving in their sincerity, these poems are tiny missives from the past of one of our most beloved writers. Although uneven in quality, they still form a cohesive whole articulating the gay male experience in Singapore, with honesty and delicacy of touch. And who can fail to be moved by the hope and longing in the immortal conclusion of Anthem, "in broad daylight two men holding hands/will mean nothing, but a symptom of daylight"?

[Guan You · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ballsy and edgy. Particularly liked "Chronology" and "Seven".