Little Things: An Anthology of Poetry

by Loh Chin Ee (Editor), Angelia Poon (Editor), Raymond Carver

Catching crickets after school, waiting for class to end, playing with lanterns during Mid-Autumn festival, observing one’s grandfather cut his nails, watching the rain and the world go by – these are some of the little things that the poems in this anthology explore.

In this selection of more than 80 poems from Singapore and around the world, poets look afresh at things mundane and universal, from birth to growing up and first love to old age and death. Works by established Singapore poets such as Boey Kim Cheng, Lee Tzu Pheng, Arthur Yap and Cyril Wong and well-known international poets such as e. e. cummings, Billy Collins, Derek Walcott and Raymond Carver are set alongside poems by younger published poets such as Joshua Ip, Teng Qian Xi and Theophilus Kwek and previously unpublished poems in this refreshing anthology.

Arranged in six broad sections – Little Things, Growing Up, People Around Us, Going Places, Love and Loss, and On Words – this anthology will appeal to readers both young and old with poems that are quirky, delightful, sad and reflective.

A teachers' guide is also available: Teaching Poetry To Adolescents: a Teachers’ Guide to Little Things

Genres: Poetry, School

157 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Remy · Rating 2 out of 5]

secondary school literature class is the only place that can elevate your appreciation for words ten million fold and yet make you hate poetry

[Ronnie Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collective poets
Coming together right here
In this little book

[Chen Ann Siew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fog, Durian, Velcro, chope, ting (listen), Lit Boys - few of my favoured poems in the collection.

[Thaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of the 90 poems that were featured, I only liked 10 because they were more profound than the rest.

[Vic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute and delightful anthology of poems. Local poems with a sprinkling of international classics. I made a note of any that made me smile or sigh and the list turned out to be very long:

Nailcutting by Lim Min Min Dawn
The Habit of Leaves by Yong Shu Hoong
Fog by Carl Sandburg
Cat Apostrophe by Aaron Lee
hover by Madeleine Lee
The Trouble with Snowmen by Roger McGough
On Turning Ten by Billy Collins
close all the windows by Cyril Wong
Hands by Shirley Lim
Watching My Grandmother Eat Fish by Joanne Leow
Neighbours by Alfian Sa'at
Stamp Collecting by Boey Kim Cheng
Void Deck Romance by Diana Johar
Present Light by Charles Ghigna
Elementary Chinese by Eileen Chong
Lit Boys by Ivan Ang

Though it's meant to be for school kids, it's a nice dose of 'youngtime' nostalgia for adults.