Standing in the Corner: Poems from a Real Childhood

by Lee Tzu Pheng

Does the word "childhood" call up mushy sentiments and nostalgic memories where time has given a rosy glow to what has long gone?

This collection presents a different side to Singapore's award-winning poet who sets out to recall a real childhood, where children are not the little innocents people think all children are, and growing up is full of hazards, not the least of which is the author herself, recalling some of her experiences growing up in the 1950s.

Genres: Poetry

60 pages

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Lee Tzu Pheng (May 13, 1946) is a Singaporean poet. She has five volumes of poems to her name; of these, the first three, Prospects of a Drowning(1980), Against the Next Wave, (1988) and The Brink of An Amen (1991) were winners of the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Award.

Reviews

[CuriousBookReviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curiosity level: What do you remember from your childhood? (@localbookssg)
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“Anybody would be dumb to be my sister’s sister.”
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Anne Lee reminisces about random childhood events in this sweet book of poems. Growing up as a middle child. Being compared to her siblings. Having uncontrollable laughing and crying fits. Her grandmother’s death, too. She parallels her grandma’s coffin to a big, brown boat, and imagines that she was going far away. She recounts her mooncake-munching days, or when she stood at the corner (for punishment?) but instead of closing her off from the world, it opened up her imagination.
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Reading her book will open your mind to your own childhood stories!

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.