Commonwealth

by Theophilus Kwek

A neighbourhood containing Singapore's oldest public housing estates, a catchphrase for the dream of equitable distribution, the long tail of the British the word 'Commonwealth' uncovers rich seams of history, replete with conquests, tragedies and once-potent visions of the future. Commonwealth takes as its starting-point the massive Bukit Ho Swee fires of the 196os – an event as deeply seared into the history of Kwek's family as the nation's own – and traces the dislocations and relocations that have come before it, and in its wake.
Kwek's earlier poetry collections dealt with questions of personal rootedness and larger-scale displacement; still formally adept, Commonwealth is a new departure, drawing on a wide array of documentary and oral history sources to address upheavals of individual and collective lives within one of the world's most densely populated cities.

Genres: Poetry

104 pages, Paperback

Published July 31, 2025

About the author

Theophilus Kwek has published three poetry collections, Giving Ground (2016), They Speak Only Our Mother Tongue (2011) and Circle Line (2013), which was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize. He is a winner of the Jane Martin Prize and the Martin Starkie Prize, and his poems have appeared in The London Magazine, The Interpreter’s House, the Quarterly Literary Review of Singapore, and various anthologies. He studies History and Politics at Merton College, Oxford, and is currently President of the Oxford University Poetry Society, as well as Content Advisor to the Oxford Culture Review.

Reviews

[Cheng Him · Rating 5 out of 5]

Commonwealth touches on the unspoken history of places in the transitional period of Singapore's history, back when it was newly independent and still finding its place in the world.

Written through the lens of a child of modern Singapore approaching their familial history, this collection deftly navigates the personal histories of said child's grandparents and parents, who lived in the eponymous neighbourhood at the dawn of Singaporean independence. It marries the confessional with observations on historical artefacts, as well as playing testament to the oral retellings of that era (which for reference, is the 1950s to 70s). A prime artefact of this at play can be found in the poem 'Yellowtop', which manages to be deeply moving while also illustrating a historical type of taxi driver common to that era of Singaporean history at the same time.

Theophilus Kwek possesses a brightness in their verse and craft, which made this collection a breezy and delightful read. Expect highly polished lines, subtle plays on sound, and utterly delightful conceits. Each poem imparts insight and joy quickly, and does more to energise the reader than to bog them in hyperbole.

Commonwealth is a sincere dedication to the personal histories of Singapore's pioneer generation, as well as to the poet's own familial history. 10/10 will recommend.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing collection with plenty of poems on historical topics.

[Arin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing collection of poems. Drawing inspiration from Singapore’s ever changing landscape and the memories left behind from these changes.