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Sonnets from the Singlish Upsize Edition
sonnets from the singlish upsize edition is a collection of 88 poems on love, language and the pursuit of laughter. the poems are loosely translated from the english-based creole language colloquially spoken in singapore, widely known as singlish.
the poems were originally composed in the sonnet form, an archaic italian fourteen-line rhyming verse form that follows the rhythmic rules of iambic pentameter. people still write like this primarily for ease of formatting. they are most tolerable when read out loudly in a singaporean accent.
this is not a reprint, it's an UPSIZE... and it's 88 poems instead of 44, for double the huat.
the poems were originally composed in the sonnet form, an archaic italian fourteen-line rhyming verse form that follows the rhythmic rules of iambic pentameter. people still write like this primarily for ease of formatting. they are most tolerable when read out loudly in a singaporean accent.
this is not a reprint, it's an UPSIZE... and it's 88 poems instead of 44, for double the huat.
- GenresPoetry
Paperback
First published October 30, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 22, 2019
I really enjoyed this collection-- it had a nice balance of funny, poignant, local and universal topics. Ip is clever and talented, and I'm happy to have found him at Books Actually, a local publisher.
December 3, 2019
It is not as much Singlish as the title suggested (I expected the whole book is in Singlish.) But, as mentioned on the note from the author, for him, Singlish is more than those English-based creole language with interesting accent spoken in Singapore. It also means the quality of being Singaporean—a person from Singapore. Which I really love and definitely get it after finished the book.
Through the funny verses, I can easily imagine all of the poetries are snippets of life of some Singaporeans in Singapore. And when you read it aloud, the Singlish is more apparent—I searched Joshua Ip reading session in Youtube to know how it sound properly and it's cool.
This poetry book is such a fun way to take a glimpse on Indonesia's closest neighbor (thank you @transitsanta to bring this one on your super cool theme #knowyourneighbours.) Now I'm intrigued to look for fun poetry books about Indonesia or any city here.
Through the funny verses, I can easily imagine all of the poetries are snippets of life of some Singaporeans in Singapore. And when you read it aloud, the Singlish is more apparent—I searched Joshua Ip reading session in Youtube to know how it sound properly and it's cool.
This poetry book is such a fun way to take a glimpse on Indonesia's closest neighbor (thank you @transitsanta to bring this one on your super cool theme #knowyourneighbours.) Now I'm intrigued to look for fun poetry books about Indonesia or any city here.
June 30, 2016
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Initial thoughts: Anyone who has grown up in Singapore is bound to relate to Sonnets from the Singlish, Upsize Edition. There's a lot of familiarity to be found in those pages. Some poems made me laugh so hard, while others made me nod emphatically. To aid readers, there are notes at the back to accompany the various poems with explanations of terms used. I think that's a wonderful decision to make the poems more accessible.
Stylistically, however, I wasn't entirely won over. Sonnets, obviously, are bound by structure. I'm glad for that because that lent a rhythm which pulsed thought the book and bound the poems together. Expression-wise, though, some poems were rather awkward and made me stumble through them. Others just didn't resonate with me at all. Thankfully, there were those that I did enjoy, the ones, as I already mentioned, made me laugh and nod away. I suppose that's the nature of anthologies — some poems will click, some poems won't.
Initial thoughts: Anyone who has grown up in Singapore is bound to relate to Sonnets from the Singlish, Upsize Edition. There's a lot of familiarity to be found in those pages. Some poems made me laugh so hard, while others made me nod emphatically. To aid readers, there are notes at the back to accompany the various poems with explanations of terms used. I think that's a wonderful decision to make the poems more accessible.
Stylistically, however, I wasn't entirely won over. Sonnets, obviously, are bound by structure. I'm glad for that because that lent a rhythm which pulsed thought the book and bound the poems together. Expression-wise, though, some poems were rather awkward and made me stumble through them. Others just didn't resonate with me at all. Thankfully, there were those that I did enjoy, the ones, as I already mentioned, made me laugh and nod away. I suppose that's the nature of anthologies — some poems will click, some poems won't.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews