Poetry Moves: An Anthology of Poetry

by Esther Vincent (Editor), Ann Ang (Editor), Angelia Poon (Editor)

This anthology collects over 100 poems from Singapore, Asia and around the world, and is aimed at the adolescent reader. It seeks to cultivate a love of poetry and an exploration of real-world issues through verse among teenage readers.

The anthology will include work by well-known authors from Singapore such as Edwin Thumboo, Arthur Yap, Wong May, Lee Tzu Pheng, Aaron Maniam, Mohamed Latiff Mohamed, Pooja Nansi and Alfian Sa’at, as well as poets from abroad. The author list includes Seamus Heaney (Ireland), Li-Young Lee (USA), Boey Kim Cheng (Singapore- Australia), Sujata Bhatt (India), Carol Ann Duffy (UK), Gwendolyn Brooks (USA) and Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún (Nigeria).

Alongside these established names, the anthology will feature newer voices like Jennifer Anne Champion (Singapore), Anitha Devi Pillai (Singapore), Ocean Vuong (Vietnamese- American), Kaveh Akbar (Iranian-American) and Dhiyanah Hassan (Malaysia), as well as a handful of translated works.

This anthology encourages the comparative reading of poetry from Singapore and around the globe, for it is only in understanding others that one begins to understand self and the world.

Genres: Poetry

207 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[aqilahreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

contains mostly poetry by singaporean poets but it also includes selected works/translated poetry from southeast asia and other countries!

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. there are 5 sections in this book - connection is probably my favourite. i find most of them are pretty decent; some are good and some are not that bad either. however, i just wished theres more into it - i have came across some old poems so reading them kinda felt repetitive to me & would be great if newer works are introduced in here. nevertheless, still enjoyed it as a whole and really appreciate how the book showcases various poets which some i have never heard of!! excited to check out more of their works 🥰

recommend to all poetry lovers & if youre looking for a decent local poetry collection to read.

[Sharm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of poems by local authors & international writers; some familiar ones include Wong May, Mohamed Latiff Mohamed, Margaret Atwood, Simon Armitage, Ocean Vuong and so much more! The collection explores the themes of home, immigration, parental love, and belonging. I borrowed a copy from my local library and enjoyed the whole reading journey greatly. I might just consider purchasing a copy myself to highlight and note my favourite parts. Below are some or the poetry works that I particularly loved as well as an excerpt from one of them:

Excerpt from “Why is your poetry so normal?” by Anne Lee Tzu Peng

Because this is meant to be human;
A familiar voice, plain, intelligible,
And close to home.
Somewhere in you, I know,
You have the same voice, too,
That recognises what I say to you.

More works that I enjoyed:
- Words by Anne Sexton
- Being Beautiful by Jollin Tan
- Reader by Noelle Q. de Jesus
- Portrait of A Sentenced Library by Alfian Sa’at (ref to little prince)
- Re: New Ways To Be Lonely by Nurul Amillin Hussain
- Schoolyard Lesson by Janice Heng
- To All My Friends by Hauntie
- Eagle Poem by Joy Harjo

[Artemis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute collection; the blurb was well-written and made me buy it lol. I was hoping for more on the last section of "origins". Since the blurb also talked about real-world issues I was hoping on more poetry on political/social causes/environmentalism too. I thought the collection might include "In Memory of W. B. Yeats" since the introduction talked about W. H. Auden's "poetry makes nothing happen" (from the same poem), which I had thought would go nicely in section 4: crossings.

Some favourites included (in no particular order):
- Some Night by Luis Cabalquinto
- Seventh Month by Yeo Shu Hoong
- Dividend of the Social Opt Out by Jennifer Moxley
- I Lost My Identity Card by Yehuda Amichai
- Postcard from Kashmir by Agha Shahid Ali
- Storm Diary by Seán Lysaght

Overall, I think the anthology was diverse but could have been more thorough - the blurb felt a bit like name-dropping? Might just be me haha.

[qist · Rating 2 out of 5]

feels like i'm reading poetry from the unseen section of an o levels literature paper 🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️ maybe it's the style of writing that didn't really appeal to me & at the same time i can't really feel any emotions or internalise whatever was written. nonetheless, it's always interesting to read poems from a different point of view!

[Chaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exciting (if inconsistent) collection of poetry rooted in, and effectively highlighting, the diversity of Singapore and its many people and cultures.