ARTIST STATEMENT

‘AMP: A Multilingual Poem’ hopes to amplify the multilingual voices in which poetry can be written, spoken and experienced. When I hear a poem in a language I don’t understand, its sound can still resonate with me. Yet, there is something about having a familiar word in a poem for someone more comfortable in that language. ‘AMP: A Multilingual Poem’ seeks to do that, especially since I live in a place as multilingual and multicultural as Singapore. There is so much universality in the richness and diversity of languages one encounters in Southeast Asia.

PRAISE

As the title of the poem suggests, Soy Avocado delivers a very thought-provoking piece highlighting the multilingualism of Southeast Asia. Visits to the market are like a rite of passage for any child growing up there. By having not two, not three, but at least four different languages, this poem elevates the mistakenly mundane walk of life we all experience living in this region. It’s almost unifying in the sense that you can experience the words of any language in this region and feel solidarity knowing that we can all see the same things.

—The Brunei Writers

“AMP: A Multilingual Poem” responds to The Bahasa prompt by The Brunei Writers.

AMP: A Multilingual Poem

I see a yellow anorak on my anak,
His tiny frame makes a small mark
On the lenses misted by condensation.
Somebody loudly proffers a salutation.

Eat already? Jiak ba ber?
Makan oredi, remember?
四条鱼, apat na isda, empat ikan
Yes, thanks, at a quarter past one.

“The Mister misses his Missus”,
The maestro has us rehearse
All those lineas lindas that Linda
Disliked when she was a younger learner.

My anak and I are waiting for the 巴士 bas bus
To take us to the mercado, pasar, 巴 刹.
It’s been more than 二十分钟,
Baynte, veinte minutos is quite long.

My sapatos-hobbyist Filipina friend tells
Us that our Spanish friend sells
Zapatos and they are on sale;
That the 70% off shoes is for real....

But only if you are one of those
Who courageously chose
To write a poema poem that combines
At least dua lenguas in its lines!

Notes:
- anak (Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog): child
- Jiak ba ber? (Hokkien): Have you eaten?
- Makan (Indonesian, Malay) oredi (Singlish): I have already eaten
- 四条鱼 (Mandarin), apat na isda (Tagalog), empat ikan (Indonesian, Malay): four fish
- lineas lindas (Castilian): beautiful lines
- 巴士 (Mandarin), bas (Malay): bus
- mercado (Castilian), pasar (Indonesian, Malay), 巴 刹 (Mandarin): market
- 二十分钟 (Mandarin), baynte (Ilonggo), veinte minutos (Castilian): twenty minutes
- sapatos (Tagalog), zapatos (Castilian Spanish): shoes
- poema (Castilian): poem
- dua (Indonesian, Malay): two
- lenguas (Castilian): languages