Sing Lit Station's public art project is Singapore Poetry on the Sidewalks (SPOTS). Using various specially formulated paints, we'll be inscribing rain-activated excerpts of local poetry in areas around town.
Phase 3
Phase 3 of Singapore Poetry on the Sidewalks returned for Arts In Your Neighbourhood’s Nov 2019 edition situated in Punggol Waterway Park (outside Waterway Point). We also had a live 3D chalk-drawing activity on 9, 16 and 23 Nov 2019, 5pm–6.30pm. Visit Arts For All to read all about it.
About S.P.O.T.S.
Inspired by Mass Poetry's "RainingPoetry" project with the City of Boston, Sing Lit Station is undertaking a massive art project to paint excerpts of well-loved Singaporean poems onto our sidewalks.
By using a specially formulated paint that is both invisible and waterproof, these poems, largely unseen, will magically come to life during rainfall. Sing Lit Station hopes that Singapore Poetry on the Sidewalks will help generate a genuine sense of excitement over local writing.
How sia?
Obtain permissions from poets (to use their work) and the relevant authorities (to use the sidewalks)
For Phase 1: conduct a public poll to see which poems out of the 18 excerpts Pooja Nansi curated are the most popular
Make stencils of the text we want to use for this project
Get special paint and start inscribing!
PHASE 3: NOV 2019
We have partnered with the National Arts Council to produce Phase 3 of Singapore Poetry on the Sidewalks (S.P.O.T.S.) for the latest edition of Arts In Your Neighbourhood (AYN). This time, we installed poems along the pavilion outside Waterway Point, taking poetry excerpts from each of Singapore's four national languages.
Join us on 9, 16, and 23 November 2019 from 5pm - 6.30pm for a sidewalk chalk-drawing activity and a poetry reading. Bring your whole family and take pictures with the 3D drawing done by artist Imran Ishak inspired by the poems!
1
'Punggol'
by Ronald JJ Wong
Silver river softly rolled, its winding passages
charted on atlases of green veins rising
under tanned skin wrapped over forearms
of men rowing on slivers of sampans
Chinese farmers with their poultry and pigs,
Malay fishermen who have delicately drawn
from provisions of the generous sea, and
between them, a sacred distance of fellowship
Past chapels from which soulful voices rise
heavenward and fall clumsily on zinc roofs
of quiet neighbours like grey singlets slipping
from laundry lines onto a bed of dried leaves;
Beside Babujan Zoo, where the Bengal tiger
wistfully watched the water, wishing,
perhaps, it could drift away, off the edge
of the story of a land, which idly bided
at the tip of a long road paved with loss,
overrun by men on bicycles, chanting
foreign anthems of liberation, lips longing for
their wives and children, which shall soon cease
to give life, but open wide its mouth to catch
the felled, where the river will no longer
carry the wishes of a people who
shall soon be called by a different name.
Ronald JJ Wong is a lawyer and Director at Covenant Chambers LLC who believes in seeking justice, peace and joy for others. When he's not crafting legal submissions, he dabbles in the creative arts. His poetry and prose have been published in various publications. He has also produced and directed documentary short films and plays and authored and co-edited several non-fiction books.
Mohamed Latiff Mohamed is a prolific poet and writer in Singapore’s Malay literary scene. A teacher by training, he is best known for his works about the struggles of the Malay community in post-independence Singapore. A three-time winner of the Singapore Literature Prize, Mohamed Latiff was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2013. Born in Singapore on 20 March 1950, he received his education at Guillemard Malay School, followed by Tun Seri Lanang Secondary School and Kaki Bukit Secondary School.
2
’Hidup II’
by Mohamed Latiff Mohamed
samar dan sepi
kelam dan sunyi
terapung
antara realiti
dan ilusi
[Translation of “Life II”]
vague and isolated
pitch black silence
floating
between reality
and illusion
Chia Hwee Pheng, writing under the pen name of Xi Ni Er, has won the Singapore Literature Prize in 2008. He was the recipient of the Cultural Medallion in 2008 and the Southeast Asia Write Award in 2009. He has published 12 books including The Stretched Credulity (poetry), The Earnest Mask (Min-Fiction) and The Floating Republic (Flash Fiction). He is currently Honorary President of the Singapore Association of Writers.
3
《雾榜鹅 》
by Chia Hwee Pheng
古早古早以前的清晨
浓雾总徊逗在椰林与泥土之间
不肯离去
那时候纷扰不再
喧哗不再
我的陋居高迈
百叶木窗外
一些泥黑
一些猪香
一些叶绿
清晨时分
一片雾白
一片烟浓
今后的清晨或傍晚
停留在枯叶与天空之间
所有的绿色隐去
所有椰林连根拔起
只留下老秃椰干和打桩机
周旋到底。最终
倒下，老椰林
竖起，洋灰城
带来一片阴森
一片器张
工地危险的牌子四处升起
铲泥机在教堂后喋喋争议
一次豪雨
泼落最后一景暮色
拆散所有情深的黑泥
雨后
耶稣出走
独留十字
刺向天空
[Translation of “Misty Punggol”]
The early mornings long, long ago
Fog always lingered between the forest of coconut trees and the soil
Refusing to leave
Back then, there was no chaos
No clamour
My humble dwelling stood out
With trees covered in hundreds of leaves outside its window
Some dark soil
Some pig scent
Some green leaves
The early morning
A sea of misty white
A sea of dense smoke
The dawns or dusks ahead
Remain between the dead leaves and the sky
All the green fades away
All the coconut trees are plucked by their roots
All that is left are the old bald coconut trunks and the piledriver
Circling until the end. At last
they fall, the old coconut forest
sticks up, the cement city
brings a sea of gloom
A sea of arrogance
The construction site’s danger signs rise everywhere
The piledrivers quarrel ceaselessly behind the church
A heavy fall of rain
Splashes one last scene of twilight
Breaking apart all the sentimental black mud
After the rain
Jesus departs
Leaving behind a cross
Stabbing towards the sky
N Palanivelu was born in 1908 in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu, India. A playwright, poet and short-story writer, Palanivelu was an active writer for more than 50 years. Palanivelu’s poems, short stories and plays were published in newspapers and magazines and broadcast over radio as well. His first book of poems, Kavithai Malargal, was published in 1947. He also published Kathal Kiliyum Thiyaga Kuyilum (a collection of short stories) and Kaliyin Nalivu (a poetry play). There have been 2 published collections of Palanivelu's plays, essays, poems, and radio plays.
Palanivelu received several awards in his lifetime. He was bestowed the title Naadaga Sigamani by the Singapore Bhaskar’s Dance Academy in 1978, the Cultural Medallion for Drama in 1986, Kala Rethna award by the Singapore Fine Arts Society in 1987 and the Tamizahvel literary award by the Association of Singapore Tamil Writers in 1987. N. Palanivelu passed away at the age of 91 in 2000.
4
Fragrance Unspoken
by N. Palanievelu
காலைஇளம் பரிதிஎழும்
கடலோ ரத்தில்
கன்னிஅவளைக் கண்டேன்
காதல் கொண்டேன்
சோலைமலர் போலநகை
காட்டி நின்றாள்
சொக்கினேன்; சிலையானேன்
சுடர்வெண் டிங்கள்
கோலமுக எழிலாளின்
குமுதச் செவ்வாய்க்
குரலொலியைக் கேட்பதற்குக்
கொஞ்சிக் கொஞ்சிப்
“பாலிகையே! நின்பேர்தான்
என்ன?” என்றேன்
பதிலுக்குஅவள், “பெப்பே”
என்றாள் ஊமை!
இத்தனை ஏமாற்றம் – என்னைப்போல்
யாரு மடைந்ததுண்டோ?
நித்திரையில் கண்டேன்- மெய்யானால்
நிம்மதி யாவதுண்டோ?
[Translation of Fragrance Unspoken]
In the rising morning light
By the seaside
A beautiful maid I saw
And all at once
My soul she enslaved.
Like the fragrant flowers
Amidst the glossy green
Gleefully she stood
And stole my heart complete.
In the radiance of the ochre sun
She mingled sweet and fair
Her face - it bloomed like a sweet flower
And from her dewy lips - a whisper
I yearned.
"O maid! What may thy name be?"
She moved not lips but head.
Such deep despair - would any have felt?
It was a dream - if true
Would peace be mine?
PHASE 2: FEB 2017
We have partnered with the National Book Development Council of Singapore's #BuySingLit campaign to produce Phase 2 of Singapore Poetry on the Sidewalks, with poetry extracts by:
Alvin Pang, Angeline Yap, Cyril Wong and Daren Shiau at the Singapore Art Museum and SAM@8Q, in collaboration with the Singapore Biennale 2016;
Ng Yi-Sheng at LASALLE's McNally campus;
Boey Kim Cheng, Heng Siok Tian and Lee Tzu Pheng at the NUS Centre for the Arts, in collaboration with the NUS Festival of Arts 2017.
“Where is the point of stillness
mature art directs us to?”
“Let them receive sunlight and some fresh poems.”
“Only the poem will do
even as its edges vanish.”
“I want a loud poem,
A proud poem,
A head-high-touch-the-sky-unbowed poem”
“The correct answer to a mirror is always, yes. ”
“We cannot decide how a flag is to be flown;
we can only raise it, give it winds
and let it make change, on its own”
“And whose heart is not a hungry fish?”
“What is poetry but the music of the night?”
PHASE 1: NOV 2016
We have painted six poem excerpts at two venues: at the Arts House we have verses from Gwee Li Sui and Md Mukul; at The Esplanade's waterfront sidewalk we have verses from Ann Ang, Felix Cheong, Simon Tay and David Wong Hsien Ming.
“You alone know your garang-heart.”
“Me migrant
Live overseas
Thousand thousand miles away
Me migrant
Live outdoors
Outside from you”
“Perhaps love
is a view of stars
through the telescope of years”
“She needed to write about rain
and I was in her weather’s way”
“If you cannot learn to love
(yes love) this city
you have no other.”
“look all I’m saying is
life does all the work
and we let death take all the credit”
MEDIA COVERAGE
"Singapore's sidewalks will soon be covered in rain-activated poetry", Mrigaa Sethi, SG.Asia-City.com, 26 Aug 2016
"These 'invisible' poems at the Esplanade and Arts House are only revealed when it rains", Charmaine Ng, The Straits Times, 3 Nov 2016
"Spot these 'hidden poems' around town", Reena Devi Shanmuga Retnam, Today, 4 Nov 2016
"The hidden poetry of Singapore", Charmaine Ng, Asia News Network, 4 Nov 2016
"Local poets cover Esplanade's pavements with rain-activated poetry", Debayan Dutta, SG-Asia-City.com, 8 Nov 2016
Contact us here if you have any media enquiries.
SUPPORT
After the conclusion of our first Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for Singapore Poetry on the Sidewalks, we would like to thank the following people who had contributed funds to our public art project: Amber Lin; Berny Tan; Yongcheng Benjamin Tan; Ng Yi-Sheng; Sarah Lin; Abraham Lee; Daryl Lim Wei Jie; Pigar Mahdar; impetuously.pertinacious; Joses W. Ho; Lo Hwei Shan; Adib Jalal; Ashley Khor; Desmond Ang; Lune Loh; Dave Chua; tweedlingdum; Inch Chua; Thapliyal Shilpa; Gail Aw; angeline4649; Thian Wen Hao; Chan Lianghong James; Kenny Leck; Sasha KF Lim
Phase 2 of Singapore Poetry on the Sidewalks is supported by the National Arts Council and the #BuySingLit campaign. #BuySingLit is an industry-led movement to celebrate stories from Singapore. Advocating ‘Buy Local, Read Our World’, homegrown book publishers, retailers and literary non-profits have come together to encourage more people to discover and embrace Singapore’s literature. Through buying and reading local works, you support the writers who bear witness to our lives, as well as the businesses in our community that deliver these stories to us. Most of all, you will experience the profound joy of unravelling the multi-faceted world around you.