Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #SingLit
Most recents (4)
Whoever said that you should write the way you talk has never been to Singapore.
Over here, the word 'straight' means 'upright', 'lying down', 'horizontal', 'vertical', 'diagonal', 'taut', 'flush', 'direct', and even, on the rarest and most exalted of occasions, 'straight'.
'Arrow' means to get someone else to do something, and also 'arrow'.
'Bite' means 'chew', until it means 'bite'.
'Bottle' means 'jar', except when it means 'bottle'.
'Offer' means a promotional price, or it could mean 'offer'.
'Shag' means 'exhausted'—nothing else.
'Bite' means 'chew', until it means 'bite'.
'Bottle' means 'jar', except when it means 'bottle'.
'Offer' means a promotional price, or it could mean 'offer'.
'Shag' means 'exhausted'—nothing else.
Singapore is safe.
Which means Singapore is boring.
Singapore is a poor setting for most pulp-style stories.
Save for one genre:
Horror.
/1
Which means Singapore is boring.
Singapore is a poor setting for most pulp-style stories.
Save for one genre:
Horror.
/1
To understand why, let's look at history.
The region we now called Singapore was originally settled by the Malays.
Prior to Islam and Hinduism, the Malays practiced a folk religion combining animism and shamanism.
These practices still survive today.
/2
The region we now called Singapore was originally settled by the Malays.
Prior to Islam and Hinduism, the Malays practiced a folk religion combining animism and shamanism.
These practices still survive today.
/2
2000 years ago, Indian ships first arrived in the Malay Archipelago.
As trade between Indian and Malay states grew over the centuries, the region absorbed Hinduism and Buddhism from India.
/3
As trade between Indian and Malay states grew over the centuries, the region absorbed Hinduism and Buddhism from India.
/3
Wuxia. Xianxia. Cultivation.
Among the hottest fiction trends today, and the genre I'm working on next.
I've been looking into the genre for years, but everywhere I looked I found too many power fantasies, too few actual wuxia.
It shows a lack of understanding of the genre. /1
Among the hottest fiction trends today, and the genre I'm working on next.
I've been looking into the genre for years, but everywhere I looked I found too many power fantasies, too few actual wuxia.
It shows a lack of understanding of the genre. /1
Wuxia should be the stuff of legends.
Highly-skilled warriors in a milieu of danger and respect. Adventure in exotic realms. A world where you can earn your place with your sword.
But beyond that, wuxia has one more element:
Ethics.
It's right there in the name.
/2
Highly-skilled warriors in a milieu of danger and respect. Adventure in exotic realms. A world where you can earn your place with your sword.
But beyond that, wuxia has one more element:
Ethics.
It's right there in the name.
/2
Wuxia is commonly translated as 'martial hero' into English.
The meaning of 'hero' is well-known.
'Martial' has a neutral connotation. It means the ways of war.
The meaning of wuxia seems obvious: a hero who uses martial arts.
But this is not what wuxia means in Chinese.
/3
The meaning of 'hero' is well-known.
'Martial' has a neutral connotation. It means the ways of war.
The meaning of wuxia seems obvious: a hero who uses martial arts.
But this is not what wuxia means in Chinese.
/3
It's a sad thing to see your local writing scene descend into the mire of Social Justice.
However distasteful the phrase 'culture war' may seem to outsiders, there IS a war to control the culture. Your culture. And it's everywhere. /1
However distasteful the phrase 'culture war' may seem to outsiders, there IS a war to control the culture. Your culture. And it's everywhere. /1
Currently Singapore is running a month-long writer's festival.
Yesterday there was a debate on whether men have ruined modern feminism.
Today there will be a talk about the 'brown experience', immigration and globalism.
/2
Yesterday there was a debate on whether men have ruined modern feminism.
Today there will be a talk about the 'brown experience', immigration and globalism.
/2
Other programmes include:
-Discussion of colonialism through language
-Identity politics through writing
-Subversion, inclusiveness and representation
-The political correctness of writing creatures from cultures not your own
-Intersectionalism
/3
-Discussion of colonialism through language
-Identity politics through writing
-Subversion, inclusiveness and representation
-The political correctness of writing creatures from cultures not your own
-Intersectionalism
/3
