Mohammad A. Quayum |
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This Reader is significant because it can be considered yet another milestone for Singapore literature in English. As far as this reviewer is aware, it is one of the first books, if not the first, which seeks to be a compendium of readings that gives a broad sweep of the field and information relevant to understanding it. As the editors explain in their introduction, it “seeks to fill a gap in the ready availability of relevant readings in one volume, since many of the contributions would have been dispersed in “individual, sometimes obscure, venues.” Interestingly, neither of its editors is Singaporean or works for a Singaporean institution, and it is not published in Singapore. This further suggests that Singapore literature in English now has significance beyond its natural boundaries. · Benedict Lin, RELC Journal 34 (2003): 249-251
Probably the most useful collection of its kind to have appeared as yet and an invaluable addition to the critical writing available on the field… it is an essential volume for anyone interested in Singaporean literature. · Journal of Commonwealth Literature (UK) 38.1 (2003): 151.
An excellent companion for anyone with an interest in Singapore writing… a credible follow-up to Malaysian Literature in English brought out by the same editors last year. · The Star (Malaysia), July 5, 2002.
Arranged in the order of definitions, genres, general literary criticism, and individual authors, the Critical Reader is actually being used in National University of Singapore (NUS) for a course entitled ‘Malaysian and Singaporean Literature in English.’… The editors [of this book] seem to have the ambition to lead public opinions, not just modestly reflecting the central role of the English language in the public discourse of the country. · Chiang Shu-chen, Sun Yat-sen Journal of Humanities (Taiwan), Summer 2003: 101-02.
Equally important, Singaporean Literature in English: A Critical Reader, edited by Mohammad A. Quayum and Peter Wicks, has perpetuated the… tradition in gathering together new and seminal essays on Singapore’s literature, helping prepare the way for further, book length, studies. · Tamara Wagner, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore Vol. 5, No. 1, Oct 2005. |
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SINGAPOREAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH: A CRITICAL READER |
