Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the poetry of one of Singapore's most well-regarded poets, Boey Kim Cheng. It explores a recent anthology of poems, A Luxury We Cannot Afford, curated by Christine Chia and Joshua Ip, as well as the work of more established poets like Boey Kim Cheng, Yong Shu Hoong, and Toh Hsien Min, who were young adults in the 1980s and 1990s. The book offers an interesting inflection on Singapore's literary history by using Carolyn Miller's idea of genre as "social action". It also examines the contributions to the country's literary development of Enoch Ng, bilingual Chinese poet and independent publisher. The book discusses illuminating conjunctions between Singapore literature and the emerging field of global modernism, focusing upon four Singapore texts: Wang Gungwu's Pulse, Lloyd Fernando Scorpion Orchid, and Lydia Kwa's Pulse, as well as Kwa's volume of poetry, Sinuous.