ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the development of Singapore's queer literature in English from its uncertain beginnings to its current burgeoning, if ambivalent, state. Singapore's queer literary scene is alive and well, with LGBT-themed texts enjoying wide readership and, on occasion, support from government-linked institutions. Foreign visitors documented this subculture in their writings. Paul Theroux's 1973 novel Saint Jack, for instance, is set in Singapore, and features a gay sex worker blackmailing a US Senator as one of its key plot points. In contrast, the Singaporean writers of the '60s and '70s appear to have blocked all explicit mention of LGBT persons in their work. Chandran Nair's 1972 poem "no love for snakes, and this being poisonous" only makes reference to queer sexuality through negation. Homosexuality is portrayed as a natural and acceptable form of sexuality in the play. This is in line with the government's campaign against AIDS, and homosexuality is one of its main causes.
