Inheritance: An Anthology

by Marie Ee (Editor)

Inheritance: An Anthology is a collection of Singapore poetry that questions the concept of home. It searches for meaning in the quiet and personal, but also in the broader narrative of our history. Where do we come from, and what does that make us? How do our origins change the way we live, and the way we relate to one another? Featuring a diverse group of poets and subjects, the anthology whispers tales of tenderness, melancholy and the complicated nature of love.

75 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Jiaying · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since taking up Street Photography, I gradually grown an interest in SingLit simultaneously. Seeing how both literature and photography are also interrelated in some manner albeit differing mediums, still creating an unsung rhapsody. Reading a vast collection of SingLit poetry or prose these days also allows me to plunge myself into an alternative experience unlike my own.

Entering the world of SingLit can seem elusive at first glance. But upon closer inspection with patience and the curiosity to discover your roots, a sense of familiarity will soon emerge. It can be as simple as post-it notes stuck on refrigerators or the underlying familial narratives that gradually transpire out of the simple act of having a family dinner, or the silent conversations that happen through the washing of dishes, the routine placing of plates on the drying rack, the act of flipping through photograph albums you took out from the cardboards and many more. And this is what I like about SingLit, familiar to us Singaporeans, the reader being placed as the protagonist of the story even though we’re reading through a writer’s account.

I believe SingLit is not just exclusively reserved for the ones who have taken up Literature at any point in their lives. It is about learning one’s place in your hometown and bringing awareness to one’s everyday habits, mannerisms & the nuances in-between which sparks insightful conversations. That it is an other integral part of our identity too. Not to be shunned away but rather to embrace and welcome it just as we’re continuously finding a sense of belonging within a diverse country like ours or within our own personal lives.

This is a quote by Daryl I believe sums up my growing sentiments on SingLit,
“these are narratives close to our heart. “SingLit matters because our stories should matter to us; SingLit matters because our lives, our communities, our wants and our desires should all matter to us. We deserve to be written about, chided, aggressively loved and fawned over. We deserve to see ourselves in print, in love, embodied in distant pasts and speculative futures, and engaged in epic struggles over issues that matter to us, existential or otherwise. SingLit matters because being Singaporean matters. SingLit matters because we are human too."


Few of my favourite poems within this Anthology
- Foreign Relations, Requiem (Theophilus Kwek)
- Chopsticks (Marylyn Tan)
- Thief (Eva Lim)
- Disappearance, In Another Home (See Wern Hao)
- Conditional (Rodrigo Dela Pena, Jr.)
- Ornament (Jerrold Yam)
- The Lesson (Charmaine Poh)
- Photograph (Janet Liew)
- Home (Marie Ee)
- Coming Out, Leaving Home (Cyril Wong)

[Jee Koh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slim pickings in a slim book featuring the work of younger Singaporean poets. Most of the poems are, unsurprisingly, about family, and most of these family poems are overly sentimental and all-too-pious for my taste. How refreshing then to re-encounter the work of Cyril Wong, whose unsparing poem "Coming Out, Leaving Home" closes the anthology with a jet of cold water in the face. He is oddly placed here, however, since he has already published many books. Outstanding among the newer names are Joy Chee, whose "mother comes back as a wok" imagines anew the hoary scene of mother and daughter cooking in a kitchen, and whose "the blank space where the body used to be" deploys the surprising perspective of the dead to good effect; Ian Chung, whose pantun "Presently Absent, Absently Present" employs the recurring form not just seamlessly, but movingly; and Jerrold Yam, who writes with uncharacteristic directness a poem about his father's koi pond, which brings parent and child together in their absence to one another.

[Melvin Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If home is where the heart is, what happens when “it’s complicated”? This poetry collection explores familial relationships on a deeply personal level. Sometimes tender, sometimes wistful, but always honest. I felt like a guest stepping into someone’s private abode. The anthology features a diverse group of poets, making it a well-curated read. It also has a distinct Singaporean flavor with a liberal use of local colloquialism. Read this if you like “What Gives Us Our Names.”

[Joely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some poems were a bit cryptic, but perhaps that’s how they’re supposed to be. I love the concept of an anthology of poems focused around cultural backgrounds and, more often than not, the clash of generations.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars*