Lil thingz
The other day during Singapore Lit, Cyril Wong (and that marks a record high of two Cyrils I know of) came down to give a guest lecture. It wasn’t a lecture lecture per se (what am I trying to say); more of an informal exchange of ideas and free flow of thoughts about poetry, writing, Singapore society (cue nervous laughter) and other things that inspire this fine man.
Oh wow, an unnecessary amount of parentheses.
He mentioned that he found his poems talked about the small things in life more often than not. I’m paraphrasing, so I might have gotten words mixed up, but the meaning is the same. His poems do not tend to be about life’s big events or SG politics or the post WW2 era, as I’ve noticed tends to be the trend for the voice of our sunny island, but about the little things that make up our psyche and that make us alive. Cannot for the life of me find his poem about taking a bath, and I’m not in the most convenient of positions to get my lit text (i.e., sprawled on my bed), but it is precisely the themes of the seemingly mundane that he explores with such grace and fluidity. I have always thought it remarkable if a writer could get one interested in topics one would usually brush aside.
Listening to him muse about his life on stage got me a little choked up (I know, wtf). Knowing someone who has a fine mix of practicality and idealism can succeed on his own terms gives me that tinge of Hope and Faith that good will prevail. As narcissistic as it may sound, I saw a bit of myself in him when my lecturer asked him, “What’s next? Will you keep writing?” and he replied without missing a beat, “always, I will always write.”
This is the module that I am sacrificing my birthday morning for to take an exam. But y’know, with these little nuggets of wisdom that I pocket at the end of each lesson, it is actually panning out to be a rather good deal. I have always liked Literature, because it is a discipline that teaches you how to feel - and that is essential in keeping the soul alive.
Today when I met a good friend at the Jurong East library, we spent a good amount of time catching up. And on hindsight it made me think of Cyril Wong’s speech on Tuesday. Though vastly unrelated, it was the undertones of the meet up that hinted strongly at the need to appreciate the finer things and people in life every chance you get - something I’m positive Cyril would have advocated. It was a wonderful catch up with one of the rare few people I will always make an effort to keep close to me, and I now know that Cafe Galilee serves not-too-bad pasta.
