book
Arthur Yap published four major collections of poetry: only lines (1971), commonplace (1977), down the line (1980), and man snake apple & other poems (1986); and contributed a section of poetry in the anthology Five Takes (1974). These five publications are now out-of-print. The Collected Poems of Arthur Yap gathers the entire corpus of Arthur Yap’s poems, including his "vignettes" and other poems, in a single volume for the first time.
His work is notable for word play, original use of Singlish, and commentary on the values and priorities expressed by ordinary people in everyday situations. To this day, Yap's influence continues to impact the local literary and arts scene.
author
Arthur Yap is one of Singapore’s most important poets, and published four major collections of poetry. He obtained his PhD in Linguistics from the National University of Singapore in 1982, and taught at the Department of English Language and Literature there until 1998. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1983 for his contributions to literature in Singapore. Yap passed away in 2006 at the age of 63. His Collected Poems were published posthumously in 2013 by NUS Press, along with his only short story collection, Noon at Five O’Clock.
little red comma
Singapore fiction, reimagined. little red comma takes you between the lines of paragraphs and verses, in the digital space where you could see the ocean as an ant, think twice about your supermarket consumption, or bear the virtual weight of a kavadi. The project fuses Singapore fiction with new media, comprising digital adaptations of six diverse literary works that span the genres of poetry and short fiction, and featuring the following writers: Arthur Yap, Latha, Melissa De Silva, Mohamed Latiff Mohamed, Samuel Lee and Yeng Pway Ngon.
Commissioned by the National Arts Council, little red comma is produced by digital publisher Tusitala and presented by Esplanade. It is part of the #SGCultureAnywhere campaign that brings together the best of Singapore’s arts and culture digital offerings to be enjoyed and experienced, anytime and anywhere.