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Boey Kim Cheng. Boey went to Sydney with his wife in 1997 due to the state of literary and cultural politics in Singapore. Won first prize at the National University of Singapore Poetry Competition (1987) & National Arts Council's Young Artist Award (1996)
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Boey Kim Cheng • Boey went to Sydney with his wife in 1997 due to the state of literary and cultural politics in Singapore. • Won first prize at the National University of Singapore Poetry Competition (1987) & National Arts Council's Young Artist Award (1996) • In 1992 his first collection of poetry Somewhere-Bound won the National Book Development Councils Book Award for Poetry,In 1994 his second volume of poems Another Place received the commendation award. • After his father passed away Boey went on to write more poems which mostly related to Singapore. His view of life in Singapore is reflected in his poems. (which was that Singapore's rapid economic growth causes feelings of displacement and disconnection with the past )
Tone of Voice • The tone of voice is generally gloomy. • Hopelessness; because even the powerful Gods are not able to save the world from urbanising. • Disappointed; because humans are taking advantage of what they have. • Despair; because nature is slowly dying.
Subject & Theme • The subject of the poem is about destruction of nature and how the the earth is slowly dying due to human pollution. • The Theme is about Nature, and the many changes that have happened in the past few decades due to modernization and human activity. Especially in in his time spent iin Singapore before moving.
Purpose of this poem • The poet could have written this poem for many number of many reasons. However it is clear that he is not happy with what is becoming of the Earth and Human beings. • This poem could written to enlighten the humans of what their actions do and how we have to work hard to make the world better and cleaner.
Main Themes: • Progression into the future, but in a very soulless way. • The dissolution of a culture we once knew, and possibly of the human spirit
Loss of Culture? • “The country wears perfect rows of shining teeth…” The word “perfect” has connotations of standardization, similarity and a loss of diversity. With a loss of diversity within our world, we lose an individual identity, and culture is usually defined by the identity we carry within ourselves. • “The drilling goes right through the fossils of last century…” The word fossils conotates ideas of the past and what still remains of it, or what we can remember from it. Drilling, suggests ideas of destruction – hence a destruction of the past where all culture has developed or grown from. When we lose sight of the past, and a rich history, we begin to slowly, but inevitably lose our roots. • “But my heart would not bleed poetry. Not a single drop to stain the blueprint of our past’s tomorrow.” Blueprints could symbolize plans and a movement into a technologically driven future. Poetry – symbol of the arts and culture. Stain has a negative connotation – how culture could stifle a movement into the future? And in that sense it contributes to why we’ve lost sight of it? It is a cynical and criticizing end to the poem.
