Open AccessIn Search for Canon of Singapore Malay Poetry: Reflection on Nature, Race, Religion and Love
Author(s) -
Hadijah Rahmat
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
malay literature/malay literature
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2682-8030
pISSN - 0128-1186
DOI - 10.37052/ml.26(1)no1
Subject(s) - malay , poetry , canon , independence (probability theory) , literature , politics , history , identity (music) , colonialism , art , gender studies , sociology , philosophy , aesthetics , political science , law , linguistics , statistics , mathematics , archaeology
This paper discusses selected poems by three generations of Malay writers in Singapore from the first generation poets who received their vernicular education during British colonial period, before Malayan Independence in 1957; to second generation writers who received Malay education when Singapore was part of Malaysia, 1957-1965 who established their poems in 1970s; and the third generation writers who received bilingual education who began to make impacts when Singapore become a Republic in 1980s. These iconic poems embody the easthetic as well as the cultural and political values of Malay society. It is an early attempt to define and search for canon of Singapore Malay poetry. Keywords: literature, canon, poetry, Singapore, culture, identity, values