Edwin Thumboo
Encyclopedia
Edwin Nadason Thumboo is an award-winning Singapore
an poet and academic
who is regarded as one of the pioneers of English literature in Singapore.
Thumboo graduated in English from the University of Malaya in 1956. Although he applied for a position at the university, he was rejected as few locals held academic posts at that time. He therefore worked in the civil service
for about nine years before finally joining the university, then renamed the University of Singapore, in 1966 following Singapore's independence. He received a Ph.D.
from the university in 1970. Thumboo rose to the position of full professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, heading the department between 1977 and 1993. After the merger of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University
in 1980 to form the National University of Singapore
(NUS), he was the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences from 1980 to 1991, NUS's longest-serving dean. Thumboo was the first Chairman and Director of the university's Centre for the Arts from 1993 to 2005, and continues to be associated with the university as an emeritus professor, a position he has held since retiring from full-time teaching in September 1997.
Thumboo's poetry is inspired by myth and history, and he is often dubbed Singapore's unofficial poet laureate
because of his poems with nationalistic
themes. A pioneer of local English literature, he compiled and edited some of the first anthologies
of English poetry and fiction
from Singapore and Malaysia. His own collections of poetry include Rib of Earth (1956), Gods Can Die (1977), Ulysses by the Merlion (1979) and A Third Map (1993). His latest anthology Still Travelling, consisting of almost 50 poems, was published in 2008. Thumboo has won the National Book Development Council of Singapore Book Awards for Poetry three times, in 1978, 1980 and 1994. He has also received the inaugural S.E.A. Write Award
(1979), the first Cultural Medallion for Literature
(1979), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) Cultural and Communication Award (Literature) (1987), and the Raja Rao Award
(2002). He was conferred a Bintang Bakti Masyarakat
(Public Service Star) in 1981 with an additional Bar in 1991, and the Pingat Jasa Gemilang
(Meritorious Services Medal) in 2006.
on 22 November 1933, was the eldest of eight children of a Tamil
schoolteacher and a Teochew Chinese
-Peranakan
housewife from a Singapore
an merchant family. He and his siblings grew up speaking English and Teochew. The family was financially comfortable; their home in Mandai
was the only one in the neighbourhood with electricity. Because of his mixed parentage, as a child he was sometimes called names and marginalized. This was said to have fostered determination and self-respect in him. He completed his primary education at Pasir Panjang Primary School in 1940. During the Japanese occupation of Singapore
(1942–1945), he helped his family by selling cakes, tending goats, and working as a salesboy. Following the war, he studied at Monk's Hill Secondary School
(finishing there in 1946) and Victoria School
(1948). It was at the latter place that he began writing poetry at the age of 17 years, encouraged by the senior English master Shamus Frazer. Thumboo considers Frazer his spiritual father, and later dedicated Rib of Earth (1956), his first collection of poetry published while an undergraduate, to him. At this time, Thumboo was also a member of the Youth Poetry Circle, which counted among its members other early literary pioneers of Singapore such as Goh Sin Tub
and Lim Thean Soo.
Thumboo majored in English literature and history at the University of Malaya. As a freshman
, he was a member of the editorial board of Fajar (Dawn in Malay
), a radical leftist
journal published by the University Socialist Club. The seventh issue of Fajar which appeared in May 1954 contained an editorial entitled "Aggression in Asia" which advocated independence from the United Kingdom. Three days later, Chinese middle school
students clashed with the police. As a result, after two weeks Thumboo was arrested by the British colonial government together with seven other students and put on trial for sedition
. Minister Mentor
and former Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew
, who was the Club's legal adviser and a Fajar subscriber, arranged for British Queen's Counsel
D. N. Pritt to act in their defence, with Lee himself as junior counsel. The students were acquitted of the charge by District Judge F. A. Chua.
Thumboo graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
with honours (B.A. (Hons.)) in English in 1956. Hoping to teach and pursue a further degree, he applied for a position at the university but was rejected as few locals held academic posts at that time. He therefore entered the civil service
, working for the Income Tax Department (1957–1961), Central Provident Fund Board (1961–1965), and the Singapore Telephone Board (1965–1966) where he was an assistant secretary. In 1966, the year following Singapore's independence, he joined the University of Singapore as an assistant lecturer. Conducting doctoral research into African poetry in English, he received his Ph.D.
from the university in 1970. He became a full professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, heading the department between 1977 and 1993. The University of Singapore and Nanyang University
merged in 1980 to form the National University of Singapore
(NUS), and he was the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences from 1980 to 1991, NUS's longest-serving dean.
As an academic, he taught Elizabethan and Jacobean drama
, the Romantic poets
, Malaysian and Singaporean literatures
, and creative writing
, among other subjects. His research interests included the modern novel
(E. M. Forster
, D. H. Lawrence
and Joseph Conrad
) and the novels of Empire
(such as Rudyard Kipling
), Commonwealth
literature (including Botswana
writer Bessie Head
), and William Shakespeare
's Roman plays. When he headed the English Department, it introduced the study of Commonwealth/New Literatures in English, and of English language
as a major so that graduates would be better equipped to teach English in schools and junior college
s. Thumboo was appointed a Professorial Fellow
by NUS in 1995 and continues to be associated with the university as an emeritus professor, a position he has held since he retired from full-time teaching in September 1997. He served as the first Chairman and Director of the university's Centre for the Arts from 1993 to 2005.
Thumboo also held visiting professorships and fellowships at universities in Australia, the UK and the US. He was Fulbright
-Hayes Visiting Professor at Pennsylvania State University
(1979–1980); Chairman of the Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies, VII Triennium (1983–1986); Writer-in-Residence at the Institute of Culture and Communication, Hawaii (1985); Ida Beam Professor at the University of Iowa
in 1986; a member of the International Advisory Panel at the East-West Centre, Hawaii (1987); Honorary Research Fellow at University College, University of London
(1987); a member of the Committee of Jurors for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature
in Oklahoma
, USA (1988); CAS–Miller Visiting Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(1998), Visiting Professor and Writer-in-Residence at University of Wollongong
in New South Wales
(1989); and Visiting Fellow at the Department of English, Australian Defence Force Academy
(1993). In 1991, Thumboo worked with the Ministry of Education
to help establish the Creative Arts Programme for secondary school
and junior college students in Singapore. He continues to mentor young poets under the programme.
on him, they dealt with aesthetic
and metaphysical
themes. By the mid-1970s, he had shifted his focus to the public sphere, believing that poets of post-independence Singapore should work towards creating a national literature. Singapore's national life was a key subject of his collection of poetry Gods Can Die (1977), and it has been said that the subsequent anthologies
Ulysses by the Merlion (1979) and A Third Map (1993) "established his reputation as a national poet committed to articulating a cultural vision for a multicultural Singapore". Thumboo is often dubbed Singapore's unofficial poet laureate
because of his poems with nationalistic
themes, notably 9 August – II (1977), and Ulysses by the Merlion (1979) which was published in the anthology of the same name. Ulysses, which references an iconic statue of a beast with the upper body of a lion and the tail of a fish called the Merlion
that faces Marina Bay, was inspired by the use of Irish mythology
and history by W. B. Yeats. The Irish poet has asserted a significant influence on Thumboo, as Thumboo recognizes parallels between Ireland's nationalistic struggle and Singapore's breakaway from colonialism
. He describes himself as a myth-inspired poet, and sees myths as ancient narratives and structures which provide a stable point of reference for a multicultural society. Ulysses has prompted other Singaporean poets such as Alfian Sa'at
, Vernon Chan, David Leo
, Felix Cheong
, Gwee Li Sui
, Koh Buck Song
, Lee Tzu Pheng
, Alvin Pang
and Daren Shiau
to write their own Merlion-themed verses; it is often joked that one cannot be regarded as a true Singapore poet until one has written a "Merlion poem". A copy of Ulysses is installed on a plaque near the statue.
History also features strongly in Thumboo's poetry. He has said:
In August 2008, The Straits Times
said that Thumboo's "most powerful legacy" was "spearheading the creation of a Singapore literature in English", although Thumboo himself downplayed his pioneering role by commenting: "There were not that many people writing in 1965, so you had the feeling that you had to create something. But you don't stand there and say, 'Look, I am a pioneer'. There is a need to do something, to help go about creating something, and you do it." He compiled and edited some of the first anthologies
of English poetry from Singapore and Malaysia, including The Flowering Tree (1970), Seven Poets (1973) and The Second Tongue (1979). He was also the general editor of two multilingual anthologies sponsored by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) Committee of Culture and Information entitled The Poetry of Singapore (1985) and The Fiction of Singapore (1990). In addition to the collections of poetry already mentioned, he has published two volumes of poetry for children called Child's Delight (1972), and another collection called Friend: Poems (2003). Still Travelling, an anthology consisting of almost 50 poems, was published in 2008.
On 29 October 2001, at the launch of a book entitled Ariels: Departures and Returns – Essays for Edwin Thumboo at the Singapore Art Museum
, Associate Professor Robbie Goh said:
in 1979, the first Cultural Medallion for Literature
in 1979, and the ASEAN Cultural and Communication Award (Literature) in 1987. In October 2002, he presented the keynote address at the biennial meeting of the International Association of World Englishes at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There, he was presented with the Raja Rao Award
for his contributions to the literature of the Indian diaspora
.
Thumboo was conferred a Bintang Bakti Masyarakat
(Public Service Star) in 1981 with an additional Bar in 1991, and the Pingat Jasa Gemilang
(Meritorious Services Medal) as Distinguished Poet and Literary Scholar in 2006.
A selection of his poems is available at .
themes, reflecting the fact that he was born into a Protestant
Christian
family and baptized
as an adult. Thumboo and his wife Yeo Swee Ching live in Bukit Panjang
, a suburban area in the central northwestern part of Singapore. They have a son Julian, the head of rheumatology
at the Singapore General Hospital
; a daughter Claire, who is a physician; and seven grandchildren to whom he dedicated Still Travelling (2008).
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an poet and academic
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
who is regarded as one of the pioneers of English literature in Singapore.
Thumboo graduated in English from the University of Malaya in 1956. Although he applied for a position at the university, he was rejected as few locals held academic posts at that time. He therefore worked in the civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
for about nine years before finally joining the university, then renamed the University of Singapore, in 1966 following Singapore's independence. He received a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from the university in 1970. Thumboo rose to the position of full professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, heading the department between 1977 and 1993. After the merger of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University
Nanyang University
Nanyang University was a university in Singapore from 1956 to 1980. During its existence, it was Singapore's only Chinese language post-secondary institution...
in 1980 to form the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
(NUS), he was the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences from 1980 to 1991, NUS's longest-serving dean. Thumboo was the first Chairman and Director of the university's Centre for the Arts from 1993 to 2005, and continues to be associated with the university as an emeritus professor, a position he has held since retiring from full-time teaching in September 1997.
Thumboo's poetry is inspired by myth and history, and he is often dubbed Singapore's unofficial poet laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
because of his poems with nationalistic
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
themes. A pioneer of local English literature, he compiled and edited some of the first anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of English poetry and fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
from Singapore and Malaysia. His own collections of poetry include Rib of Earth (1956), Gods Can Die (1977), Ulysses by the Merlion (1979) and A Third Map (1993). His latest anthology Still Travelling, consisting of almost 50 poems, was published in 2008. Thumboo has won the National Book Development Council of Singapore Book Awards for Poetry three times, in 1978, 1980 and 1994. He has also received the inaugural S.E.A. Write Award
S.E.A. Write Award
The S.E.A. Write Award, or Southeast Asian Writers Award, is an award that has been presented annually since 1979 to poets and writers in Southeast Asia....
(1979), the first Cultural Medallion for Literature
Cultural Medallion
The Cultural Medallion is a Singapore cultural award conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, literature, music, photography, art and film....
(1979), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated ASEAN rarely ), is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has...
(ASEAN) Cultural and Communication Award (Literature) (1987), and the Raja Rao Award
Raja Rao
Raja Rao was an Indian writer of English language novels and short stories, whose works are deeply rooted in Hinduism. Raja Rao's semi-autobiographical novel, The Serpent and the Rope , is a story of a search for spiritual truth in Europe and India...
(2002). He was conferred a Bintang Bakti Masyarakat
Bintang Bakti Masyarakat
The Bintang Bakti Masyarakat , instituted in 1963, is awarded to any person who has rendered valuable public service to the people of Singapore, or who has distinguished themselves in the field of arts and letters, sports, the sciences, business, the professions and the labour movement.Bars may be...
(Public Service Star) in 1981 with an additional Bar in 1991, and the Pingat Jasa Gemilang
Pingat Jasa Gemilang
The Pingat Jasa Gemilang , instituted in Singapore in 1962. The Medal may be awarded to any person who has performed service of conspicuous merit characterised by resource and devotion to duty, including long service marked by exceptional ability, merit and exemplary conduct within Singapore...
(Meritorious Services Medal) in 2006.
Early years
Edwin Thumboo, born in SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
on 22 November 1933, was the eldest of eight children of a Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
schoolteacher and a Teochew Chinese
Teochew people
The Chaozhou people are Han people, native to the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong province of China who speak the Teochew dialect. Today, most Teochew people live outside China in Southeast Asia especially in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. They can also be found almost anywhere in the...
-Peranakan
Peranakan
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era....
housewife from a Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an merchant family. He and his siblings grew up speaking English and Teochew. The family was financially comfortable; their home in Mandai
Mandai
Mandai is the name of an urban planning area located in the North Region of Singapore. Mandai Road passes through the area, linking Woodlands Road to Upper Thomson Road....
was the only one in the neighbourhood with electricity. Because of his mixed parentage, as a child he was sometimes called names and marginalized. This was said to have fostered determination and self-respect in him. He completed his primary education at Pasir Panjang Primary School in 1940. During the Japanese occupation of Singapore
Japanese Occupation of Singapore
The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between about 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore...
(1942–1945), he helped his family by selling cakes, tending goats, and working as a salesboy. Following the war, he studied at Monk's Hill Secondary School
Monk's Hill Secondary School
Monk's Hill Secondary School was a secondary school located near Newton Food Centre in Singapore which operated from 1958 to 2006.- History :...
(finishing there in 1946) and Victoria School
Victoria School
Victoria School in Singapore is a government secondary school for boys, founded in 1876, at Siglap Link, about one kilometre from affiliated Victoria Junior College....
(1948). It was at the latter place that he began writing poetry at the age of 17 years, encouraged by the senior English master Shamus Frazer. Thumboo considers Frazer his spiritual father, and later dedicated Rib of Earth (1956), his first collection of poetry published while an undergraduate, to him. At this time, Thumboo was also a member of the Youth Poetry Circle, which counted among its members other early literary pioneers of Singapore such as Goh Sin Tub
Goh Sin Tub
Goh Sin Tub was a well-known pioneer of Singaporean literature. He was a prolific writer of numerous book titles, which includes bestsellers like the The Nan-Mei-Su Girls of Emerald Hill, The Ghost Lover of Emerald Hill, and the Ghosts of Singapore...
and Lim Thean Soo.
Education and career
Thumboo majored in English literature and history at the University of Malaya. As a freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
, he was a member of the editorial board of Fajar (Dawn in Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
), a radical leftist
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
journal published by the University Socialist Club. The seventh issue of Fajar which appeared in May 1954 contained an editorial entitled "Aggression in Asia" which advocated independence from the United Kingdom. Three days later, Chinese middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
students clashed with the police. As a result, after two weeks Thumboo was arrested by the British colonial government together with seven other students and put on trial for sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
. Minister Mentor
Minister Mentor
Minister Mentor is a Singapore cabinet position created in 2004 as part of a leadership transition.The newly appointed Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong , announced Lee Kuan Yew's new title together with the naming of his Cabinet on August 12, 2004...
and former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
, who was the Club's legal adviser and a Fajar subscriber, arranged for British Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
D. N. Pritt to act in their defence, with Lee himself as junior counsel. The students were acquitted of the charge by District Judge F. A. Chua.
Thumboo graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
with honours (B.A. (Hons.)) in English in 1956. Hoping to teach and pursue a further degree, he applied for a position at the university but was rejected as few locals held academic posts at that time. He therefore entered the civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
, working for the Income Tax Department (1957–1961), Central Provident Fund Board (1961–1965), and the Singapore Telephone Board (1965–1966) where he was an assistant secretary. In 1966, the year following Singapore's independence, he joined the University of Singapore as an assistant lecturer. Conducting doctoral research into African poetry in English, he received his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from the university in 1970. He became a full professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, heading the department between 1977 and 1993. The University of Singapore and Nanyang University
Nanyang University
Nanyang University was a university in Singapore from 1956 to 1980. During its existence, it was Singapore's only Chinese language post-secondary institution...
merged in 1980 to form the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
(NUS), and he was the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences from 1980 to 1991, NUS's longest-serving dean.
As an academic, he taught Elizabethan and Jacobean drama
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
, the Romantic poets
Romantic poetry
Romanticism, a philosophical, literary, artistic and cultural era which began in the mid/late-1700s as a reaction against the prevailing Enlightenment ideals of the day , also influenced poetry...
, Malaysian and Singaporean literatures
Literature of Singapore
The literature of Singapore comprises a collection of literary works by Singaporeans in any of the country's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil....
, and creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
, among other subjects. His research interests included the modern novel
Modern novel
The first modern novel has generally been ascribed to a series of picaresque novels, most famously Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes....
(E. M. Forster
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...
, D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
and Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
) and the novels of Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
(such as Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
), Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
literature (including Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
writer Bessie Head
Bessie Head
Bessie Emery Head is usually considered Botswana's most influential writer.-Biography:Bessie Emery Head was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, the child of a wealthy white South African woman and a black servant when interracial relationships were illegal in South Africa...
), and William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Roman plays. When he headed the English Department, it introduced the study of Commonwealth/New Literatures in English, and of English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as a major so that graduates would be better equipped to teach English in schools and junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
s. Thumboo was appointed a Professorial Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
by NUS in 1995 and continues to be associated with the university as an emeritus professor, a position he has held since he retired from full-time teaching in September 1997. He served as the first Chairman and Director of the university's Centre for the Arts from 1993 to 2005.
Thumboo also held visiting professorships and fellowships at universities in Australia, the UK and the US. He was Fulbright
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
-Hayes Visiting Professor at Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
(1979–1980); Chairman of the Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies, VII Triennium (1983–1986); Writer-in-Residence at the Institute of Culture and Communication, Hawaii (1985); Ida Beam Professor at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
in 1986; a member of the International Advisory Panel at the East-West Centre, Hawaii (1987); Honorary Research Fellow at University College, University of London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
(1987); a member of the Committee of Jurors for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature
Neustadt International Prize for Literature
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award for literature sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international literary publication, World Literature Today. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious international literary prize after the Nobel Prize in...
in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, USA (1988); CAS–Miller Visiting Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
(1998), Visiting Professor and Writer-in-Residence at University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong is a public university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(1989); and Visiting Fellow at the Department of English, Australian Defence Force Academy
Australian Defence Force Academy
The Australian Defence Force Academy is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and tertiary academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force .Tertiary education is provided by the...
(1993). In 1991, Thumboo worked with the Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education (Singapore)
The Ministry Of Education is a ministry of the Government of Singapore that directs the formulation and implementation of policies related to education in Singapore.-Statutory boards:...
to help establish the Creative Arts Programme for secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
and junior college students in Singapore. He continues to mentor young poets under the programme.
Poetry and influence
In the 1950s, Thumboo wrote mostly lyrical poetry based on personal experiences. Displaying the influence of the English literary traditionEnglish literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
on him, they dealt with aesthetic
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
and metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
themes. By the mid-1970s, he had shifted his focus to the public sphere, believing that poets of post-independence Singapore should work towards creating a national literature. Singapore's national life was a key subject of his collection of poetry Gods Can Die (1977), and it has been said that the subsequent anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Ulysses by the Merlion (1979) and A Third Map (1993) "established his reputation as a national poet committed to articulating a cultural vision for a multicultural Singapore". Thumboo is often dubbed Singapore's unofficial poet laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
because of his poems with nationalistic
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
themes, notably 9 August – II (1977), and Ulysses by the Merlion (1979) which was published in the anthology of the same name. Ulysses, which references an iconic statue of a beast with the upper body of a lion and the tail of a fish called the Merlion
Merlion
The Merlion is a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, used as a mascot of Singapore. Its name combines "mer" meaning the sea and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese...
that faces Marina Bay, was inspired by the use of Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
and history by W. B. Yeats. The Irish poet has asserted a significant influence on Thumboo, as Thumboo recognizes parallels between Ireland's nationalistic struggle and Singapore's breakaway from colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
. He describes himself as a myth-inspired poet, and sees myths as ancient narratives and structures which provide a stable point of reference for a multicultural society. Ulysses has prompted other Singaporean poets such as Alfian Sa'at
Alfian Sa'at
Alfian bin Sa'at is a Singaporean writer, poet and playwright. He is a Muslim of Minangkabau, Javanese and Hakka descent,. He is known for his provocative works and is often referred to as his country's enfant terrible.-Early life:...
, Vernon Chan, David Leo
David Leo
David Leo is a writer in Singapore. Leo received a Publishers Prize for Ah … The Fragrance of Durians & Other Stories in 1993, a National Book Department Council Book Awards for works in English in 1994 for The Sins of the Father and Singapore Literature Prize commendation in 1995 for Wives,...
, Felix Cheong
Felix Cheong
Felix Cheong is a Singaporean author, and poet.Cheong has written two young adult fiction books used as part of a national education campaign – The Call From Crying House and its sequel, The Woman In The Last Carriage .Cheong's first collection of poetry, Temptations, and Other Poems was...
, Gwee Li Sui
Gwee Li Sui
Gwee Li Sui is a literary critic, a poet, and a graphic artist from Singapore.- Biography :Gwee began education at the now-defunct MacRitchie Primary School and then continued at Anglo-Chinese Secondary School, Anglo-Chinese Junior College, and the National University of Singapore...
, Koh Buck Song
Koh Buck Song
Koh, Buck Song is a writer, editor and consultant in branding, communications strategy and corporate social responsibility in Singapore.-Selected Published Works:Koh, Buck Song is the author and editor of 20 books.His non-fiction books include:...
, Lee Tzu Pheng
Lee Tzu Pheng
Lee Tzu Pheng was born and educated in Singapore. She has a Ph.D in English from the National University of Singapore from where she has recently retired as a Senior Lecturer in its English Department...
, Alvin Pang
Alvin Pang
Alvin Pang was named 2005 Young Artist of the Year by the National Arts Council Singapore. He holds a First Class Honours degree in English Literature from the University of York and an Honorary Fellowship in Writing from the University of Iowa's International Writing Program...
and Daren Shiau
Daren Shiau
Daren Shiau , a novelist, poet, conservationist and lawyer in private practice qualified in Singapore, England and Wales, has been described by The Arts Magazine as "among the most exciting of the post-1965 generation of writers" and cited by the travel guide Lonely Planet: Malaysia, Singapore and...
to write their own Merlion-themed verses; it is often joked that one cannot be regarded as a true Singapore poet until one has written a "Merlion poem". A copy of Ulysses is installed on a plaque near the statue.
History also features strongly in Thumboo's poetry. He has said:
In August 2008, The Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
said that Thumboo's "most powerful legacy" was "spearheading the creation of a Singapore literature in English", although Thumboo himself downplayed his pioneering role by commenting: "There were not that many people writing in 1965, so you had the feeling that you had to create something. But you don't stand there and say, 'Look, I am a pioneer'. There is a need to do something, to help go about creating something, and you do it." He compiled and edited some of the first anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of English poetry from Singapore and Malaysia, including The Flowering Tree (1970), Seven Poets (1973) and The Second Tongue (1979). He was also the general editor of two multilingual anthologies sponsored by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated ASEAN rarely ), is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has...
(ASEAN) Committee of Culture and Information entitled The Poetry of Singapore (1985) and The Fiction of Singapore (1990). In addition to the collections of poetry already mentioned, he has published two volumes of poetry for children called Child's Delight (1972), and another collection called Friend: Poems (2003). Still Travelling, an anthology consisting of almost 50 poems, was published in 2008.
On 29 October 2001, at the launch of a book entitled Ariels: Departures and Returns – Essays for Edwin Thumboo at the Singapore Art Museum
Singapore Art Museum
The Singapore Art Museum contains the national art collection of Singapore. It has a collection of 7,750 pieces of Singaporean and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, and has an expanding collection of new Asian and international contemporary art.- History :Officially opened in 1996, it...
, Associate Professor Robbie Goh said:
Awards
Thumboo has won the National Book Development Council of Singapore Book Awards for Poetry three times, in 1978 for Gods Can Die (1977), in 1980 for Ulysses by the Merlion (1979), and again in 1994 for A Third Map (1993). He also received the inaugural S.E.A. Write AwardS.E.A. Write Award
The S.E.A. Write Award, or Southeast Asian Writers Award, is an award that has been presented annually since 1979 to poets and writers in Southeast Asia....
in 1979, the first Cultural Medallion for Literature
Cultural Medallion
The Cultural Medallion is a Singapore cultural award conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, literature, music, photography, art and film....
in 1979, and the ASEAN Cultural and Communication Award (Literature) in 1987. In October 2002, he presented the keynote address at the biennial meeting of the International Association of World Englishes at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There, he was presented with the Raja Rao Award
Raja Rao
Raja Rao was an Indian writer of English language novels and short stories, whose works are deeply rooted in Hinduism. Raja Rao's semi-autobiographical novel, The Serpent and the Rope , is a story of a search for spiritual truth in Europe and India...
for his contributions to the literature of the Indian diaspora
Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin
A Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...
.
Thumboo was conferred a Bintang Bakti Masyarakat
Bintang Bakti Masyarakat
The Bintang Bakti Masyarakat , instituted in 1963, is awarded to any person who has rendered valuable public service to the people of Singapore, or who has distinguished themselves in the field of arts and letters, sports, the sciences, business, the professions and the labour movement.Bars may be...
(Public Service Star) in 1981 with an additional Bar in 1991, and the Pingat Jasa Gemilang
Pingat Jasa Gemilang
The Pingat Jasa Gemilang , instituted in Singapore in 1962. The Medal may be awarded to any person who has performed service of conspicuous merit characterised by resource and devotion to duty, including long service marked by exceptional ability, merit and exemplary conduct within Singapore...
(Meritorious Services Medal) as Distinguished Poet and Literary Scholar in 2006.
Select bibliography
A fuller list of works by and about Thumboo may be viewed at . The bibliography edited by R. Ramachandran and Phan Ming Yen provides the most comprehensive listing of works by him and on him.A selection of his poems is available at .
Poetry collections
. and ......Personal life
Some of Thumboo's poems have biblicalBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
themes, reflecting the fact that he was born into a Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
family and baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
as an adult. Thumboo and his wife Yeo Swee Ching live in Bukit Panjang
Bukit Panjang
Bukit Panjang is a suburban area situated in the Central North-Western part of Singapore. The Bukit Panjang Planning Area, located in the West Region, encompasses the Housing Development Board's housing estate of Bukit Panjang New Town and the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.-Etymology:Bukit in the...
, a suburban area in the central northwestern part of Singapore. They have a son Julian, the head of rheumatology
Rheumatology
Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...
at the Singapore General Hospital
Singapore General Hospital
The Singapore General Hospital is the largest and oldest hospital in Singapore, of which the foundation of its first building was laid in 1821....
; a daughter Claire, who is a physician; and seven grandchildren to whom he dedicated Still Travelling (2008).