-
Looking at Chulia Street off Raffles Place and Boat Quay now, no one would know what it was like before. Chulia Kampong, unlike Kampong Glam, has vanished from the map of Singapore. So I was intrigued by the description given by the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh in his novel, River of Smoke. The book, set
-
Going through The Writer’s Almanac, I found yesterday happened to be the birthday of William Blake (Nov 28, 1757, London – August 12, 1827, London). So here is a poem by him I read on The Literature Network:
-
When you think of P.G. Wodehouse, you think of pigs, aunts, potty earls and dapper younger brothers, unflappable omniscient butlers, goofy young men and irresistible young women – and a language that’s absolutely unique, peppered with words and phrases as funny and bizarre as the situations the characters get into. Wodehouse uses words and expressions
-
Today is the birthday of T.S. Eliot (September 26, 1888 – January 4, 1965). I dipped into The Four Quartets and was immediately captivated by the opening lines of the first poem, Burnt Norton: Time present and time pastAre both perhaps present in time futureAnd time future contained in time past.If all time is eternally
-
The Writer’s Almanac reminded me that yesterday was the birth anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940). So, of course, I had to dip into The Great Gatsby. Fortunately, you can read The Great Gatsby online for free. Now what’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions
-
Today is the birthday of Lord Alfred Tennyson (August 6, 1809 – October 6,1892). He’s one of the most popular poets in the English language, and was one of the last poets to sell as many books as a novelist. At his peak, he was one of the most famous people in England — possibly
-
I read this love poem a few days ago on The Writer’s Almanac run by Garrison Keillor and it reminded me of John Donne. It is witty and playful like Donne’s love poems.
-
Today is the birthday of Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 – July 8, 1822) — and Barack Obama as well. He turns 51 today. I have always loved Keats and the older I grow the more I like Wordsworth. Much of Shelley, however, goes clean over my head. I have no desire to read
-
Truman Capote once said of Gore Vidal: “I’m always sad about Gore – very sad that he has to breathe every day.” No more. Gore Vidal is dead, at the age of 86. There goes another literary lion. An acerbic literary lion, by most accounts. “I’m exactly as I appear,” he once said. “There is
-
After landing at Changi airport, I got into a taxi and was on my way home when I realized my laptop wasn’t with me. I asked the driver to pull over and opened the boot, but the computer wasn’t there. With a sinking feeling, I then remembered I had put the computer bag down on
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Readiscovery 