Follow Dashboard



Robert Yeo - Singaporean Poet, Playwright and Novelist
Monday, March 4, 2013 | 5:05 PM | 0 comments
Robert Yeo



"Most Singaporean of Singapore Writers"


Born in 1940 to a Peranakan family, Robert Yeo (Yeo Cheng Chuan) grew up in a Kampong in Hougang which later provided inspiration for some of his works. He graduated from University of Singapore (now known as National University of Singapore) with a Bachelor in English and went on to attain his Masters in Comparative Education at London Institute of Education. Being a strong advocate of a unique Singaporean tradition in writing, Yeo encouraged greater inclusion of the study of Singaporean literature into the school curriculum during his many years of lecture at National Institute of Education and Nanyang Technological University. Poet and critic Aaron Lee has described Yeo as being "the most Singaporean of Singapore writers". 


His works

Poetry

1971 :
Coming Home Baby.

1974 : Five Takes 1974 (with four other poets).

1977 : And Napalm Does Not Help.

1989 : A Part of Three: Poems.

1999 : Leaving Home, Mother: Selected Poems.



Plays

1974 : Are You There, Singapore?

1980 : One Year Back Home.

1988 : Second Chance.

1992 : The Eye of History.

1997 : Changi.



Novel

1986 : The Adventures of Holden Heng.

Editorial
1978 : Singapore Short Stories Vol. 1 & 2.
1979 : Prize-winning Plays Vol. 1-4.
1981 : ASEAN Short Stories.
1984 : To Cipher and To Sing: Ideas and Activities for Literature Teaching (co-author with M. P. Liu).
1986 : ACLALS Bulletin, 7th Series, No.4, Commonwealth Fiction 2 (co-editor with Kirpan Singh).
1987 : Magic 1 and 2: Poems for Lower Secondary Schools.
1989 : Singapore Short Stories.
1990 : Prize-winning Plays IV.
1991 : Modern ASEAN Plays, Singapore.
1992 : Ripples: Short Stories for Secondary Schools.
1993 : Singular Stories: Tales from Singapore Vol. 1.
1996 : Second Chance: A cross cultural casebook (co-author with Guy Sherbone).
2000 :
Singapore Short Stories

Libretto
2006 : Fences (completed, opera remains unstaged).
2009 : Kannagi (The Story of the Jewelled Anklet).

Selected short stories
2004 : The Professor


Awards

1991 : Public Service Medal for "services to drama".

2011 : SEA Write Award for a lifetime of writing.



Information from 
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1324_2008-10-09.html and http://www.tribute.sg/artistprofile.php?chapter=1

Labels: ,