math paper press

SIKIT-SKIT LAMA-LAMA JADI BUKIT
by Annaliza Bakri
published by Math Paper Press

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When physical spaces make way for development, we risk historical amnesia. A place evokes a sense of belonging. It sustains our memory of who we are and where we are in the ebb and flow of humanity. Once lost, it can never be recovered. A person emptied of memory is one floating in an open sea without any anchor.

This anthology revisits lost places in Singapore. But not to reminisce or to evoke nostalgia. These poems express what these places mean to the poets and people who built this nation. They interweave social narratives with a strong desire to combat the loss of our memories, names, buildings, roads, trails, episodes, incidents, everything that is us and ours. They represent hope: of what was then, what we are, and what we can be.

Thought-provoking yet moving, these poems are the hidden gems of our literary tradition, unveiling a piece of our social tapestry with every turn of the page: a shared journey in which one rediscovers a lost fabric of our interwoven history. 

This anthology features award-winning poets such as Cultural Medallion recipients — Mohamed Latiff Mohamed and Suratman Makasan, accomplished poet-painters like Abdul Ghani Hamid and Suraidi Sipan, our brilliant Sufi poet — Johar Buang, as well as young talents such as Zulfadli Rashid and Noorhaqmal Mohamed Noor. Our acclaimed female poets Hadijah Rahmat, Amanah Mustafi and Kamaria Buang, also illuminate this poetic journey. These voices have been nothing but enlightening and empowering as they bear witness to the challenges and concerns of the people in the midst of change and transformation.

名的起源 (WHAT GIVES US OUR NAMES)
by 冯啟明 Alvin Pang
translated by 黄子明 Wong Chee Meng
published by Math Paper Press

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他的靈感源自一本書，就如你曾幾何時讀過，也特別珍愛的某一本書。但或許對你而言，書的封面是俗氣得叫你完全記不起。他採用的畫布，卻不僅是自己的肌膚，而簡直是自身 的生命。他花了不少日子，來述說別人的故事，彷彿這些故事的發現，也組成了他的自我。為了達到這樣的效果，他學會靜心而深入地觀察，把表面的繁瑣都看透，只留意到本質不變的色彩。一個接一個地，他在深夜裡將它們縫入自己的心坎裡，同時為它們逐個加以命名。他借用你故事裡不同的點滴，也就此觸動了你。只要你有意仔細端詳，故事都自在其中。