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held his first solo art exhibition featuring 44 square abstract paintings at the
National Library in Stamford Road. Yap went on to have a total of seven solo exhibitions in Singapore, as well as participating in group exhibitions in Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. Yap's paintings were also chosen to represent Singapore at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in 1972.
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Yap was also a painter. His passion for painting began in 1967 when he was working as a Pre-University
English Literature teacher at the Serangoon Gardens English School. During the weekends he would pick up the brush, expressing himself through his abstract works of art. On 13 April 1969 Arthur Yap
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was published in 1971, when he was 28. It had a first print run of 2,000 to 3,000 copies. Its whimsical, wordplay-based humour captured the hearts of poetry lovers, and it won the first poetry award from the
National Book Development Council of Singapore in 1976. An analysis of the poems from
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describes Yap's poems as "original, but... demanding: elliptical, dense, dry, sometimes droll. At their best, they shuttle between playfulness and sobriety and are alert to the rhythms and contours of the natural and the peopled landscape, seasoning insight with compassion."
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in the years after he returned from Leeds. He stayed on in the university's
Department of English Language and Literature as a lecturer between the years 1979 and 1998. Between 1992 and 1996, Yap served as a mentor with the Creative Arts Programme run by the
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in
Bangkok. Yap described this as one of the high points in his literary career. Translations of his books were published in many Asian countries, mainly in the Japanese, Mandarin and Malay languages. In 1988, Yap won his third Book Council Award for
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After a two-and-half-year battle with throat cancer, Yap died in his sleep at home on 19 June 2006. He was 63. The cancer had recurred in 2004, and Yap underwent major surgery to remove his voice box.
305:, which was used worldwide for the 'O' Levels from 1991 to 1992. Yap's poems 'In Passing', about the restlessness of the modern world, and 'Old House at Ann Siang Hill' were included in
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The pun on the word 'plot' in this passage, denoting both a storyline and a piece of land, suggests a dimensionality in the language that belies the dismissive adjective 'only'.
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finds moments of both celebration and apology for the power of the written word. At times he begins his verses as if in mid-conversation with the reader:
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to help inspire students and nurture young writers at local secondary schools and junior colleges. Yap was then diagnosed with lung cancer, and received
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Other signature features of Yap's poems include his choice of simple words, and the use of all-lowercase style favoured by
American poet
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with the precision of acrolectic
English. Unsurprisingly, the craft of Yap's voice has the admiration of other writers.
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Yap's poetry is distinctive for an unusual linguistic playfulness and subtlety that is able to bridge the rhythms of
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374:, a collection of his short stories, in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Yap's paintings decorated both book covers.
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191:. At Leeds Arthur earned a master's degree in Linguistics and English Language Teaching, later obtaining his
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285:(1980) was acclaimed and won Yap his second Book Council Award. In 1983, Yap was honored with Singapore's
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Arthur Yap was born in
Singapore, the sixth child of a carpenter and a housewife. Yap attended
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722:"Who's afraid of 'chao ah beng'? Overseas universities use Singaporean literature to teach"
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In 1998, Yap received the
Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award for English.
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as one of the Top 10 English
Singapore books from 1965 to 2015, alongside titles by
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The Second Tongue: An Anthology of Poetry from Malaysia and Singapore
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97:: Poetry award by the National Book Development Council of Singapore
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Sydney. Yap also served as the general editor of literary magazine
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has praised Yap's "sophisticated cosmopolitan intelligence". The
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A selection from each of Yap's previous books was compiled in
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The Calling of Kindred: Poems from the English-speaking World
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treatment. Yap was known to be an intensely private man.
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Yap, Stephanie (6 April 2008). "Poet of the interior".
618:"Spontaneous feeling that comes right from the heart"
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Noon at five o'clock: the short stories of Arthur Yap
670:"Cambridge picks second S'pore book as O-level text"
333:. Selected poems of his are on the reading lists of
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Recipients of the Cultural Medallion for literature
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724:. Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times
281:was published in 1977. The third collection,
796:"Enter Singa, the pride of Spore's writers"
744:"Journal looking for local literary talent"
301:One of Yap's short stories was included in
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366:Life! Books section. NUS Press published
228:"with elation and occasional awe", while
163:; 1943 – 19 June 2006) was a Singaporean
956:National University of Singapore alumni
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519:
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460:The space of city trees: selected poems
353:The Space of City Trees: Selected Poems
234:Oxford Companion to 20th-Century Poetry
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919:at Quarterly Literary Review Singapore
896:. Singapore. 14 April 1969. p. 4.
1041:21st-century Singaporean LGBTQ people
1026:20th-century Singaporean LGBTQ people
966:Singaporean people of Chinese descent
566:"Too much Eliot and alas, no Ulysses"
892:"One-man show by 'weekend artist'".
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436:(Heinemann Educational Books, 1980)
321:, and collected in anthologies like
16:Singaporean poet, writer and painter
822:"The collected poems of Arthur Yap"
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430:(Heinemann Educational Books, 1977)
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1046:Alumni of the University of Leeds
1011:20th-century Singaporean painters
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473:The collected poems of Arthur Yap
447:Man Snake Apple & Other Poems
368:The collected poems of Arthur Yap
355:published in 2000. Extracts from
296:Man Snake Apple & Other Poems
19:For the Filipino politician, see
1031:20th-century Singaporean writers
917:Arthur Yap: Uniquely Singaporean
867:"Tomes that show us how we live"
224:has written that he encountered
197:National University of Singapore
981:Deaths from cancer in Singapore
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359:were subsequently published in
720:Sin, Yuen (15 February 2016).
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323:New Voices of the Commonwealth
240:His first collection of poems
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961:Deaths from esophageal cancer
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499:2 mothers in a hdb playground
258:linked by the same old story.
424:(Federal Publications, 1971)
291:South-East Asian Write Award
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109:South-East Asian Write Award
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345:, first published in 1981.
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1006:Singaporean LGBTQ painters
976:S.E.A. Write Award winners
930:'s article on Arthur Yap:
873:. Singapore Press Holdings
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1036:20th-century male artists
1021:20th-century male writers
696:"He holds up mirrors ..."
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644:"Winners have their say"
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335:West Virginia University
277:Yap's second collection
1001:Singaporean LGBTQ poets
449:(Heinemann Asia, 1986)
357:The Space of City Trees
303:Singapore Short Stories
289:for Literature and the
262:in which they are grown
181:University of Singapore
844:"Noon at five o'clock"
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167:, writer and painter.
135:Arthur Yap Chioh Hiong
67:19 June 2006 (aged 63)
50:Arthur Yap Chioh Hiong
913:at thedrunkenboat.com
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202:Ministry of Education
770:"Make the lion roar"
501:(down the line,1980)
372:Noon at five o'clock
339:New York University
311:McMaster University
256:here are only lines
185:University of Leeds
147:traditional Chinese
1016:20th-century poets
871:The Business Times
650:. 11 November 1983
598:. 1 September 1982
488:(NUS Press, 2014)
475:(NUS Press, 2013)
384:The Business Times
327:The Flowering Tree
287:Cultural Medallion
254:should i also add:
177:St Andrew's School
139:simplified Chinese
104:Cultural Medallion
971:Singaporean poets
894:The Straits Times
846:. NUS Press. 2013
824:. NUS Press. 2013
800:The Straits Times
774:The Straits Times
750:. 28 January 1983
748:The Straits Times
699:The Straits Times
674:The Straits Times
648:The Straits Times
622:The Straits Times
596:The Straits Times
570:The Straits Times
546:. 11 October 1988
544:The Straits Times
526:The Straits Times
362:The Straits Times
260:the same old plot
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802:. 4 January 1981
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572:. 9 August 1983
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540:"Private Poet"
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776:. 2 July 1983
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701:. 30 May 1982
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996:Gay painters
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119:Chinese name
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951:2006 deaths
946:1943 births
728:15 February
428:Commonplace
393:Daren Shiau
279:Commonplace
123:family name
83:Nationality
940:Categories
506:References
455:9971641089
442:9971640023
422:Only Lines
247:Only Lines
242:Only Lines
72:Occupation
63:2006-06-19
991:Gay poets
877:5 January
850:20 August
828:20 August
806:20 August
780:20 August
754:20 August
705:20 August
680:20 August
654:20 August
628:20 August
602:20 August
576:20 August
550:20 August
377:In 2015,
195:from the
171:Biography
111:, Bangkok
86:Singapore
77:Pedagogue
399:Painting
298:(1986).
218:Singlish
179:and the
117:In this
911:3 poems
315:Ontario
189:England
592:"1976"
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453:
440:
319:Canada
212:Poetry
157::
155:pinyin
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121:, the
75:Poet,
416:Works
408:Death
343:Singa
879:2015
852:2014
830:2014
808:2014
782:2014
756:2014
730:2016
707:2014
682:2014
656:2014
630:2014
604:2014
578:2014
552:2014
490:ISBN
477:ISBN
464:ISBN
451:ISBN
438:ISBN
391:and
370:and
337:and
329:and
165:poet
100:1983
95:1976
57:Died
52:1943
47:Born
313:in
193:PhD
187:in
151:葉緯雄
143:叶纬雄
128:Yap
125:is
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