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Tan's interest in writing developed rather late. Other than the odd limericks he wrote as a child, Tan started writing poetry only when he was in National Service. And having been educated in English and operating predominantly in English, he uses the language in all his writings although he does draw from the Chinese culture, myth and even idioms when writing them. To Tan, it is a pity that he does not possess the ability to write well in Mandarin.

Writings and influences

Tan belongs to a third younger generation of Singapore poets of whom most were born after 1960. He carved his name as a poet when he was an English undergraduate at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He was First Prize winner of the NUS Literary Society Poetry Competition in 1992 and 1993.

His first collection of poems, Curious Roads, published in 1994, chronicles his army life and his personal reminiscence of growing up. Like other third-generation poets, Tan also shares a preoccupation with cultural identity crisis. He went on to produce another volume of poetry Driving Into Rain, published in 1998. Driving Into Rain continues from Curious Roads as while Curious Roads seems like a personal journey, Driving Into Rain tells a young Singaporean's perspective of the world around him. These two collections of verse were winners of the Singapore Literature Prize competitions, Curios Roads in 1993 and Driving Into Rain in 1997. 

Tan laments the indifference given to poetry in Singapore compared to the other art forms like performing arts and visual arts and the fact that Singaporeans think that Singapore literature is a pale shadow of what the West can offer. He feels that publishers, bookstores, the establishment and the Singaporean public have a more active role to play. 

Tan considers the poems of Boey Kim Cheng in the volume Days of No Name (1996), Alfian Saat in One Fierce Hour (1998), and Yong Shu Hong in Isaac (1997) to be among the more distinct and significant poems by Singaporeans. 

Other achievements and contributions

Apart from clinching top spots in literary competitions, Tan's poems have also been included in Raffles Editions, an imprint under which winners of the Singapore Literature Prize (SLP) are published. However Raffles Editions was discontinued in 2001 due to financial constraints. Tan's poems have also been published in The Straits Times, The New Straits Times and The Commentary. 

Tan is active in promoting the art of writing poetry in Singapore, taking part in poetry sessions at bookstores (Borders), and acts as facilitator in events involving the writing of poetry among school children. In 2001, he and nine others organized and took part in a two-day poets' retreat where poets took time off to brainstorm activities, conduct discussions and writing exercises and share poetry.

Tan is also a contributor to the Quarterly Literary Review Singapore (QLRS), an online journal dedicated to covering the local creative writing scene.  He is also a broadcast journalist. 

Works
Collection of poems

Marsita Omar



References

Ng, K. C. (Ed.). Idea to ideal (p. 76). (2004). Singapore: Firstfruits publications.

(Call no.: RSING S821.009 IDE) 

Singh, K. (Ed.). (1999). Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature (Vol. 2, pp. 183-189). Singapore: Ethos Books.

(Call no.: SING 809.895957 INT) 

Tan, P. (1998). Driving Into rain. Singapore: Raffles Editions, 1998.

(Call no.: SING S821 TAN) 

Tan, P. (1994). Curious Roads. Singapore: EPB Publishers.

(Call no.: SING S821 TAN) 

Chow, C. (2001, July 9). No money, so they'll pulp fiction. The Straits Times.  Retrieved January 20, 2005, from Factiva database.

Khoo, E.. (2001, April 1). Singapore poets find their voice. The Straits Times.  Retrieved January 20, 2005, from Factiva database.

Khoo, E.. (2001, April 2). Literary tonic for poets. The Straits Times.  Retrieved January 20, 2005, from Factiva database.

Koh, B. S. (1993, December 18). There's money in poetry after all. The Straits Times, Life, p. 6. 

Koh, B. S. (1994, December 10). Snapshots of Singapore life captured in three collections. The Straits Times, Life, p. 44. 

National Book Development Council of Singapore. (n.d.).Singapore Literature Prize. Retrieved October 26, 2007, from http://www.bookcouncil.sg (then click on Singapore Literature Prize).

Patke, R. S. (2000, Spring). Poetry in English from Singapore. World Literature Today.  Retrieved October 26, 2007, from www.ethosbooks.com.sg (then click on Writing Resources > Articles on Singapore Literature > Poetry in English from Singapore).

Poetry Society. (2005). Poetry in Singapore. Retrieved October 26, 2007, from http://www.poetrysociety.org.uk (then click on Publications > Poetry News > Poetry News 2004 > Poetry in Singapore).

Tan, P. (2001, October).  Jasmine's father. Quarterly Literary Review Singapore (QLRS), 1 (1). Retrieved January 20, 2005, from http://www.qlrs.com (then click on Vol. 1 No. 1 Oct 2001 > Jasmine's Father).

Paul Tan Kim Liang: An overview. (n.d.).  Retrieved October 26, 2007, from http://www.postcolonialweb.org (then click on Singapore > Literature > Paul Tan Kim Liang)



The information in this article is valid as at 2007 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.