Month: November 2021

Reviewed by Ken Hickson

There are five very meaningful books which I’ve received and read in recent weeks. All produced in Singapore, but with wide international appeal. 

There’s a personal connection, too, with the authors and/or the publishers. If that means there’s favouritism or even bias in my reviews, so be it. 

Let’s start with Dr Ranjani Rao’s “Rewriting my Happily ever after”.

One would think it’s not so easy to write “a memoir of divorce and discovery”, but she’s done it with grace, sensitivity and honesty.  

There’s no holding back and no wallowing in misery in the process. Going through separation and divorce, then writing about it, could have been a soul-destroying experience, but Dr Rao admits: “I found myself by going through it”. 

It’s definitely not written in textbook-style – even though it’s the work of a scientist who just happens to be a very capable communicator – to take the reader through all the steps involved in successfully getting out of a troubled marriage. 

What this amiable pharmaceutical researcher admits is that her training prepared her to design logical experiments, to look closely at data and to never jump to a conclusion without supporting evidence. 

“I wrote scientific papers before I wrote personal essays. So rigor, revision and rejection were a part of my academic life.”

For some-one very used to test-tubes and all the modern high tech laboratory equipment used to experiment with chemical reactions to come up with cures and treatments, she has conjured up a very reader-friendly account, full of stories and anecdotes from life. 

I like to think of this book as a very welcome scientific discovery  – like a vaccine to tackle a virus – from the living laboratory of Dr Ranjani Rao.  

She herself experimented with many possible cures – yoga, medication, group therapy, new friends, change of environment, resigning from her well paid job – all part of adjusting to a life apart from a husband, but with her daughter beside her.

Yes, there’s a happy ending – or more correctly a new beginning – and there’s hope and reassurance for others going through similar life-changing moves.

I won’t tell you anymore, as I want to encourage everyone – happily married or not – to get this book and read it from cover to cover. 

We’ll be hearing a lot more – and reading more – from Ranjani, who I’ve got to know quite well from a few meetings over the last year or so.  You too can keep in touch with her and her work through her blogs, podcasts and website news: www.ranjanirao.com

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A very different book – and a short take on a very different life – is “Zero Visibility”.  

It’s a glimpse into the life of a real character. A Singaporean with a troubled past and a heart of gold. 

When I met up with Douglas Dylan Yeo – along with his co-author and publisher Floyd Cowan – at a Kallang pub recently, I learned a little more about the man of the moment. 

He spends a lot of his time these days delivering welcome food parcels to those seniors in Singapore, who are homebound or otherwise incapable of getting out to buy food for themselves. 

While the objective of the book is to tell the story of Douglas’s role in the rescue of the young football team trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand, we learn a lot more in the process. 

How he overcame his failings in the formal education process, but joined the Navy and learned new skills. He trained to become an experienced diver, undertaking complicated and risky salvage jobs throughout Asia. 

The experienced writer and editor Floyd Cowan certainly left his mark on this small book and while he admits it wasn’t easy getting the full story out of Douglas, he’s made sure it is a very well-written and readable tale to uncover. 

And maybe there’s more to come. Douglas expresses the wish – at the end of the book – “to go to India and help homeless kids”. 

Just as he played an important role in rescuing young Thai football players from a potential disaster, we will hear more from Douglas as his skills, his perseverance

and his passion are applied to help others, whether in war zones, under the sea or very much on land. In Singapore. In India. Or where-ever his heart takes him. 

Go here to learn more and see more of the man and his book “Zero Visibility”.

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The pandemic restrictions imposed on the population of Singapore meant we have to resort to novel ways and means to meet people. So, it was “a walk in the park” which first brought me into contact with Joanne Flinn. 

The first meeting was on a park bench in the Botanic Gardens, clutching a takeaway coffee from the nearby Gastronomia Café in Cluny Court. We talked a lot about books – mine mostly – and what we were doing with our respective working lives. 

We agreed to meet again – on the same park bench – and this time the author of “Karma” introduced me to her books and told me a lot more about what she sees as her role in life.  

“Karma” brings it all together in one handy volume. A guide. A bible of sorts. A welcome and  well-produced collection of handy hints for life and for business. 

The subtitle is a big clue to its contents: “How to stay calm and productive through coronavirus to the recovery”. 

The key to success – on the home front, in life and in business – is kindness, she concludes. It’s the last of 33 practical actions she sets out in this book, which we can all tackle. 

Not magic. Not medicine. But by working on any or all of the 33 carefully set out tips, we can all survive and thrive in these troubling and unpredictable times.  

Joanne has plenty of business and academic expertise to back this up. She also has a wealth of experiences of living and working in different places and different times. 

This book is a treasure. Unearth it. Polish it. Dig into it and uncover gems for living a better and more profound life.  

You can learn more about Joanne and her other books too, by going to www.karmainaction.works

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“Rice” by Alice Flinn Stilwell is another book Joanne Flinn introduced me to. “Cherished stories of the world’s favourite grain” was written by none other than her mother.  Joanne herself provided the artwork in one of her other persona: Anna Flinn or Booth Aster, the artist.

It’s a beautifully produced book of 160 pages, published and printed in Singapore, and distributed by Select Books.

It’s packed with tales, legends and true stories about rice – its history, its production as well as how its prepared and served around the world. 

The author’s husband was a rice scientist and spend many years in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australia. She tagged along, as her children did, until Alice decided on a life of professional editing of scientific publications after arming herself with a Masters in Communications.  

This book is the result of her travels and living in many different places, as well as her determined research to come up with 31 “legends” gleaned from 16 countries.  

It’s over to the reader to determine where there are “grains of truth” in these legends. But this book is written for readers the world over to appreciate what goes into the growing and production of rice. And preparing it to eat. 

It’s worth being reminded – as this book does well – that rice is eaten daily by 3.5 billion people. While rice is cultivated now in more than 100 countries, Alice tells us, 90% of it is grown in Asian countries by small farmers. 

Get a taste for rice – and cherish it in more ways than one – from this delightful collection of legends collected and presented by Alice Flinn Stilwell. Go to Select Books for this book and more: https://www.selectbooks.com.sg/product-page/rice-cherished-stories-of-the-world-s-favorite-grain-1

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On another subject completely is the final of the five books I’ve gathered together for this collective review. “Energise. Electrify. Empower. 20 Years and Beyond” is published by Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) and a copy was given to everyone who attended (in person) the Singapore International Energy Week last month. 

It’s a credit to the EMA. It’s very well produced and delves into the history of energy production and distribution in Singapore – going back to 1901 when electricity first came to light – and bringing us right up to today when the island state grapples with the transition to a cleaner energy future. 

The book is amply illustrated and well designed. Redbean De Pte Ltd is credited at the back for design and production. While printed in Singapore, the printer is not acknowledged.

As author and producer of two commemorative books in Singapore – one marking the 40^th anniversary of a charitable healthcare institute and the other about the property company Lend lease – I think it’s important to acknowledge all those involved in its writing, editing and production.

While no one person is credited as author, it does name four people at the EMA for “editorial”, along with another four people at The Nutgraf as editor and writers. 

The influence of EMA goes beyond just the energy industry. Two of its former chief executives are now playing important roles in the Government of the country. 

Lawrence Wong, CEO of the Energy Market Authority from 2008 to 2011,

is currently Minister of Finance, while he previously served as  Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (2012–2015), Minister for National Development (2015–2020) and Minister for Education(2020–2021).   Chee Hong Tat, who served as CEO of EMA from 2011 to 2014, is now Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Transport since 2020.

So full credit to EMA for producing a note-worthy commemorative book that really does go beyond 20 years to cover the important history of the electrification of Singapore. For more, go to www.ema.gov.sg. 

What would Shakespeare –  or lovers of his plays – make of this? 

A complete farce or a complete disaster? 

Neither.  

“The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a big piece of theatrical fun that maybe we all need at this time. 

So stop working from home and go to the theatre for a change. For fun. For a laugh. 

While it might not appeal to everyone – what play does? – it certainly goes out of its way to give a receptive audience a chance to sample Shakespeare in a way never seen and heard before. 

Yes, there are 3 performers on stage – with an occasional appearance by a fourth (or is he just a stage hand?) – presenting bits from 37 plays. All in 97 minutes. Whether it’s Shakespeare at its funniest or not is for you to establish. 

You can certainly – as the Singapore Repertory Theatre bills it – “experience Shakespeare like never before”. 

It might well have been  “London’s longest-running comedy” and it is certainly “an irreverent, fast-paced romp through the best bits of the Bard’s plays”. 

As someone who has greatly missed theatrical performances for the best part of 20 months, it was great to just sit in a theatre again – with safe distances and all other precautions in place – to lap up a show, even if it was very “different” to what we are used to. 

But let’s be clear: “Complete Works (abridged)” was certainly up to the usual fine standard set by SRT for the quality of performance and stage presentation. Brilliant!

Full marks to the 3 – or was it 4?  – performers who graced the stage, often in a not very graceful way. They were: Erwin Shah Ismail, Tia Andrea Guttensohn and Shane Mardjuki. Plus the often present “stage hand” Dennis Sofian. 

Director Daniel Jenkins pulled off an extremely difficult task. I don’t think the original creators of the show – the American-British trio of Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield – gave him the best product to work with. It doesn’t travel well from 1980’s West End – or the Elizabethan stage, for that matter – in my eyes. 

If you’re expecting a “tribute show” to one of the greatest playwrights of all time, this isn’t it.

If you’re expecting an irreverent and at times, downright silly, extravaganza on stage, with performers running riot with memorable bits of Shakespeare, this is your show.

I certainly encourage all SRT regulars – and others new to theatre – to go along and experience this show for themselves. It’s infectious in a way theatre needs to be as a distraction from the troubling times we are experiencing.

Do check when the show’s on, as it too has been plagued – as Shakespeare was in his day – by infections of a disabling sort. https://www.srt.com.sg/show/complete-works-shakespeare/

by Ken Hickson 

Extract from

Chapter 12 Leadership and Governance

In John O’Brien’s Stories from 2030 

Ken Hickson’s story from 2030 considers that global, as opposed to board, governance has been transformed by 2030 . This fits with his 2100 vision that saw things go a step further into a range of specialist areas of activity . For 2030, he sees ‘one global body above all others is led by and guided by true leaders, who know how to achieve success by working together. The best of business. The best of government.’ This delivers ‘True global governance. Ready to tackle — or prevent — wars, pandemics, cyberattacks and climate change.’

Ken is a journalist by training, working in newspapers, magazines, radio and television in New Zealand, before he succumbed to the wider world of communications, including public relations for airlines and a host of businesses throughout the Asia Pacific. Ken authored The ABC of Carbon )2009) and has lived in Singapore for many years .

The concepts of leadership and governance come together in Ken’s story and would provide the basis for a very different world. 

Global Collaboration

Sitting here in 2030, we found that the only way to go forward was collaboratively. In every way. That even sometimes meant that we had to adopt the title of the book Sleeping with the enemy: Achieving Collaborative Success by Charles Lines.

We are now close to achieving the ultimate in collaboration. We are doing away with all the silos within business organisations, in governments and in society.

We are rising above all the different Ministries and Departments. We are going beyond national governments and even the proliferation of UN agencies and NGOs.

So what we have in 2030 is the ultimate global collaborative organisation or corporation.

Launched in 2028, one global body above all others is led by and guided by true leaders, who know how to achieve success by working together. The best of business. The best of government.

In 2030, we have the most collaborative management system that the world has ever seen. True global governance. Ready to tackle — or prevent — wars, pandemics, cyberattacks and climate change.

Because its working together for the good of all. Not unlike the way countries and companies have managed to do in Space Exploration. Look at US and Russia working together at the Space Station. Look at China and the European Space agency working together on space missions.

It hasn’t stopped enterprise and innovation. It’s showing that we can make genuine progress by collaborating. Now we’re doing this on Earth, as well as in Space.

But we must remain transparent. We have to manage everything along ESG lines. Sustainability goes with collaboration. Enterprise goes with cooperation. Innovation goes with communication. 

Media is taking the lead — both mainstream and social media. Local, regional and global.

What is the name for this new big global body that brings the world together in a fashion unseen before?

It’s the Global Alliance for Planet Earth or GAPE

In English, the word “gape” means to be, or become, wide open. Through GAPE the world has become open and transparent. GAPE rules.

And who’s in charge as we start on the decade of the 2030s? The world’s most successful entrepreneurs and philanthropists along with global finance experts, economists and international development professionals. With them is a Board of Directors, made up of 30 leaders. Elected and/or nominated by industry groups, multinational business, governments, media, NGOs and UN agencies.

Then there’s a 30-person Council of Advisors, including Nobel Prize winners in science, literature and peace.

Finally, there’s genuine leadership for the world. Not by countries or companies competing against one another, but through collaborative enterprise.

GAPE rules the world. And everyone is happy. At long last. For good.

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Ken’s Visions 2100 contribution titled New World Order was a story about how global governance became greatly improved by 2100 through ‘the effective “privatisation” of the United Nations and all its agencies, merged in with private sector and non-government organisations.’

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For more about John O’Brien’s two Visionary books – and to purchase then –  go to: https://www.visions2100.com/buy-the-book

What’s on at the Singapore Writers Festival 5-14 November 2021? 

With the theme, Guilty Pleasures, this year’s Singapore Writers Festival, gets underway on Friday 5 November.  Festival Director Pooja Nansi has this to say to The Art of Travel: “We are leaning into this (theme) and boldly celebrating the things we love as we challenge the very notion of what belongs in a literary sphere. Through this year’s programmes, we want festival-goers to reconsider what they know as literary and explore unexpected ways of storytelling as we gravitate even more towards the things we enjoy during these periods of change and discomfort.”

Pooja Nansi – herself as established poet – answered four questions from us about her experience this year, putting together what will be a hybrid event, compared to last year’s totally virtual affair. Go here to read our questions and her very comprehensive answers.

Q1. I know it is very difficult planning and managing an event like SWF in these restrained times. Could you share more about what is considered a hybrid event, and what are some examples of events that festival goers can attend in person, and which are only online?   

• A hybrid festival essentially involves programming across digital and physical spaces in various formats. Eg: In person attendance, pre-recorded content and live streamed content. It is indeed challenging to plan for a hybrid event, but it has become necessary given the current climate. 

• A hybrid festival is more than including some physical programmes and hoping they can take place as they usually do. The programmes now need to adhere to the relevant safe management measures, while at the same time still be conducted in a manner that connects with the audiences and brings the programme’s message across. Finding the right balance between this is definitely a challenge, but it also makes the process very rewarding when the audiences enjoy and appreciate these physical programmes that are featured.

• Last year’s Festival was fully digital, and we are excited this year to organise a hybrid version to give Festival goers the chance to head down to experience some programmes in person. We will be having both online events that are either pre-recorded or happening live in real-time, as well as programmes that festival goers can attend physically. 

• Some in-person programmes include our collaboration with The Projector to screen three guilty pleasure films, Magic Mike XXL, Mean Girls, and Mortal Kombat. Festival goers will also have a chance to physically experience the festival in programmes like Speed Hating where Joses and Lucas Ho invite participants to bond and connect over their shared hatred, Singapore Crimes: A Tour which brings us through the grisly scenes of Singapore’s historical gruesome crimes, and even a performance titled Extinction Feast presented by Practice Tuckshop discussing symbols of prosperity in Chinese food culture. 

• For younger audiences, they can check out a Digital Comic-writing and Illustration Workshop by M. Sharif Ishni, or learn about the life and experience of pioneer Hedwig Anuar, at our Literary Pioneer exhibition located at the National Library Plaza. 

• For international audiences or those who are unable to join us in person, we have a variety of exciting programmes taking place digitally. These include Mixtape Memories, a programme where 20 writers and singers including Rai from Jack and Rai will take us through a nostalgic throwback of songs from the ’80s and ’90s,Translating Culture in Text, where Yan Geling and Amang discussing the dynamic relationship between the translator and the writer and the evolution of literary works across language and cultures. In line with this year’s theme of Guilty Pleasure, we also encourage festival goers to check out our cheeky programmes like What Kind of You are You? our Youth Fringe programme where Merve Emre and Crystal Abidin will discuss the rising phenomenon of personality tests and birth charts and Better than Sexting: Love Letters where Charlene Shepherdson and Ang Shuang read steamy and heartfelt excerpts of letters in the history of literature and delve into the intimacy of sending love letters.

• Some of our online programmes will be happening in-person whilst being live-streamed at the same time, for audiences to have the flexibility to choose which format they are the most comfortable with. This includes our Keynote Commision OBIT: The Art of Being, crafted specially for this year’s festival where Rizman Putra will share what it means to be “offbeat” and flamboyant in a world infatuated with presenting authenticity, or From Wet Market to Table where local cookbook authors and chefs Pamelia Chia, Shamsydar Ani, and Sarah Huang Benjamin share their kitchen stories and love for local produce. Last but certainly not least, we cannot forget the much anticipated Festival Debate: This House Believes You Should Always Upsize.

• To sign-up for any of our in-person events, festival goers can also go to the SISTIC page here.

Q2. Are there any meet the author sessions, or where media and other participants can buy a book and get it signed by the author? An essential for any writers’ festival, I would think.

• There will definitely opportunities for you to meet writers and purchase their books at various book launches including Yap Swi Neo’s You Might Want To Marry My Husband, Around The World in 68 days by Koh Buck Song, Priscilla Tey’s Twitchy Witchy Itch, and The Good Guys by Darren Chen. 

Q3. As I’m writing a preview of the festival and while I like the theme very much, did you decide on it because reading a book – or writing a book – can be considered “a guilty pleasure?  I know plenty of authors who have written a least one of their books – me included – without revealing to those close to him or her, what was being written.

• This year’s theme came about, in part, from how serious things were in the past year, and how we need a break from that and a departure to talk about things that bring joy instead.

• I also realised how people were turning to their “guilty pleasures” for comfort – be it a Korean drama, music or cringy romance novel they kept hidden under their pillow, guilty pleasures drew people in during challenging times.

• So for this year’s festival, we are leaning into this and boldly celebrating the things we love as we challenge the very notion of what belongs in a literary sphere. Through this year’s programmes, we want festival-goers to reconsider what they know as literary and explore unexpected ways of storytelling as we gravitate even more towards the things we enjoy during these periods of change and discomfort.

• This year’s festival will also have something for everyone – from crime/mystery thrillers and ghost stories, to chick lit, comics/manga/anime, and even food and erotica, we hope to bring some cheer and laughter to all our festival goers, and to also delve into the complicated relationship between guilt and pleasure.

Q4. What’s missing from this festival that you would like to make sure you include in future editions?

• Personally, I miss the physical festival grounds as a communal meeting space and I hope that as the world opens up, we are able to convene again in this manner in the not too far future. 

For more on the Festival programme, go to: https://singaporewritersfestival.com