Amanda Chan
Article
Amanda Chan writes poems that present everyday encounters as symbolic responses to time, love and loss. Amanda studied English Literature as an undergraduate. Her enjoyment of the meaning and musicality of words began with a reading habit instilled by Mum, practical criticism classes taught by a fantastic literature teacher, and listening to radio plays in Mandarin. Amanda has worked in publishing and taught English. She is currently working on poetry and narratives featuring Singapore.
Contact: achan011 [at] gold [dot] ac.uk
Summary
鈥極bservation鈥�, 鈥楾elegraph Hill Park鈥� and 鈥楢 Taxi Driver鈥檚 Day at Work in Singapore鈥� are poems that draw on everyday encounters to tell a story about characters whose actions resonate with greater significance than these might appear to.
鈥極bservation鈥� captures a moment of tension between two unnamed characters to set up a quiet gesture of appeasement.
鈥楾elegraph Hill Park鈥� is based on a description of a boy I saw joyfully riding his bicycle in the park that gives this poem its title. To express that joy and playfulness visually, the lines are made to mimic movement: Sentences unfold, with the use of capital letters or the lack of deliberately showing where each sentence moves as it begins, continues and ends. Factual observations of the boy and his friends conclude on a more judgemental note when the speaking voice finally expresses what their actions really symbolise.
An encounter with a taxi driver while I was on my way to work motivated me to write 鈥楢 Taxi Driver鈥檚 Day at Work in Singapore鈥�. This poem questions an assumption made of taxi drivers 鈥� that they are uneducated and cannot speak well in English. Written with a rhythmic beat so that the poem might be enjoyed as spoken word poetry, and inspired by Arthur Yap鈥檚 poetry, the cadence of direct and reported speech is presented in a mix of Englishes 鈥� Received Pronunciation, a less formal variation of Singapore English and the most informal variant of Singapore English (or Singlish) with a hint of dialect.
Observation
The couple who might have fought
Had cake to ease her frown 鈥�
He with tattooed arm,
She with Band-Aid on aged thumb;
Such tenderly measured sugar he added
Into her milk drenched tea.
Telegraph Hill Park
The boy zips up and down on his bike,
brakes recklessly,
rolling
down
the slope. He whoops,
getting to the end to begin again.
They form a perfect knot on the patch,
he, and his track-suited teenage friends.
Not giving up the rough-
and-tumble,
voices on the brink
of a fight
(maybe rough talk signals some romance),
they cuss and shout, daring each other to take
one-night stands at fourteen;
Nudging and teasing, they move
to play imaginary football in the tennis courts.
Holding the late, long summer beat
hostage,
existential comfort is their game.鈥�
A Taxi Driver鈥檚 Day at Work in Singapore
鈥淯ncle, g贸a ai ki 51 Edgefield Plains.
Punggol Secondary School can? You know how to go?鈥�
The taxi driver nods and lets me in.
He starts my ride with options for this route.
But just before I鈥檓 settled
His English makes me wonder
Why I spoke in broken dialect
When I first got on his cab.
Taxi uncle launches
His diatribe on warning letters,
Traffic fines and cameras
That caught his comrades in the act:
鈥淐ustomer service!鈥� was all they had
To defend illegal stops.
鈥�Should is poison!
We need Cannots, Must nots
In our traffic laws.
These will make it easier
For us to do our duty.
It鈥檚 common sense. It鈥檚 logic!鈥�
He tells me why he speaks
For drivers in the Union 鈥�
His English, learnt from work abroad,
Means smart, aggressive business talk is what he can afford.
鈥淲hen I tell them what the best route is or disagree, some
Customers complain. They say, Uncle,
Why you so fierce? But when they
Get to where they want 鈥� fast, cheap, safe,
They say thank you
And I get awards. Is it wrong to sound so fierce?鈥�
I can鈥檛 reply when taxi uncle navigates
The route we鈥檒l take, narrating histories
Of the changing streets
In that same disgruntled, kindly breath.
