Appendix Edwin Thumboo

Edwin Thumboo was born on the November 22, 1933, in Singapore of Chinese and Indian parent- age. Consequently, he grew up within cross-cultural dynamics which over the years gave him an insight into the challenges and potential enrichment of liv- ing in a multiethnic society and the instructions of history that included colonialism, foreign con- quests, merger, and finally independence for the land of his birth in 1954/1965. He attended Victoria School from 1948–1953, after which he went up to the University of Malaya (then located in Singapore), where he read English, History, and Philosophy, graduating with an Honours Degree in English (1957). After almost 10 years in the Civil Service (Income Tax, Central Providence Fund, and Telephone Board), he returned to teach at the University of Singapore in June, 1966, retiring as Emeritus Professor and currently holding the appointment of Professorial Fellow. He was a founding director of the National University of Singapore Centre for the Arts, relinquishing the post in September 2005. He was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in July 1980 for 10 years. Among the significant developments during his tenure was the doubling of the student population and the introduction of majors in Chinese language, English language, Japanese studies, Linguistics, European studies, mass communications, and psychology as well as the setting up of the Centre for Advanced Studies which has since evolved to the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy. Thumboo was Fullbright-Hayes Visiting Professor, Pennsylvania State University, USA (1979–1980); Writer-in-Residence, Institute of Culture and Communication, Hawaii (July–August 1985); Ida Beam Professor, University of Iowa, Iowa City (September–December 1986); Honorary Research Fellow, University College, University of London (March–September 1987); Senior

Fellow, Department of English, Australian Defense Force Academy, University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT, Australia (March–April 1994); George A. Miller Visiting Professor, Centre for Advanced Study, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA (October–November 1998); Visiting Professor, University of Innsbruck (2002); Visiting Professor, City University of Hong Kong (March–April 2007, January–May 2008, January–April/September– October 2009); Distinguished Visiting Professor, International Islamic University Malaysia (July–August 2008); and Eminent Visiting Professor, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (January–June 2013). His other appointments include Chairman, Commonwealth Association for Literature and Language Studies, VII Triennium (July 1983–June 1986); Member International Advisory Panel, East-West Center Hawaii, USA (1987); and Member, Committee of Jurors, Neustadt International Prize for Literature, Oklahoma, USA (February 1988). Thumboo has served on the board of various journals, including Westerly, Journal of World Englishes, Linguistics and the Human Sciences, and the recently launched Journal of World Languages. For Thumboo, what is closest to his heart and part of a lifelong commitment is his contribution to the growth of the writing of English in Singapore. He wrote his first editorial supporting the creation and study of a Literature in the 1952/1953 issue of Youth, the combined secondary school magazine. He continued this work in various ways at the University where his contemporaries included Ee Tiang Hong, Wong Phui Nam, Jeyaraj Rao, and Lloyd Fernando and was associ- ated as editor and/or contributor to the New Cauldron and Write. His first volume of poetry Rib of Earth was published in 1956. He initiated literary programmes/ activities such as Singa: Literature and Arts (founded in 1980 with the support of Masuri SN, VT Arasu, and Wong Yoon Wah); The Singapore Writer’s Week (opened 1986, since known Singapore Writer’s Festival); an Annual Residential Creative Arts programmed (1990–present); the Arts (April 1995–June 2004, 13 issues in all), and various literary and language symposia. He served on various committees, these include Member/Deputy Chairman, Street Names Committee, Ministry of Finance, Singapore (1969–2003); Committee Member, Detainees Aftercare Society (1970–1999); Member, Fajar Secondary School Advisory Committee, Singapore (December 1995–September 1997); Member, Singapore Youth Orchestra Management Board (2000–2002); Chairman, Arts Appeal Advisory Committee, Media Development Authority Singapore (February 2004– present); and Public Sculpture Appraisal Committee (September 2003–present). For his work in these areas, Thumboo has received awards including National Book Development Council of Singapore, Book Award for Poetry in English (1978, 1980, and 1994), Southeast Asia Write Award (1979), The Cultural Medallion (March 1980), ASEAN Cultural and Communication Award for Literature (August 1987), Public Service Star (August 1991), Raja Rao Award for contributions to the literature of the Indian Diaspora, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (October 2002), The Meritorious Service Medal (2006), Distinguished Service Award (2008), and most recently, the Suthorn Phu Award (2013). His publications of poetry include Gods Can Die (1977), Ulysses by the Appendix: Edwin Thumboo 127

Merlion (1979), A Third Map: New and Selected Poems (1993), Still Travelling (2008), 35 for Gothenburg (2009), Singapore Word Maps (2012), The Best of Edwin Thumboo (2012), and Word-Gate (privately printed and not for distribution, 2013). Among the places he has read are Durban Poetry Festival, International Medellin Poetry Festival, Melbourne Writer’s Festival, Perth Writer’s Festival, and Hyderabad Literary Festival. Studies of his work include Ee Tiang Hong, Responsibility and Commitment: The Poetry of Edwin Thumboo (1997), Peter Nazareth, Edwin Thumboo: Creating a Nation Through Poetry (2007/2008), Essays on Edwin Thumboo (edited by Jonathan Webster, 2009), Edwin Thumboo—Time-Travelling: A Selected Annotated Bibliography (2012), and the December 2013 issue of Asiatic (edited by Mohammed Quayum, International Islamic University Malaysia). Thumboo is currently engaged in his next two volumes of poetry, one of which is devoted to biblical themes and the other, chapters in biography focusing on the times he lived through. Index

A F Alliteration, 44, 104, 117 Foreground(-ed/-ing), 31, 49, 54, 55, 61, Apposition, appositive, 19, 50–53, 62, 64–66, 65–67, 91, 113 71 Fuzzy, 3, 4 Art, 44, 91, 92, 121 Astral, 113, 117, 119 G Grammar, 3, 5, 6, 8–10, 13, 14, 21, 25, 31, 77, C 91, 95, 96 Calculus, 107 Grammatical, 2, 3, 6, 9–11, 13, 17, 22, 24, 32, Cline, 3, 7, 10 33, 35, 43, 44, 46, 61–65, 70, 72, 75, Coleridge, 1, 4, 100, 102, 108 77, 79, 84, 85, 90, 118 Collocation(al), 13, 23 Grammatics, 10 Construe, 1, 3, 5, 8, 32 Craft, 30, 32, 75, 92, 96, 108 Creativity, 30, 31, 92, 95 H Halliday, M.A.K., 2, 8, 10, 32 Hasan, R., 1, 23 D Hexagram, 30, 61, 65, 72, 114–116, 118, 119 Dante, 103 History, 8, 9, 29, 50, 82, 98, 107–110, 115, Delicacy, 11 121–123 Dialogue, 34 Hypotaxis/hypotactic, 19, 20, 37, 41, 60–62, Discourse, 14, 24, 25, 30, 95, 102, 106 64, 65, 67, 87 Divine, 66, 74, 76, 77, 95, 103 Duality, 6, 50, 102, 116, 117 I Ideational, 15, 18, 20, 24, 25, 32, 35 E Ideology, 1, 14, 102, 115 Eliot, T.S., 30, 46, 94, 96 Imperative, 22, 24, 42, 44, 86, 91 Ellipsis, 66, 72 Indeterminacy, 3–6 English, 3, 6, 9–11, 16, 17, 24, 29, 31, 42, Infinitive, 50, 51, 71, 78 98–100, 105, 107, 121, 123 Interpersonal, 14, 15, 20–22, 24, 25, 31, 32, Ergative, 4, 17, 18 41–43

K R Kachru, B., 98, 107, 108 Rankshift(-ed/-ing), 12 Keats, J., 30, 82, 84, 90 Recursive(-ly), 12, 86 Rhythm, 29, 30, 44, 122 Rhyme(-ing), 83, 84, 93, 122 L Lexical, 10, 13, 23, 24 Lexicogrammar, 5, 10, 14, 25, 31 S Linguistics/linguistic, 4, 5, 9, 10, 13, 14, 22, Semiotic, 1, 3–5, 13, 31 24, 31, 44, 95, 107 Semogenic, 10, 32 Literary, 44, 113, 115 Social, 1, 4, 5, 14, 29, 31, 115 Logical, 14, 18, 25, 35, 41, 44, 87, 88, 90, 93 Strata/stratum/stratal, 5–7, 13, 25 Syllable, 71, 90, 99, 101–103, 106 Symbol(-ic), 19, 72, 83, 93, 101–103, 105, 116 M Systemic, 5, 9, 10, 14, 32 Matthiessen, C.M.I.M, 18 Meaning-making, 1, 2, 5, 10, 32, 79, 84 Metafunctional(al), 14, 15 T Metaphor, 1, 5, 30, 32, 46, 61, 84 Texture, 22, 23, 32, 42 Mind, 2, 4–6, 24, 30, 72, 91, 92, 102, 103, Thumboo, E., 12, 29, 30, 32, 44, 45, 49, 83, 121, 122 98, 103, 108, 110, 112, 120 Modality, 14, 22, 42, 43 Transitive (-ity), 4, 14, 16, 17, 25, 35, 43, 63

N V Nominal, 10–12, 14, 16, 23, 35, 50, 62, 64, 65, Verbal, 1, 10, 15–18, 23, 30, 31, 75, 82, 103 71, 77, 104, 119

W P Wordsworth, W., 50, 79, 100, 105–108 Parataxis/paratactic, 19, 20, 41, 50, 51, 60–62, 65–67, 87, 90 Phonology/phonological, 5, 14, 24, 25 Post-modification/post-modified, 12, 61, 62, 70, 71, 77, 85, 91, 104, 118