Issue

Jul–Sep 2017

1 July 2017

East of Suez and other stories in BiblioAsia Volume 13, Issue 2

In this issue, we discover how fake news is old news, we learn about Singapore's most notorious murders and we examine the local fascination with horror stories.

Cover of BiblioAsia magazine titled "Fact & Fiction: East of Suez," with a vintage illustration of people launching a boat.

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Director’s Note

Fake News: Since When Was It News?
Lying, as it appears, is as old as history. Farish A. Noor explains. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

A History of Singapore Horror
Singaporeans have always had a morbid fascination with the supernatural. Ng Yi-Sheng examines the culture of horror in our oral folklore, books and films. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

East of Suez: The Mystique of Travel
Rudyard Kipling coined the phrase “East of Suez” to describe the exotic lands east of the Suez Canal. Kennie Ting goes back to a time when people were travellers, not tourists. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

Murder Most Malevolent
Sunny Ang, Mimi Wong, Adrian Lim and John Martin Scripps are some of the most cold-blooded murderers in Singapore’s crime history. Sharon Teng revisits their horrific acts. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

Swan & Maclaren: Pioneers of Modernist Architecture
Singapore’s oldest architectural firm may be better known for designing the Raffles Hotel but it’s their 1930s Modernist buildings that are truly revolutionary. Julian Davison has the details. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

Sci-Fi in Singapore: 1970s to 1990s
The sci-fi frenzy took off in Singapore in 1978 when Star Wars was screened at cinemas here. Nadia Arianna Bte Ramli looks at sci-fi works produced between 1970s and 1990s. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

Alam Puisi Melayu Singapura Selepas Merdeka
Singapore’s Malay publishing scene was thrown into disarray when the country exited Malaysia in 1965. Juffri Bin Supa’at charts the development of Malay poetry in Singapore since Independence. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

Reel Life Singapore: The Films of Clyde E. Elliott
Clyde Elliott was the first Hollywood director to shoot a feature film in Singapore. Chua Ai Lin examines the authenticity of the three movies he produced here in the 1930s. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

An Unusual Ambition: The Early Librarians
Bonny Tan traces the careers of little-known librarians, Padma Daniel and her mentor Kate Edith Savage-Bailey, and the circumstances that led to their career choices in pre-war Singapore. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

தமிழ் முரசில் 1936-1960 வரை வெளிவந்த சிறுகதைகள் – ஒரு பார்வை
Sundari Balasubramaniam reviews a selection of short stories published in Tamil Murasu during the tumultuous years from 1936 to 1960 when Singapore transitioned from British rule and Japanese Occupation to self-governance. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

Heaven, Earth and Brotherhood
Secret societies arrived on the back of mass migrations of Chinese to Asia in the colonial era. Makeswary Periasamy highlights the National Library’s collection of early books on Chinese triads. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

50 Years of National Service
National Service is a rite of passage for Singaporean men when they come of age. Sharen Chua shares highlights of books on National Service in the Legal Deposit Collection. (PDF) (opens in new tab)

Tales of the Malay World: Manuscripts and Early Books
Literary works in the ancient Malay-speaking world were not enjoyed silently but read aloud to an audience, as Tan Huism tells us in this latest exhibition by the National Library. (PDF) (opens in new tab)