The world anew: Poetry and haiga inspired by art in pandemic times

Singapore poet and writer Koh Buck Song casts his ever-curious eye over the Gallery’s artworks, events and spaces against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, drawing on the haiga (a 16^th-century Japanese art form combining haiku verse with ink and watercolour sketches) for many of his poems. Both humorous and poignant, the resulting collection captures with energy and optimism snapshots of life during this watershed event.

This is the third book by a poet-in-residence at the Gallery, in its Words on Art series dedicated to examining intersections between the visual and literary arts.

Publisher: National Gallery Singapore
Author Biography: Rick KOH Buck Song (b. 1963, Singapore) is the author and editor of nearly 40 books. His seven books of poetry and haiga art include A Brief History of Toa Payoh and Other Poems (1992) and Around the World in 68 Days: Observations of Life From a Journey Across 13 Countries (2021, with 13 haiga artworks of haiku with ink sketches).
Koh was poet-in-residence at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh in 1992 under the Singapore-Scotland Cultural Cooperation Programme and has also spoken at literary events including in Manila, at Cambridge University, Harvard and MIT. Inspired by his visit to Japan in 2015 on a Japan Foundation invitation as a cultural leader of Singapore, he started modernising the haiga art form from 16^th-century Japan. He has held several haiga exhibitions including at the Esplanade’s Super Japan Festival (2016) and an ASEAN 50th anniversary event in Vientiane, Laos (2017).
In the 1990s, Koh was literary editor and columnist at The Straits Times, and English Editor and General Editor of the multilingual literary and arts journal Singa. Author of the book Brand Singapore (third edition, 2021), he is also a country brand adviser, and has spoken on nation branding including in London, Oxford, Boston, Chicago, Tokyo, Shanghai, Phuentsholing (Bhutan), Melbourne and Tahiti.

Language: English
Country of Origin: Singapore
Page count: 80
Binding: Paperback
Search words: Poetry, Haiga, Southeast Asian Art