Anne Lee Tzu Pheng (born May 13, 1946) is a

Singaporean Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, Ind ...

poet. She has five volumes of poems to her name; of these, the first three, ''Prospect of a Drowning'' (1980), ''Against the Next Wave'' (1988) and ''The Brink of An Amen'' (1991) were winners of the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Award. After converting to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Lee Tzu Pheng added Anne to her name to reflect her new faith.

Life and career

Born in Singapore (while it was under

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

), Lee Tzu Pheng was educated at

Raffles Girls' Secondary School Raffles Girls' School (RGS) is an independent girls' secondary school located in Toa Payoh, Braddell, Singapore. Established in 1879, it is one of the oldest schools in Singapore. RGS, together with its affiliated school Raffles Institution, off ...

. She has a Ph.D. in English from the

University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the ...

in 1973, from where she retired as a Senior Lecturer in its English Department. She is divorced from her ex-husband, Ban Kah Choon (who was once Head of English, National University of Singapore), and has one daughter, Jane Ban Li Hian.

Style of writing

Lee's poetry is meditative and lyrical in nature and with themes such as the individual's search for identity and larger unifying humanity in ''Against the Next Wave'' (1988) and ''The Brink of an Amen'' (1991). Her later poetry increasingly questions faith and religion, evident in her work, ''Lambada by Galilee'' (1999). However, her most anthologised work to date is an early poem, ''My Country and My People'' (1976), which expresses her ambivalent attitude towards patriotism and nationhood. For Lee, more often than not, poetry is an expression of the poet's experiences in life.

Works

Edwin Thumboo Edwin Nadason Thumboo B.B.M. (born 22 November 1933) is a Singaporean poet and academic who is regarded as one of the pioneers of English literature in Singapore. Thumboo graduated in English from the University of Malaya in 1956. Although he ...

, Lee is often seen as one of a generation of "nation-building" English writers in Singapore, whose work in the '50s-'70s questioned the identity of the newly independent nation. One of her early poems, "My Country, My People", was banned by the Singapore government due to fears that her reference to her "brown-skinned neighbours" would offend the Malay community of Singapore. Another early poem, "Bukit Timah, Singapore" was at one point included in an international selection of poetry for

O-level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-dept ...

literature students. Later poems heavily reference her

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

faith. In 2014, she was inducted into the

Singapore Women's Hall of Fame The Singapore Women's Hall of Fame is a virtual hall of fame that honors and documents the lives of historically significant women in Singapore. The hall is the creation of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO), and grew out of an ...

Poetry collections

* ''Prospect of a Drowning'' (1980, Heinemann Educational Books) * ''Against the Next Wave'' (1988, Times Books International) * ''The Brink of an Amen'' (1991, Times Books International) * ''Lambada by Galilee & Other Surprises'' (1997, Times Books International) * ''Catching Connections: Poems, Prosexcursions, Crucifictions'' (2012, Landmark Books) * ''Short Circuits: Through the Catchments of Faith and Writing'' (2012, Landmark Books) * ''Sing a Song of Mankind: A Nursery Sequence for the Sixties'' (2012, Landmark Books) * ''Soul's Festival: Collected poems 1980-1997'' (2014, Landmark Books) * ''Standing in the Corner: Poems from a Real Childhood'' (2014, Landmark Books) * ''Common Life: Drawings and Poems'' (2018, Ethos Books)

Awards

* National Book Development Council Of Singapore Awards for her three books * Singapore Cultural Medallion for Literature (1985) * S.E.A. Write Award (1987) * Gabriela Mistral Award (1996)

References

Infopedia (National Library)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Tzu Pheng 1946 births Living people National University of Singapore alumni Singaporean poets Recipients of the Cultural Medallion for literature Singaporean women S.E.A. Write Award winners Raffles Girls' Secondary School alumni