Talk:Literature of Singapore

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[edit] POV

An edit on 28 December 2005 suggests that recent edits on this article were homophobic. Sticking to the facts, it should be noted that the edits in question have not removed known gay writers on the list of noted writers (e.g. Cyril Wong, and a number of others whose entries have not identified them as being gay). It will additionally be noted that the link to Singapore gay literature has not been removed, despite what some may feel to be a POV in that piece. Only one piece of information was removed in the edits, on the grounds that this piece of information is not widely accepted to have any currency in the arena of Singapore literature; on the contrary, it is hardly even known. As such, the edits are motivated by the desire to keep this entry consistent with the neutral point of view principle and accurate. 165.21.154.108 14:07, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

To quote from one of the many edits Singapore gay art "(We cannot accept this as part of 'Singaporean culture')" The art of a culture, be it straight artists, gay artists, whatever, is *part of the culture*. Bulk deleting Categories from any reference to homosexual people in Singapore Culture looked pretty suspicious to me, and several other admins as well. Ronabop 16:18, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

The person in question may be known as a gay activist, and he may have a place in the culture of Singapore for being a very good gay activist, but he is certainly unknown as a writer in the context of Singapore literature. For example, none of his work is published in Love Gathers All, the Singapore-Philippines love anthology, which, naturally for its subject, includes some very good gay writing, nor in other Singapore anthologies such as No Other City or From Boys to Men, nor in the Singapore literary journal Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, which has published gay writers from Malaysia and around the world. To my knowledge the person in question has not been recognised as a writer overseas in reputable publications such as the US-based Atlanta Review or the Oxford Book of Friendship, or been published by international publishing houses such as Penguin. All the above have been achieved by writers on the list, gay or otherwise. In fact, to my knowledge the person in question has not even written a book of his own, as a search on the Singapore National Library's catalogue reveals. When there are Singapore writers who have published novels or collections who have not been included in the list, calling a person who has not even written a book a notable writer is puzzling, to say the least; it's like a person who has never carried out an operation calling himself a noted surgeon. Again, it is important to highlight: you will note that the inclusion of gay writers who are recognised to produce quality writing has not been contested because they have earned their place in this category. Therefore, the right thing to do is to include this person's listing in the category or categories where he has made his mark - which certainly does not include Literature of Singapore. If you have made an honest error and are not driven by a POV agenda, I believe you will make the appropriate change as a matter of principle.165.21.154.114 14:09, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

The bulk reverts *weren't* about the notability of any one author. They were about removing categories of gay culture from a number of singapore articles. If you remove an author for being non-notable, that's an entirely different subject. Oh, and in addition, an author can be notable because they have written extensively in newspapers or magazines, or even movies or television, rather than only writing books. I have no problem with an edit removing the author where the summary is "non-notable". Ronabop 09:04, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

In that case I will restore the edit on the grounds of non-notability in this category. Should evidence emerge to the contrary, e.g. the person in question writes the screenplay for a movie or becomes a worldwide syndicated columnist, I am sure we will both be in agreement on re-inclusion. 165.21.154.116 10:15, 30 December 2005 (UTC)