Nilanjana Sengupta, an author based in Singapore. Her publications include, A Gentleman's Word- The Legacy of Subhas Chandra Bose in Southeast Asia (ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, 2012), The Female Voice of Myanmar- Khin Myo Chit to Aung San Suu Kyi (Cambridge University Press, 2015), My Country- Biography of M Bala Subramanion (World Scientific Press, 2016) and The Votive Pen- Writings on Edwin Thumboo (Penguin Random House, 2020). Sengupta also writes for The Straits Times and for publications of the National Heritage Board, Singapore. Her books have been critically acclaimed, adopted for university courses and translated into multiple languages. She has been associated with the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute as well as NUS in various research capacities.
'I am large, I contain multitudes.' To those who have read his
poems and spoken with him, let alone worked with and come to know
him, Edwin Thumboo so truly exemplifies what Whitman said. Reading
his best-known poems, you recognize some of the most iconic
explicit and extroverted assertions in the canon of a successful
and still young country, and yet also encounter finely poised
questions about the national condition. To have the opportunity to
sit and talk with him is an even more complex, rich and even
magical encounter.
The Votive Pen is an encounter with Thumboo as poet and
personality. It is studied and erudite, yet unconcerned with
orthodoxy and rigid order. This book explains and enrichens and
also risks to entertain us with the man and his work. What results
is not only an examination of this fine poet and powerful
personality in his own work and words, but in the context of the
universe--no, multiverse--of ideas, histories, experiences and
imaginations that Thumboo contains and has carried forward for so
many decades as a unique writer and immense and human soul. - Simon
Tay, Writer and Singapore Literature Prize Winner 2010 Nominated
Member of Parliament (1997-2001) and Ambassador Edwin Thumboo lives
the single most interesting literary Singaporean life of his
generation. The Votive Pen makes sure that this fact stays with a
people whose literature has been amnestic. The stories here cross
many decades to weave the child and man of the past into the
rememberer before a new scribe. Nilanjana Sengupta has achieved
something superbly lyrical and historical: this book is for the
ages. - Gwee Li Sui, Poet and Literary Critic This wonderfully rich
and detailed biography illuminates Edwin Thumboo's work with
consummate skill. Sengupta delves deeply into the poet's inner
journey, connecting the man and his life to the work and the
process of creation. The importance of Thumboo's poetry and its
relevance to the making of the Singapore identity is revealed with
laser-eyed sympathy. - Dr Meira Chand, Author A valuable read for
anyone wishing to get into the mind of a pioneer poet in Singapore
and one of the country's first Cultural Medallion recipients. The
Votive Pen adds to the much-needed discourse on Singapore's
literary history, in which Edwin Thumboo plays a critical role, and
helps us understand how the enterprise of nation building and
poetic aesthetics intertwine. - Paul Tan
Poet, former Director, Singapore Writers Festival, Deputy Chief
Executive, National Arts Council Edwin Thumboo's biography and
poetry, so beautifully captured in this volume, reflects the
dramatic transformation of our world from late colonialism to
nationhood. His is very much a Singapore story - the coming of age
through an uncovering of layered identities. - Prof. Tan Tai Yong,
President, Yale-NUS College This biography captures the heart and
mind of Singapore's widely accepted 'poet laureate'. It is the
first book I know which peers into the soul of one of the leading
figures of the arts in our country. This is a worthy tome to
accompany the life's works of Edwin Thumboo. - Hsieh Fu Hua,
Chairman, National University of Singapore and National Gallery
Singapore
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