No Such Person
by Chan Kok Peng
 |
Year Published: April 2022 Pages: 160pp Language: Traditional Chinese Retail Price: SGD22 (Singapore) Dimensions: 190x130mm ISBN: 978-981-18-3443-1 (Paperback) Buyer Request: Final PDF Available Publisher/Imprint: TrendLit Publishing (Singapore) Rights Available: Traditional Script, World except China, Hong Kong and Taiwan; Simplified Script, World. (Rights for Translation: World) Suggested Categorisation: Poetry, Contemporary Literature, Chinese Diaspora, Singapore Literature |
About No Such Person
No Such Person is a collection of sixty untitled poems, crafted for both reading and performance. The poems evoke a deep sense of awe, nostalgia, and memory as the poet reflects on his father and ancestral lineage, tracing their migration to Nanyang (mainly Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand) and exploring the evolution of identity and culture that followed.
Through this personal and historical lens, the poet reaffirms the value of tradition, searching for connections between civilization and history. The untitled poems form an "epic", while each piece also stands alone, offering readers a way to rediscover forgotten or overlooked figures within the family's migration story. The absence of titles echoes the uncertainties of history—blurred faces, unanswered questions, and untold stories. The poems serve as a tribute to those who remain nameless, leaving their mark in the poet’s verses and in the collective memory of those searching for lost identities.
About the Writer
Chan Kok Peng, who writes under the pen name "Yu Fan," is the Vice-President of the Singapore Literature Society and Chief Editor of Singapore Literature News. He has published 11 collections and is a highly acclaimed writer, recognized with numerous literary awards. His accolades include Singapore Literature Prize (Poetry, 2022), Golden Point Award (Short Story, 2023), Fang Xiu Literature Award (Singapore-Malaysia, Poetry, 2021), China Times Literary Award (Taiwan, Poetry, 2023), Taiwan Poetry Writing Award (Taiwan, Prose Poems, 2022), 5th Contemporary Poem Award (Taiwan, Poetry, 2019), and 2nd Prof. Chen Zan-yi World Chinese Short Story Award (Hong Kong, Short Story, 2022-2023).
出版物簡介
《查無此人》是一部可以用來演繹（Performance Poetry）的詩集，收錄了六十首詩人對於父親的敬畏、懷念與記憶。通過父親及家族史，試圖還原「下南洋」後的物換星移，並開始重新探索自己的身份認同與文化。
詩人堅持「老派之必要」，希望在文明與歷史的恒河裡挖掘共鳴——六十首詩皆無題目，可連綿成為「史詩」，首首亦可「獨立成篇」。以家族的移民史作為敘事脈絡，回望與拼湊歷史洪流裡的大人物、小人物，乃至無名可考者。好多歷史問題，可以沒有答案，或是多種答案，甚至是永恆的拷問——沒有題目的詩對應著已然模糊的臉龐，給自己和「查無此人」留下文字的深深烙印。
作者簡介
曾國平，筆名語凡，新加坡文藝協會副會長，《新加坡文藝報》主編，已出版9 本詩集，1本散文詩集，1 本散文集，曾獲新加坡文學獎（詩），方修文學獎（詩），金筆獎（短篇小說），2023年優秀文學作品（短篇小說）獎，台灣時報文學獎（詩），台灣詩學創作獎散文詩佳作獎，台灣華文現代詩五週年詩獎正獎，第二屆陳贊一博士世界華文微型小說創作獎。