PROGRAMMES | LUMEN
17
Reflections from the Participants
Passing Cultural Barriers - Nathanael Sutjiutama ( LE302 ) “ Crossing the 3rd day of Singa-Lit Festival , one corner of the library looked a little different from its usual set up . There were around 100 chairs neatly arranged in rows . In front of the chairs was a microphone stand and a speaker at its side . The screen in front said it all . ' Readathon @ Library Singa-Lit Festival 2018 '. A 3-hour-long reading marathon where students , teachers , staff took turns to read an extract of their chosen local / ASEAN book .
I was also there as a reader but as I waited in the library for my turn to go up , I sat with the rest of the audience , listening to the diverse range of ASEAN texts , from stories which are inspired by real life events to fictional stories . When it was my turn , I walked to the microphone stand , holding my chosen book " Sepatu Dahlan " in my hand , and I read my extract , not in English but in a familiar language .
As I read my extract , I could not help but laugh to myself when I saw the confused faces looking at me as they listened to my reading . They were not to blame for I was reading an Indonesian book and most , if not all of them did not understand a thing .
At the end of my reading , I was glad that I was able to explain and share the message of the story . I hoped that through the Readathon , we would appreciate local / ASEAN books and their writers more .” Fulfilling Experience - Cayden Thong Kit Hoi ( LE302 ) “ On 23 May , students from SJI took part in Readathon as part of the SJI Singa-lit week . Teachers and students from various levels came down to the library to either listen to others or share their stories . It was a very fulfilling and enjoyable session and everyone had fun listening
to each others ’ sharings .
One reader was Lucius Yeo from FN302 . His reading was from the book Memories that glow in the dark written by Gopal Baratham , a local author , and it was very engaging . One short story in the book discussed the issue of child pregnancy and the ethics behind abortion .”
Tour Our Worlds : ASEAN Cyber Literary Trails The ASEAN Cyber Literary Trail is SJI ' s first Digital Humanities project raised by the Integrated Programme ' s ' Lived Experience English Programme ' ( LEEP ).
It is meant to promote the works of ASEAN writers and raise discussions on our identity as Singaporeans . The relationship between space and text is made clear through a cyber trail that highlights the beliefs , ideas and conflicts found in a number of Southeast Asian works of fiction . It is still a work in progress , but it was already impressive to all who viewed it on the laptop in the Library set up for Singa-Lit Festival .
See SJI Lit Journeys : https :// sites . google . com / sji . edu . sg / litjourneys / 2018-project
Competitive Learning Branching from the success of the first Singa-Lit Festival 2017 , Singa-Lit Festival 2018 attempts to heighten the awareness raised in 2017 to further expose students to both Singaporean Literature and also translated literature or literature in English from the Southeast Asian countries .
As such , the “ Read an ASEAN Poem ” Competition encouraged students to gain interest in poems by our ASEAN authors and also showcase their newly found knowledge of the poem through a poster . The winners were Elliot Wong ( LE103 ) and Muhammad Daiyan ( LE103 ).
Leslie Vetuz Tan ( LE102 ) received a Commendation Award for his entry .
The Singa-Lit Food Reference Quiz was a competition that challenges individuals to browse through Singa-Lit novels containing many interesting food references . The winners who answered correctly were Evan Koh ( ML103 ), Adam Zachary Lee ( LE402 ) and Art teacher Ms Joyce Teo ; they each won a Kinokuniya book voucher .
Facing page ( top right ): Teachers from various departments who took part in Readathon - Karl Lee , Genesius Chan , Lee Han Seng and Ng Yew Hong
Facing page ( 2nd from bottom , centre ): Lucius
Facing page ( bottom left ): Year 1s had the chance to meet author Felix Cheong
This page ( top left ): Nathanael
This page ( top right ): Readers at the Readathon ( Lucius , Ridley , Nathanael and Cayden )