UNDERSTANDING ‘OTHERS’

by Tan Swee Yin

Diploma in Creative Writing for Television and New Media

Singapore Polytechnic

Egyptians insist author Melissa De Silva is one of them; in Thailand she is mistaken for a local; and Indians are confused – is she the same race as them?

The writer, 40, recently published a book to offer a small insight into the lives of Eurasians like her. The book, titled ‘Others’ Is Not A Race, is a collection of oral histories and short stories about her own experiences as a Eurasian in Singapore, and was awarded the 2018 Singapore Literature Prize for Creative Non-fiction.

It’s an issue that’s close to her heart, and in 2014, she started a blog called Eurasians in Singapore. There, she started sharing her stories, with short posts of her experiences growing up in Singapore. To her surprise, her blog was well received, with many people expressing their interest to know more about the lifestyle and culture of the Eurasians. Besides the blog, Melissa also occasionally sent in stories that were published in literary journals, but their reach was limited.

“Relatively few people read journals. So, I thought, how can more people access these stories?” she says.

It was with this question in mind that she came up with the idea to compile these stories in a collection. The manuscript was submitted to Math Paper Press and would eventually become ‘Others’ Is Not A Race. The experience of the writing process was “very fulfilling” and she says she is “very grateful for it”.

“I’ve had the opportunity to speak about Eurasian culture and history to groups of people. These opportunities would not have existed without the book, so more people have come to know a little more about Eurasians because of this book,” she says.

The unseen homegrown literature

Melissa is concerned about the way literature by Singapore authors is shelved in libraries and some bookstores. In public libraries, works by Singaporean writers are placed in a shelf for ‘local’ literature, separate from other books published internationally.

“Many times, we discover books by accident while browsing library shelves,” she remarks, “so that whole opportunity to discover and chance upon a work by a Singaporean author is gone if, like most people, we just browse the general fiction section in the library. Most people don't browse the Singapore collection.” She believes that such a system of categorisation also reinforces the idea that Singaporean literature is “not on par” with international books as the word ‘local’ often brings about negative connotations that “equate to inferior”.

She points out that in countries like the US or the UK, books by local authors are not labelled ‘local’ fiction.

“I think more thought needs to go into even the words that are used to represent us as Singaporean writers or Singapore itself.”

However, Melissa, who has an upcoming historical novel in the works, is optimistic about the future of the writing scene in Singapore.

She is an Education Ambassador for the online platform Write The World, which guides teenagers to become better writers.

“They’re so passionate about writing and so dedicated. They’re really talented and are just a wonderful bunch of young people, so I’m full of hope.”