In the words of William Wordsworth, poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. And if Madeleine Lee’s body of work is anything to go by, she sure is flushed with them. On top of publishing 11 volumes of poetry in English and one English-Chinese bilingual volume, the 61-year-old is also a familiar face at major international literary festivals.
Her most recent appearance was at a panel discussion at the National Gallery, where she conferred about realism in art and literature alongside fellow local poets Edwin Thumboo, Lee Tzu Pheng and Koh Buck Song.
Lee started writing poetry at the age of 13. “Like many people, I started in school. Along the way, I decided I liked this genre best as it forces me to say less than more. I haven’t stopped since,” she says. “What I write about is usually inspired by what I see or hear in different situations. I tend to only be happy after I discover two and three more layers to the piece.”
Thus far, four of her books have been adapted into full-length theatre performances. While Lee has previously undertaken various writing residencies, she is the first Singaporean writer-in-residence at Raffles Hotel Singapore. It is an undertaking she initially found daunting.
“I was unable to say what my book would be about. People loved to ask and I often could not answer. But I have learnt to trust the process and things usually fall into place.”
Madeleine Lee on forgoing control and expectations
And things have. Her poetry collection How to Build a Lux Hotel took shape by the end of her second stay at the historic hotel. The volume articulates overheard conversations, meaningful interactions, and observations made in the building’s storied halls.
One of the most difficult things she has encountered in her writing journey was making the decision to get published at 40. It was thanks to the encouragement of friends that she took the plunge. “It’s quite scary. Often, we don’t want to know what people think about our writing, but it’s been a very fulfilling 20 years,” she muses.
Much as she does not have a favourite when it comes to her poems, she points out that ‘blue’ is the piece everyone wants to read aloud. She considers it to be her first ‘colour’ poem.
Her late start in writing has something to do with an illustrious career outside of it: Lee was formerly the deputy chief investment officer of the Investment Office at NUS and treasurer of the United Nations Development Fund for Women Singapore. In addition, she has served on the boards of both public and private companies here, and currently still runs a MAS-licensed investment advisory company with a few partners.
If we’re honest, it’s not every day that we meet somebody who can both write and count. “People talk about using the right brain or the left brain. But what everyone should do is to use both,” cheekily counters Lee.
In her opinion, there is a maturing pool of talent in the local poetry scene that we should lend support to. “We must learn to appreciate our own writers and teach their work in schools, not just those by dead British poets. There is enough work now for scholarship, research, and teaching kits. No more excuses!” she asserts. “And no AI for poetry, please. It writes without soul.”
That includes compensation, plain and simple. “Poetry publishing is not a huge commercial proposition, so kudos to our publishers who keep going. Respect intellectual property and buy the books.”
Art director: Chia Wei Choong
Photographer: Mun Kong
Photographer’s assistant: Hizuan Zailani
Videographer: Alicia Chong
Makeup: Keith Bryant Lee using Bobbi Browbn
Hair: Christvian Goh using Keune Haircosmetics
