# data[].attributes.body
The way Singaporean society is represented here is that marriage

is something to be happy about but it is also a big event that makes even

the groom and the bride nervous. This shows that starting a family is a very

scary idea and that even the bride and groom have to rethink their decision

to marry thoroughly.

# data[].attributes.body
In this text, Singaporean society is represented by the way the marriage is taking place.

For example, how the relatives wait for the bride to come down the room.

Also, the nervousness of the bride relates to how one will

feel on their wedding day as one would worry about how things will go.

On a real wedding day< the bride would feel very nervous and scared as

she will be separated from her family and move put to stay.

# data[].attributes.body
In this text, Singaporean society is represented in a way that marriages

are something modest and traditional. As said in the text, that the bride is seperated

in another room while the guests and relatives are waiting for her at the guestroom or living hall.

In a wedding, the bride will be the centre of attention as she is like the princess of the day and

people will make her look more flawless and subtle. Also, the feeling of being nervous experienced

by the bride relates to how a real wedding happens. They will feel nervous and excited as that shall be

the day they will be seperated from family and lead a new life.

# data[].attributes.body
"not a daily occurrence:
a bride waiting, 7.30 pm, at a coffee house.
you, shifting eyes, forkfuls into mouth,
stop. stop & watch the bride,
2 bridesmaids & an elderly chaperon
at the little round table
having a respite before the dinner.
her eyes, downcast, become modest behaviour"

"immediately one floor down
dragon room is taken for the reception.
relatives line up at the entrance,
the men clutching proffered tins of rothmans"

"twice, a hand gently steals out & pats
any suspected flaw of coiffure into perfection.
most of the time, looking at her gloves,
her eyes are downcast, cast downwards
one floor immediately below"

"most of the time, looking at her gloves,
her eyes are downcast, cast downwards
one floor immediately below"

"at the end of an elastic hour
will she rise, raise her eyes,
descend one floor, ascend the low platform
elevating the tabled 10 courses,
smile gently at the groom, post-sharksfin
& pre-crispy chicken & mark out clearly
her domain, right here & right up there?"

The first stanza shows that it is a special event happening. The first line indicates that it is a wedding.The first stanza also tells us that the bride is waiting for the wedding to commence. This can be seen when the poet wrote "Her eyes, downcast, become modest behaviour". This event is a special event as the first stanza said "not a daily occurrence", weddings do not occur frequently with the same partner as it should be just a one and for all special event, accomplished at once without any disruptions. It may not seem too special if the wedding took place more than a day, it may bore out the guests, family, bride and groom.

The second stanza tells us that the wedding is about to start as relatives of the groom and bride are waiting at the entrance to enter the wedding hall. The bride and groom are nervous about their big event. Not only they feel it but their relatives are also feeling nervous about the wedding. We can see that the relatives are nervous as the poet wrote "the men clutching proffered tins of rothmans", showing that

The third stanza tells us that the bride is getting ready for the wedding as there are people helping her to look flawless as can be seen in the line "twice, a hand gently steals out & pats
any suspected flaw of coiffure into perfection" , a special event requires numerous commitment to keep everything in place and to make sure everything that has been planned will run smoothly, but most importantly the bride has to look pleasing to the others too.

The fourth stanza tells us that the bride is anxious and she keeps looking down. The repetition of the words with "down" in it indicates that she is not confident. Since this is her first time having such a big event, it makes her anxious as she may not know what to do or how to react towards certain situations that may happen later on during the ceremony or reception. She is also not confident as she may be paranoid of the plans that may not be going well and not smoothly.

The fifth stanza tells us whether the bride is prepared for marriage as it the sentences are written in the form of questions. Such sentences are "Will she rise, raise her eyes," and "right here & right there?" These sentences indicates that the bride is feeling a sense of doubt and that she might not be ready to get married. She may be shy to stand in front of a large crowd with just her partner by her side and she has to rely on him if anything happens. For example, if she gets a panic attack, her partner will be the first person that she has to turn to. She prbably feels less confident than anxious.

The poem overall is talking about the thoughts and processes during a wedding and that sometimes its stressful even for a happy event. It tells us that the bride is nervous about the wedding as she might not be ready for it as it can be seen in "looking at her gloves,
her eyes are downcast, cast downwards
one floor immediately below". This shows that she is having pre-marriage jitters and is trying distract herself from the jitters. The language used by Arthur Yap is very powerful because he can describe a situation with a few words. He uses actions and short and abrupt sentences to slowly explain the story behind his poem. He gives little details and phrases instead of using a whole sentence to tell us what is happening. This makes readers get the concept much more faster as only keywords were used to describe the situation.

# data[].attributes.body
In the 1970s, economy was growing tremendously. In order to embrace their new status as denizens of a first world country, many people in Singapore then sought ways to emulate their counterparts in the developed countries. One such medium through which was carried out was films, shown in cinemas that would eventually become a popular culture among teenagers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Coffin Is Too Big For The Hole (2003)

# data[].attributes.body
“A worthy failure is more valuable than a mediocre success.”
― Kuo Pao Kun

# data[].attributes.body
In 1972, Mr.Kuo and his ex-students launched a campaign called

"Go into Life Campaign" to experience life of the labouring masses

in Singapore and Malay Pensula. Their guiding principle was "Art came

from life. Without knowing life first-hand and deeply, especially the life of the

labouring masses, it would be difficult to write artistic works." This resulted in

the build-up of original works based on real life stories of labouring people

like The Fishing Village.

# data[].attributes.body
After he was released from his detention due to the growing force and increasingly political

nature of Chinese theatre culminated into the 1976 massive leftist purge, he released his first production

"The Little White Sailing Boat".

In 1984, he wrote the first draft of "The Coffin is too Big for the Hole" which was a response

to the Singapore Arts Festival guest director's call to local playwrights to present sketches of Singapore life.

Recently, his production

"Mama Looking For Her Cat" was deemed by The Business Times as one of the "finest plays in 50 years".

# data[].attributes.body
In 1966, Mr.Kuo translated "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" and produced in Mandarin

and was the first ever Bertolt Brecht play to be performed in Singapore.

# data[].attributes.headline
Founder of Practice Performing Art School

# data[].attributes.subject
Founder of Practice Performing Art School

# data[].attributes.body
Mr. Kuo founded Practice Performing Art School(PPAS)

in 1965, 1st of July, when he returned from studying abroad.

This was a memorable date as not only did he establish the school,

he was also married on this very day. Students and ex-students were

very active in the school as they still were highly involved with the school

even after they have completed the drama course.

# data[].attributes.body
-Practice Performing Art School

-The Theatre Practice

-The Substation

-The Theatre Training and Research Programme

-The Intercultural Theatre Institute

# data[].attributes.body
Master of Bilingual Theatre

# data[].attributes.body
https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=0mqJBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA50&lpg=PA50&dq=man+snake+apple+arthur+yap&source=bl&ots=6Vtmf8j7Je&sig=X2YggeIlCNAhKIWoWhkX-E-z-aQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GQLsVPeSMsyRuASqt4KYCA&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=man%20snake%20apple%20arthur%20yap&f=false

Wikipedia

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2709182.Kuo_Pao_Kun

# data[].attributes.body
man snake apple were no longer one, two, three

a fused combination, the progeny in infinite premutations.

mensnakesapples built cities, flew as they one did,

fought wars, archiving them as later documentaries,

invented organized leisure, civilized swindle,

top-ten everything, mass trances, pop-whatever.

it was forever & forever & forever

& a day,

today, it begins again today

# data[].attributes.body
NUS Press published "The collected peoms of Arthur Yap" and "Noon at five o'clock"   a collection of his short stories, in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

In 2015, his book "Down The Line" was chosen by The Business Times as one of the top 10 English Singapore books from 1965-2015.

# data[].attributes.body
In 2000, a selection of Arthurs' previous books

was complied and published into a book a book

called "The Space of City Trees: Selected Poems".

# data[].attributes.body
He received his third Book Council Award

with his "Man Snake Apple & Other Poems"

in 1988.

# data[].attributes.body
Arthur's third collection "Down The Lines"

won him his second Book Council Award.

# data[].attributes.body
His books were translated and published in many Asian countries,

mainly in Japanese, Malaysian and Mandarin languages.

# data[].attributes.body
His first poem "Only Lines" was published in 1971 and

had its first print run of 2000-3000 copies. Its whimsical and

wordplay humour caught the heart of many poetry lovers,

and won the first poetry award from the National Book Development

Council of Singapore in 1976.

# data[].attributes.body
Arthur is known for his playfulness and subtlety

in his poems that is able to connect of "singlish" with

precise English.