SOURCE: An interview in World Literature Written in English, Vol. XVIII, No. 1, April, 1979, pp. 151-71.

In the following interview, Thumboo discusses his use of language, the influences on his poetry, and the political and social situation in Singapore.

[Nazareth]: Edwin, I am going to read you something. Let's see if you recognize the poem:

The recipients of the education, the English educated knew their place. They had security and a certain status and a fair living, never really near the centre of power where policies affecting their society were formulated, mainly instruments and functionaries, their outlook crippled unless they had simultaneously maintained a broad contact                     with their own language and culture. 

[Thumboo]: That isn't a poem! It's from a lecture I gave at Singapore's Nanyang University in late 1975!

Do you agree that there is a poetic quality in these lines until the very last portion, when it's clearly...