On Learning, Teaching and the Pursuit of Creative Writing in Singapore and Hong Kong.

This paper is written out of a conviction that there is a need to explore issues occurring within the English language creative writing classroom vis-a-vis some of the conditions pertaining to contemporary literary scenes in Singapore and Hong Kong. In this paper, the authors' experience of learning and teaching in the creative writing classroom is a prism through which we explore issues pertaining to the pursuit of creative writing in these two Asian societies. The first part of the paper draws on the first author's experience of attending creative writing classes as an undergraduate in Singapore. It also looks at some of the works of the younger generation of writers in Singapore whose works emerged in the 1990s. The second part of the paper draws on the second author's experience as a student of creative writing in Hong Kong. It then looks at some of the issues germane to the literary scene in Hong Kong. The last portion of the paper then outlines the implications of the above for the teaching of creative writing in Singapore and Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]