Can money buy love for reading? Gwee Li Sui on our results-oriented culture

Synopsis: Conversations and interviews that give you something to think about. Each Wednesday, In Your Opinion speaks to thinkers, leaders, and the people shaping our lives and the issues of the day.

A year after the launch of our Culture Pass credits, take-up rates sit at just 10 per cent. Meanwhile, Singapore’s new national reading movement, ReadSG, now aims to pay people to try building a consistent reading habit.

What does this say about us as a people? Is it such a bad thing if we stop reading long-form fiction and just read social media? And why bother with SingLit when we are already so familiar with Singapore’s culture?

In this episode, assistant opinion editor Lianne Chia speaks to poet, graphic artist, and literary critic Gwee Li Sui on why focusing too much on hitting KPIs in our quest for culture often backfires. They discuss how doomscrolling and short-form text change our capacity for empathy and nuance, and uncover the brutal economic reality of being a creative writer in Singapore.

Highlights (click/tap above):

0:45 Singapore’s pragmatic way in handling social problems

7:55 Why is SingLit a hard sell for readers compared to global titles?

8:52 Why do Singaporean students still write school essays about winter and autumn?

22:08 Is Singlish still considered “bad English” today?

27:01 What do we miss if we only read social media?

34:38 With AI summarising everything, is there still room to read for enjoyment?

37:57 Why paying people to read is like forcing kids to eat vegetables

44:45 Is being a creative writer in Singapore an economic dead end? 

51:45 Why Gwee prefers to write for readers 50 years in the future

53:42 Is self-censorship among local writers a worry?

Read ST’s Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH

Host: Lianne Chia (liannechia@sph.com.sg) 

Produced and edited by: Teo Tong Kai

Executive producers: Danson Cheong & Lynda Hong

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