Claire Tham Li Mei (b. 1967, Singapore–1) is the author of several award-winning short story collections and two full-length novels, Skimming (1999) and The Inlet (2013). She has also contributed literary reviews for The Straits Times newspaper.2 Previously a legal officer, Tham is currently a partner at a local law firm.3
Education
Tham graduated with a degree in law from Oxford University after her secondary and tertiary education at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus and Hwa Chong Junior College, respectively.4
Publications and achievements
Tham’s writing career began in 1984 at the age of 17, when two of her short stories – “Fascist Rock” and “Homecoming” – both garnered the second prize in that year’s National Short Story Writing Competition.5 In 1992, she was awarded the Commendation Award for Fiction by the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) for her first short story collection, Fascist Rock: Stories of Rebellion (1990).6 “Lee”, one of her short stories from the book, was adapted for television as the second episode of AlterAsians on MediaCorp TV12’s Arts Central channel in 2000.7 The story is also included in Ties that Bind (2007), a compilation of local short stories published by the National Library Board.8
Tham followed up her debut short story collection with another award-winning volume of short stories, Saving the Rainforest and Other Stories (1993).9 The sophomore effort won her the Highly Commended Award from NBDCS in 1994.10
Tham’s subsequent short stories have found similar success in the annual Short Story Writing Competition jointly organised by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and the National Arts Council (NAC). She received the Golden Point Award for two of her short stories, “The Gunpowder Trail” and “Driving Sideways”, in the SPH-NAC Short Story Writing Competitions of 1999 and 2001 respectively.11 Both stories are included in her third volume of short stories, The Gunpowder Trail and Other Stories (2003).12
In Fascist Rock: Stories of Rebellion, Tham’s spare, concise sentences and her sharp dialogue heighten the ennui of local youths, a group frustrated at the outdated and conformist practices in their society.13 Saving the Rainforest and Other Stories develops on the tensions between socially accepted behaviour and the need for individualism, an important concern in the creation of self-identities for both the characters and Singapore as a young nation.14 Continuing with Tham’s themes of non-conformity and rebellion, The Gunpowder Trail and other Stories has been lauded for its technical innovation with style and form. Tham plays with the presentation of time and space in the progression of her narratives, creating multilayered possibilities in her short fiction.15 In 2011, “The Gunpowder Trail” was adapted into a theatre production by Teater Ekamatra, which was performed with a mixture of English and Malay dialogue.16
Departing from the short story format, Tham’s first novel, Skimming, was published in 1999.17 It was originally intended to be a short story, but Tham felt that she could not reach a proper resolution within the usual length of a short story.18 The three protagonists in the novel take turns retelling the story in each of their own perspectives, thereby creating a more nuanced and complex treatment of the love triangle in the novel, an experience described as “tight, claustrophobic but ultimately cathartic”.19
Malaysian newspaper The New Straits Times noted in a review of Skimming that, unlike several other Singaporean writers, Tham’s emphasis is on characterisation rather than the physical location and setting of her stories.20 Her characters frequently stray from the mainstream society and its conventions, pushing against the boundaries of social norms even while recognising the comforts of conforming to these conventions.21
Tham released her second novel in 2013, The Inlet. This work is loosely based on a 2010 news report about a 24-year-old Chinese national found dead in the swimming pool of a private residence in Sentosa Cove. The crime thriller is centred on the death of a karaoke lounge hostess in a wealthy man’s swimming pool, and examines Singaporean sentiments towards immigrants.22
Awards
1984: Second Prize, National Short Story Writing Competition.
1992: Commendation Award (Fiction), NBDCS, for Fascist Rock: Stories of Rebellion.
1994: Highly Commended Award (Fiction), NBDCS, Saving the Rainforest and Other Stories.
1999: Golden Point Award, SPH-NAC Short Story Writing Competition, for “The Gunpowder Trail”.
2001: Golden Point Award, SPH-NAC Short Story Writing Competition, for “Driving Sideways”.
Works
Short story collections
1990: Fascist Rock: Stories of Rebellion
1993: Saving the Rainforest and Other Stories
2003: The Gunpowder Trail and Other Stories
Novels
1999: Skimming
2013: The Inlet
Author
Hong Xinying
References
1. Ooi, S. (1985, December 29). A teenager in her own write. The Straits Times, p. 13. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
2. Wicks, P. (2004). Emergent voices in Singaporean fiction in English. Asian Profile, 32(1), 31–40. Retrieved from University of Southern Queensland website: https://eprints.usq.edu.au/2362/1/Wicks_Tham1.pdf
3. National Library Board sets up independent panel to advise on review of materials. (2015, April 15). Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved from Factiva via NLB’s eResources website: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/; Nanda, A. (2013, August 25). Mystery of body in a pool. The Straits Times, p. 25. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. Nanda, A. (2013, August 25). Mystery of body in a pool. The Straits Times, p. 25. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
5. Ooi, S. (1985, December 29). A teenager in her own write. The Straits Times, p. 13; Nanda, A. (2013, August 25). Mystery of body in a pool. The Straits Times, p. 25. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
6. Koh, B. S. (1992, September 5). Quality wins the day. The Straits Times, p. 10. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
7. Lee, T.-J. (Director, Writer). (2000). AlterAsians. Lee (Episode 2). Singapore: MediaCorp TV12. (Call no.: RSING 791.457 ALT)
8. Tham, C., et al (2007). Ties that bind. Singapore: National Library Board, pp. 5–22. (Call no.: RSING 808.83 TIE)
9. Tham, C. (1993). Saving the rainforest and other stories. Singapore: Times Books International, p. 4. (Call no.: RSING S823 THA)
10. Record 42 book awards given, no winner for English fiction. (1994, November 20). The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
11. Oon, C. (1999, September 9). Quietly making their point, in brief. The Straits Times, p. 3; Chow, C. (2001, September 5). Tham is tops and Alfian is aces go places. The Straits Times, p. L3. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
12. Tham, C. (2003). The gunpowder trail & other stories. Singapore: Times Editions. (Call no.: RSING S823 THA).
13. Wicks, P. (2004). Emergent voices in Singaporean fiction in English. Asian Profile, 32(1), 31–40. Retrieved from University of Southern Queensland website: https://eprints.usq.edu.au/2362/1/Wicks_Tham1.pdf
14. Madell, J. (1994). Cover story on Claire Tham’s Saving the Rainforest. The pen is mightier than the sword. London: Skoob Books, pp. 246–248. (Call no.: RSING 809.8959 PEN); Wicks, P. (2004). Emergent voices in Singaporean fiction in English. Asian Profile, 32(1), 31–40. Retrieved from University of Southern Queensland website: https://eprints.usq.edu.au/2362/1/Wicks_Tham1.pdf
15. Murphy, N. (2004, January). A dark contemporary eye. Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, 3(2). Retrieved from Quarterly Literary Review Singapore website: http://www.qlrs.com/critique.asp?id=110
16. Ng, Y. (2011, September 10). Trail and errors. The Straits Times, p. 21; What’s up this week… and the weeks ahead. (2011, September 9). The Straits Times, p. 10. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
17. Wicks, P. (2007, September 1). Claire Tham (1967–). The Literary Encyclopedia. Retrieved from University of Southern Queensland website: https://eprints.usq.edu.au/3173/1/Wicks_Tham2.pdf
18. Ong, S. F. (1999, November 25). 5 spice. The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
19. Quayum, M. A. (2000, August 23). The love triangle reinvented. New Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva via NLB’s eResources website: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/; Helmi Yusof. (1999, December 18). Knocking down sacred cows. The Straits Times, p. 19. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
20. Quayum, M. A. (2000, August 23). The love triangle reinvented. New Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva via NLB’s eResources website: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/
21. Helmi Yusof. (1999, December 18). Knocking down sacred cows. The Straits Times, p. 19. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
22. Nanda, A. (2013, August 25). Mystery of body in a pool. The Straits Times, p. 25. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
Further resource
Means, L. (1994, November). The role of the writer in today’s Singapore: Voice of the nation? Asian Survey, 34(11), 962–973. Retrieved from JSTOR via NLB’s eResources website: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/
The information in this article is valid as at 2016 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
The information on this page and any images that appear here may be used for private research and study purposes only. They may not be copied, altered or amended in any way without first gaining the permission of the copyright holder.
Lee Peng Boon (b. 1956, Singapore–), popularly known as Dick Lee, is one of Singapore’s best-known personalities in the arts scene. Besides his creative output as a musician, playwright and designer, Lee is also involved in events management and advertising. In addition, Lee sits on the advisory boards of several...
Ong Keng Sen (b. 1964, Singapore–), the critically acclaimed artistic director of TheatreWorks, a local theatre company, is best known for his intercultural Shakespeare-inspired trilogy of works – Lear, Desdemona and Search: Hamlet. He was the artistic director of an international arts festival, In-Transit, held at the House of World...
Playwright, director, producer and actor, Almahdi Al-Haj Ibrahim (b. 1946, Singapore-), better known as Nadiputra, is considered by many in the Malay community as the reigning patriarch of Malay theatre. He has been involved in drama for more than three decades, having written more than 200 plays for stage, radio...
Lee Tzu Pheng (b. 13 May 1946, Singapore–) is one of Singapore’s distinguished poets. A retired university lecturer, she has published in anthologies and journals internationally. Her three volumes of poetry, Prospect of a Drowning (1980), Against the Next Wave (1988) and The Brink of an Amen (1991), have won...
Catherine Lim Poh Imm (b. 21 March 1942, Penang, Malaysia–) is the doyenne of Singapore stories having written more than nine collections of short stories, five novels and a poetry book. She began as a teacher; then project director with the Ministry of Education; specialist lecturer with the Regional Language...
Thirunalan Sasitharan (b. 1958, Singapore–), also known as Sasi, is an actor, art critic, arts educator, activist, former journalist and former philosophy teacher. Besides being an outstanding actor, Sasitharan is one of the foremost thinkers in the local arts community and a leader in some of the most significant arts...
Leong Yoon Pin (b. 5 August 1931, Singapore–d. 13 April 2011, Singapore) was a composer, conductor and educator. Described as the doyen of Singapore composers, Leong was well known for his choral compositions, many of which were locally commissioned and performed by both amateur and professional choirs. His compositions were...
Quek Ling Kiong (???) (b. 1967, Singapore–) is a percussionist and the resident conductor of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO). Winner of the National Art Council’s Young Artist Award in 2002 and recipient of the NAC Cultural Fellowship in 2013, Quek is committed to spreading his passion and knowledge of...
Paul Tan Kim Liang (b. 1970–) is a poet and winner of the Singapore Literature Prize in 1993 and 1997 for his collections of poems. ...
Singapore’s array of literary awards and prizes recognises writers and works of literary merit. The honours are applicable to works in all four official languages of Singapore – English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil – and genres such as poetry and drama. The official recognition of literary achievements serves to encourage...