Learning Pathways

Think of learning pathways as appetizers. Get started on your learning journey with curated programmes and content before delving deeper into topics that interest you.

Finding time for regular reading is becoming a challenge. Cultivate the reading habit and be a cognizant reader in this age. For budding storytellers, explore the art and techniques of Storytelling and Writing.

Read Well

When kickstarting a habit, start small. Rekindle your reading with recommended short reads, or start reading stories from our own shores with Singapore literature. Besides what to read, understand how our reading brain works, especially in the age of the internet.

Discover Recommended Resources
TLDR: Short Reads	Get back into reading with these short reads. Or pull these out to tide you over that commute or long wait. From short stories, comics to poetry, we’ve got you covered.
Stories for Adults	Relive the pleasure of being told stories, even as adults. Tune in to these podcasts to discover a myriad of life experiences from over the world, and our own shores. Stories range from the poignant, humorous, bizarre to downright frightening.
Reading in a Digital Age	So many books, so little time. How has the reading brain evolved with the advent of the digital age? This playlist will give you short explainers on how our reading has changed with our devices, and how to cultivate the reading habit in a distracted age.
Introduction to Literature	Literature examines human communication and facilitates critical thinking. Check out this playlist to start your journey in discovering literature.
Singapore Literature	Discover Singapore literature and selected must-reads.

Learn With Writers and Experts
Obsessed with Books in Don Quixote \| A Bridge to the Classics	Don Quixote is a reader famously besotted by the classics—the classics of chivalric romances—to be precise. So much does he love them that he goes mad, treating fiction as reality. This delusion thus launches his hilarious and poignant misadventures as a modern-day knight errant. What happens when we treat the world as a text and text as a world? What are the dangers of bibliophilia and bibliomania?	14 Sept 2022, 7.30pm - 8.30pm	National Library Building, Imagination & Possibility Rooms
Poets Talk Shop: Daryl Lim Wei Jie & Tse Hao Guang \| SG Author	Poets, Daryl Lim Wei Jie and Tse Hao Guang will chat about poetry and Sing Lit, and read from recent works.	15 Sept 2022, 7pm - 8pm	Zoom
Being Human with Other Animals \| Think Lit	This talk will explore trans-species friendship between humans and animals, using two ancient epics: Valmiki’s Ramayana and Homer's Odyssey.	17 Sept 2022, 3pm - 4pm	Zoom
Literary Speaking : (Dis)enchantment in Poetry \| SG Author	Ann Ang, Daryl Lim Wei Jie and Shawn Hoo will discuss their recent works, and how enchantment and disenchantment feature in their poetry.	22 Sept 2022, 7pm - 8pm	Zoom
The Empty Text in Journey to the West \| A Bridge to the Classics	Journey to the West (or Xiyou ji) is a celebrated Chinese novel with the beloved Monkey (Sun Wukong), who accompanies a group of pilgrims to retrieve scripture from the West (India). At the end of the novel, after many years and many wanderings, they reach their long-sought after destination—the Thunderclap Monastery of Western Heaven. Yet when they are finally given their scriptures, the pilgrims are utterly dismayed: the scrolls turn out to be blank, “wordless, empty texts”! Why? What moral is the novel trying to impart? How might this correspond with the Buddhist doctrine of emptiness and form?	28 Sept 2022, 7.30pm - 8.30pm	National Library Building, Imagination & Possibility Rooms
Experimenting with Words and Poetry \| SG Author	Daryl Lim Wei Jie will explore language as a source of creative experimentation, and how word origins, etymologies and single words can inspire whole poems. He will consider the nature and purpose of word connotation in poetry; explore the narratives and lyrical possibilities within words.	29 Sept 2022, 7pm - 8pm	Zoom
Trying to Burn Books in Doctor Faustus \| A Bridge to the Classics	Doctor Faustus is a perennial legend in European civilisation—the man who sold his soul to the devil. But before that, he was a learned professor in Wittenberg, the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation. What does the myth tell us about the perversions of too much erudition, the temptation of knowledge, the misuses of theology and philosophy? Through a reading of Christopher Marlowe’s play, we’ll think about why it is so difficult for us to be alone, and why having too much power might not be a good thing.	12 Oct 2022, 7.30pm - 8.30pm	National Library Building, Imagination & Possibility Rooms
Farewell to Books in Shakespeare’s The Tempest \| A Bridge to the Classics	The Tempest is Shakespeare’s last play, and many readers take the protagonist Prospero to be a self-portrait of the playwright himself. As the Bard bids farewell to the stage, Prospero at the end of the play drowns in his books and abandons his magical arts. How does the play capture the delicate balance between a noble utopia and rapacious modernity?	26 Oct 2022, 7.30pm - 8.30pm	National Library Building, Imagination & Possibility Rooms

Discuss and Share Your Knowledge
Shantih Shantih Shantih by Daryl Qilin Yam \| Sing Lit Book Club	Join us at Singapore Literature Book Club as we discuss _Shantih Shantih Shantih_ with its author Daryl Yam. This will be an interactive session, please come prepared to discuss the book and share your thoughts!	15 Sept 2022 8pm – 9pm	Zoom

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Storytelling and Writing

Stories have been an intuitive form of communication for humans since ancient times. While the way we tell stories have evolved, the fundamental elements of what makes a great story remain. Discover the art of telling and crafting stories here.

Discover Recommended Resources
Storytelling	Humans are biologically wired for stories. Research has shown that the exchange of stories ignites understanding between sharer and listener, and is one of the means which develops empathy between us. There is however, an art to storytelling! Explore this learning package to find out more.
Writing Stories	For budding writers, check out this playlist for tips on writing.