Robert Yeo

Robert Yeo, a poet and playwright, has been described as “the most Singaporean of Singaporean writers.” Yeo has written five volumes of poetry and five plays, dealing with issues ranging from political detention in Singapore to the Vietnam War and the Great Marriage Debate. He has also written essays on cultural policy and theatre, compiled anthologies on Singapore Literature and co-written books on the teaching of Literature for secondary schools. From 1977 to 1994, he chaired two drama committees, the Drama Advisory Committee and the Drama Review Committee which helped to develop theatre in Singapore, and in recognition of this he was awarded the Public Service Medal in 1991.He has also written two libretti for opera, with composer John Sharpley, and in 2011, he published the first part of his memoir, Routes: A Singaporean Memoir (1940-75). Yeo currently teaches Creative Writing at the Singapore Management University.