Yale-NUS community members speak at Singapore National Library Board (NLB)’s ‘Worth The Hype’ literary arts series

Associate Professor of Humanities Steven Green shares his perspectives at the National Library Board’s ‘Worth The Hype’ literary arts series. Photo by Associate Professor Green.

The Yale-NUS community comprises dedicated faculty, engaged students, and passionate alumni, who remain actively committed to contributing their time and expertise to local and international communities. Faculty members, renowned for their scholarly work, regularly participate in talks and lectures that extend beyond the College campus.  Students and alumni of Yale-NUS also actively seek out opportunities to share their knowledge and experiences.

Recently, National University of Singapore (NUS) Associate Professor of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies and Yale-NUS Associate Professor of Humanities (Literature) Steven Green and Yale-NUS alumnus Myle Yan Tay (Class of 2019) were invited to speak and share their perspectives on various prolific works of literature at the Singapore National Library Board (NLB)’s ‘Worth The Hype’ literary arts series. This series spotlights contemporary world fiction and invites speakers to weigh in on the literary strengths and commercial appeal of bestselling international titles, while contemplating the works’ wider relevance in modern society and popular culture.

In the session ‘Greek Epics & Myths, In Her Words’, Assoc Prof Green shared a classical perspective on the current trend of telling the stories of Greek epics from the viewpoint of female characters, such as Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls (Doubleday Books, 2018). He shared the backdrop to such modern retellings, underlining that these works are not exclusive to the 21st century. “Although the Greek epic world, and especially the Trojan war, revolve around the male-oriented activity of warfare, the ancients were equally fascinated by the perspectives of others, including women.”

He added, “Greek tragedy develops this approach by exploring the consequences of Troy’s downfall for the Trojan wives and mothers.” Assoc Prof Green used the example of Penelope’s letter to Odysseus in Heroides 1, composed by Ovid, where Penelope reframes the Trojan war to be a greater struggle for herself than her warrior husband, and presents her own current plight as domestic warfare.

Yale-NUS alumnus (Class of 2019) Myle Yan Tay offered his insights on Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Knopf, 2022). The work is authored by Gabrielle Zevin and stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for 33 weeks when it was published in 2022.

Myle shared, “I love libraries. They’re a testament to the idea that knowledge and art are things that ought to be accessible to every member of the public. When NLB asked if I’d participate in this series, I leapt at the opportunity. The series itself is also a little different, as it’s evaluative and is meant to get readers into an analytical state of mind and not just purely reading for enjoyment.”

During his time at Yale-NUS College, Myle wrote and directed plays that were performed at the College. After graduation, Myle published his comic books, including Putu Piring (Checkpoint Theatre, 2020). He also recently published his novel catskull (Ethos Books, 2023).

Regarding Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Myle said, “I wanted to praise the aspects of the novel I thought could be overlooked on a first read, and critique the sections I found weaker. It was a good opportunity for me to dig deep into the book and examine my gut response to different sections.”

On how reading and sharing his perspectives shapes his work, Myle explained, “The novel I’m working on now is similar in scale to Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Reading this book gave me a chance to think about what I’m doing in my book and how I want my characters to feel. Sometimes, I read to both give myself permission to do things I thought I couldn’t do and clarify for myself the things I don’t want to do.”

On his upcoming works, Assoc Prof Green said, “I have completed a commentary with Latin text and English translation on the Ilias Latina, an abbreviated Latin version of Homer’s Iliad written in the 1st century AD, to appear with Oxford University Press in 2024. The Roman poet reconfigures Homer to present a war governed by human emotions that is more sympathetic towards the Trojans.”

For Myle, his creative pursuits continue to connect him to his alma mater. He is currently working on a musical with fellow Yale-NUS alumnus Nathaniel Mah (Class of 2020) and putting the final touches on the text for a video game to be published by Andas Productions, which is run by Yale-NUS alumnus Roshan Singh Sambhi (Class of 2018). In addition, his other projects include writing a new play, and working on the novel he started while at Yale-NUS.