Tall Tales and Misadventures of a Young WOG

Goh Poh Seng

This book of autobiographical short stories by the late Goh Poh Seng, the Westernized Oriental Gentleman or Wog of the title, describes his adventures as a young Asian student in the Ireland of the 1950s. Brought up in post-war Kuala Lumpur, the impressionable young man found himself transported to a totally different milieu and culture. The stories describe his voyage to Europe, a sojourn in an Asian student hostel, and the shock of life as a boarder in a Catholic school. They continue with his early awakening to the possibility of becoming a writer, and his embrace of the cultural and literary pleasures of Dublin. Along the way he encountered a colorful tapestry of characters, among them a member of the Anglo-Irish gentry, the suave and charming Tom-Pierre from the West Indies, and the much-loved Irish poet Paddy Kavanagh.

GOH Poh Seng (1936-2010) was a pioneer of Singapore literature in English. He wrote throughout his life and received recognition as a novelist, poet and playwright. His published work includes four novels and five books of poetry. In 1986 he emigrated with his family to Canada, where he practiced medicine and continued to write in Newfoundland and Vancouver until 1995, when Parkinson's Disease forced him to retire. He was working on Tall Tales and Misadventures of a Young WOG when he passed away.

publication year: 2012
pages
ISBN: 978-9971-69-634-4  Paperback  US$20.00  S$24.00