Poet Ho Poh Fun passes away aged 71
March 15, 2018
Singaporean poet Ho Poh Fun passed away yesterday (March 14) at the age of 71.
Ho’s notable works include the short story “When the Tabebuia Bloomed at Soo Chow Gardens” that won the 1982 Short Story Writing Competition organized by the former Ministry of Culture. Her anthology Katong and Other Poems (1994), for which she is perhaps most fondly remembered, is a collection of 68 evocative poems inspired by specific sites scattered across Singapore – poetry that is “soaked in the images and emotions of Singaporean times and places,” as local poet and former English Language & Literature (ELL) faculty member Dr Gwee Li Sui puts it. With Ho’s passing, Dr Gwee laments the loss of “a fine rememberer of the gradual change, of the in-between.”
Ho had also taught at Raffles Junior College (RJC) for 20 years, having graduated from NUS with a master’s degree in English Literature. Poet Dr Anne Lee Tzu Pheng, her long-time friend and former ELL faculty member, identifies Ho as the impetus behind the longevity of RJC’s Afternoon of Poetry programme, an initiative that has greatly enriched students’ experience of the arts. Despite the shocking news of her death, the poet’s niece Chelsia Ho is gratified that she has impacted the lives of so many, adding that contributions received at the funeral will be channeled towards supporting the local creative writing scene as a way of remembering Ho.
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