Andrew W.K. Yip

Andrew W.K. Yip Poems

Andrew W.K. Yip Biography

The Poet is a psychologist and educationist. He was educated in Edinburgh, Malaysia, Singapore and in Pennsylvania, USA. Holder of a M.Ed., Dip. Ed-D in Education and Advanced Psychology and Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree, he held various top academic and professional appointments. He has worked as a psychologist in a Scottish clinic and headed the guidance and counselling departments in the Ministry of Education and the PR departments in the Police and the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore's Director of Planning, Director of Nanyang University and the American College and Executive Vice-President of the International Schools and IBM Education Centre in Singapore. An army Major in the Singapore Artillery in his younger days, he became the Chief of the Education and Public Relations Department and Chief Education Officer of the Singapore Armed Forces and Deputy Secretary in the Singapore Administrative Service and later joined the University administration as DVC, after which he retired as a Property Developer. An accomplished poet, Chinese calligrapher, ballroom dancer (Gold Star) , and author of many publications, he was well known in the art and literary circles overseas, particularly in China where he spent his retirement years. Among other duties, as Chief Education Officer of the Singapore Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior and Defence, he set up the National Education Branch in 1966 and launched the National Education Programme and the Leadership Training Programme for officers and men in the Singapore Armed Forces. Andrew W.K. Yip began to write at an early age. In the 1950s, he joined the Poetry Circle in Singapore and immersed in Anglo-American modernist poetry, and writing poetry in both English and Chinese. His poetic corpus is nourished by the belief that poetry constitutes " a quiet motivating force in the modern age" . In 1964, he travelled to the USA and UK on a UNESCO Fellowship where he became immersed in psychological studies, psychotherapy and guidance techniques. He returned to Singapore to launch a guidance movement for Singapore schools. Within a month, he introduced psychological testing and launched the Vocational Guidance Bulletin to disseminate guidance information to Singapore schools. He remained as its Editor for several years until he was transferred to Singapore Armed Forces as Head of the Education and Public Relations Department of the Ministry of the Interior and Defence. There, he wrote the Code of Conduct for the Armed Forces, and lyrics for military songs. While serving in military service, he launched the National Pioneer, a monthly bulletin for distribution to all national servicemen in the armed forces. Today, the Pioneer, the new name of the publication, is still the main newspaper for all military personnel in Singapore. Yip stopped writing when he joined the private sector as a housing developer, but resumed writing poetry and books in English and Chinese in the 1980s under various pen-names, including " Andre W. Keye" , and " Zhou Tian, " after he started work in China's Translation Bureau in Guangdong. Son of a world famous photographer, Yip Cheong-Fun, who was elected by New York as the 'Outstanding Photographer of the Century' in 1980, he has written many poems to depict the artistic images created by his late father, both in Chinese and English, including the photograph entitled 'Teach Me' featured above. An anthology of his poems, entitled 'A poetic vision - the photography of Yip Cheong-Fun', was published in mid-2009 by ServiceWorld Centre and distributed overseas. Andrew W.K. Yip also published a number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, including 'Educational institutions in Singapore', 'Chinatown - Different Exposures', 'Kreta Ayer - Chinatown's Hidden Scars', 'The Blue Triangle', 'A veil of love and terror', and 'Strange Encounters - Into the Unknown' under different pen names, including Andre W. Keye.)

The Best Poem Of Andrew W.K. Yip

Lady River - A Tribute To Singapore River

Remember the folks who first came to our shores,
Fleeing from floods, famine, starvation and wars.
Remember they cleared the forests, pushed back the sea.
They braved the storms and swamps, and built the place that is home to me.

Lady River, your beauty shone and lived on.
Though you might haunt, yet neither tease nor taunt.
How they came - just the same,
Not minding the rugged hills, and nature untame.

Lady River, you`ve launched a thousand ships from distant shores,
Like the Grecian beauty the ancients loved, and the modern man adores.
Thousands of junks, bum-boats, lighters nestled around,
And coolies carrying cargo crates abound.

But like unwelcome guests, they were soon gone,
Leaving behind worn-down warehouses that drew a yawn,
Now you`re very clean; even pristine,
As the twinkling skyline of affluence hems you in.

Then urban renewal plunged right in - dazzling your tearless eyes.
Its magic wand changed all - to modernise or harmonise.
Even the Merlion spewing water from its mouth has shifted.
You`ve survived and thrived - your history and tradition lifted.

You`ve watched time wink - its tricks you understand -
Whatever the fetish, fad or new trend.
Whatever slogan, jargon, or dish delicious -
They`re sometimes serious, often hilarious.

Your weary eyes have seen armies, and statesmen,
Suicides of forlorn coolies and depressed steersmen,
Floating bodies of executed spies and war victims,
Choirs and orchestras with their stirring music or hymns.

You have witnessed senseless invasions, occupations and reoccupations;
Mergers and acquisitions, debates and discussions;
The economy`s boom and gloom and recession;
And urban changes with conservation and preservation.

O Lady River, the fleeting years have not dimmed your complexion.
Twelve tall bridges are still your constant companion.
History and heritage charter your course and give direction.
Footsteps along your banks quietly follow your tradition.

Andrew W.K. Yip Comments