Welcome back, readers of the Second Laird Miscellany! As a new school year begins, the Miscellany also welcomes a new editor to its ranks to join in on all of the literary revelry. Introducing Nathaniel Chew, a junior English major who has gamely agreed to share a little bit about himself. Check out his interview below!
Where are you from?
Singapore, Singapore.
What’s the most English major-y thing you’ve ever done?
Pretty sure it would have to be selecting English from the major declaration drop down menu on The Hub.
Other than that? I annotated my summer leisure reading, which probably comes close.
If you were hired to teach an English class here, what would it be called? What are a few books that would grace the syllabus?
I’d teach a class on Singaporean literature, so nobody would be able to call me out if I made stuff up! Joking aside, the material is great, and I’d probably do a surveyish class on Singapore Stories. The existence of an official, constructed national narrative has had pervasive influence on education, language, race relations, socioeconomic policy, etc. and I think it’s worth understanding the alternative narratives raised in Singaporean writing and art – how they explore and question underlying national assumptions, and what state of plurality they leave in their wake. To read: The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, a Singpowrimo anthology, Malay Sketches, The Singapore Story.
What’s your literary guilty pleasure?
Not strictly literary, but I compulsively collect words I like from the books I read. The criteria for making my list are very loosely defined, and usually boil down to “ooh this sounds pretty!” Some entries: bric-à-brac, jalopy, purfle, and current favorite, gruntled, as in the opposite of disgruntled, as in rather pleased.
What’s the last book you read outside of class (that you would recommend)?
The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien. I think the fact that autobiographical war stories exist at all is a testament to the human spirit. O’Brien goes further, examining the nature of war stories themselves, who tells them to whom and why. It’s a book that grapples with truth and identity and narrative and peace. It’s also heartbreaking.
If you could step into a book and integrate yourself into the story, which would it be and how would the story change?
While personally not the book’s biggest fan, I’d pop into the virtual reality of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One and, like, play a lot of real life Super Smash Bros or something. I probably wouldn’t have much plot relevance beyond a cool cameo, but hey, neither did half the actual story! (Really not the book’s biggest fan.) It’s a pretty neat world, though.
What do you love most about the English Department?
The people! The professors are universally kind and passionate, and I have many a fond memory of a Laird office hour. The students are great, many of them good friends of mine, and I love seeing both familiar and new faces in my classes each term. I also feel that English majors have a higher tolerance for bad puns, which I occasionally take advantage of.