WHEN the National Library Board says it wants to take book lovers on a literary journey through Singapore, the word 'journey' is used, well, quite literally.
In the five-month lead-up to the Singapore Writers Festival in late October, the board is organising a series of five tours around the island, themed around poems or stories by Singapore writers.
Each of the two-hour tours will be led by an insider on the local literary scene, sometimes even by the writer of one of the works being discussed.
The first session on Saturday, which is already fully booked, is themed Nostalgia.
Led by bookseller Kenny Leck, co-owner of indie bookstore BooksActually, it will take participants from the skyscrapers of Shenton Way to the adjacent shophouse conservation district, and then to the HDB heartland of Toa Payoh.
At each of the three locations, instead of pulling out a copy of the Lonely Planet travel guide, Mr Leck will read poetry: Naming Of Parts Of A CBD, Shenton Way 1992 by Heng Siok Tian, Nostalgia by Klyth Tan and A Brief History Of Toa Payoh by Koh Buck Song.
Read the full report in Friday's edition of The Straits Times' LIFE!.
