A riveting look at the fiercely original, intellectually brilliant mind of Singapore's unofficial Poet-Laureate, Edwin Thumboo whose poetry is key to understanding the emotional hinterland of the city-state. Born of Tamil and Teochew parents, Edwin Thumboo embraced the Protestant faith late in his life. He has a self-confessed fetish for Yeats and Pound and yet completed his doctoral thesis on post-colonial African poetry. He taught himself the Ramayana and I-Ching but found traces of the Odysseus in the shadows of the Merlion. He is brusquely vocal about poetry with a purpose and yet appears a hopeless romantic in his poems about his wife. What happens when a mind which is such a melting pot of brilliant ideas and contrary emotions tries to unscramble the identity of a country like Singapore which is complex, multiracial, has known a fierce economic growth that has often elbowed aside everything else? The Votive Pen sets out to see Edwin Thumboo's poetry steadily and see it whole--without the intervening static of earlier critical writing and with an intense alertness to the text.

"In analysing the Faker one must dissociate him from the common forger; his semi-artistic vocation places him quite apart from the ordinary counterfeiter; he must be studied amid his proper surroundings, and with the correct local colouring, so to speak, and his critic may perchance find some slight modicum of excuse for him. Beside him stand the Imitator, from whom the faker often originates, the tempter who turns the clever imitator into a faker, and the middleman who lures on the unwary collector with plausible tales. "It is not the object of this volume to study the Faker by himself, but to trace his career through the ages in his appropriate surroundings, and compare the methods adopted by him at various periods of history, so far as they may be obtained." -Preface

The older teens in your parish want a youth ministry program that exposes them to relevant, real-world topics in an active, engaging way. Horizons is an innovative, comprehensive approach to religious education. Its foundation is teacher-led, creative learning strategies that give students ample opportunities for discussion, reflection--and fun! Designed for grades 9-12, Horizons utilizes a module system so that you can combine courses and topics to meet the specific needs of your parish. Seven core courses set the stage for discussing central and foundational themes. Then choose from a wide selection of age-appropriate minicourses to round out your curriculum and craft summer courses, retreats, and youth-group activities. The Youth Ministry Strategies component features more than 65 creative youth activities to complement the Horizons curriculum. And on top of all that, Horizons includes outstanding training resources. You'll be able to create the most engaging and relevant youth ministry program for senior high that is available anywhere.