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About Aerial Roots

Aerial Roots is a poetry collection that meditates on the liminal space of displacement and settlement, arrivals and departures, uprootedness, and assimilation. It is between these hybrid shifts of time and place, of bilocation, that diasporic writers dwell for most of their lives. 

Visualising the ongoing narratives as akin to the banyan tree and its allegorical roots, the poems revisit the vast canvas of memory, places, and lived experiences. This collection negotiates and interrogates the complex issues of identity, ethnicity, belonging, heritage, and multiple homes to know where and what home is. 

About Shilpa Dikshit Thapliyal

Shilpa Dikshit Thapliyal is an Indian-Singaporean poet and author of two poetry collections. Her work has appeared in the Practice Research & Tangential Activities (PR&TA) Journal, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, The Best Asian Poetry, The Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English, Trivium, Little Things, to let the light in, Anima Methodi, and elsewhere. 

Poems from her previous collection Between Sips of Masala Chai (Kitaab International, 2019) have been selected for secondary school curriculum in Singapore. Her poem, ‘Hymn of Hope’, written during the pandemic for the Homeward project, was performed by the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic Orchestra. Some of her poems have been translated into Japanese, Spanish, and Chinese Ink-Art. 

Her poems have been nominated for the Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize and awarded second place in The Letter Review Prize, 2022. Her third collection, Aerial Roots, was awarded The Letter Review Prize for Unpublished Books, 2024. She has read poetry at the Singapore Writers Festival, the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai, Poetry on the Move, Canberra, The RevTen Radio, USA, and the Festival of Friendship (Revolution of Tenderness, USA).

Shilpa has adjudicated several poetry competitions including the National Poetry Competition, the CLASS Poetry Competition, the National Poetry Recitation Competition, and the Write and Burn Spoken Word Competition. Shilpa serves on the organising committee of Poetry Festival Singapore as a poet and literary organiser.

Born and raised in India, Shilpa completed her Master's in Computer Management (MCM) from Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research, Symbiosis University, Pune. She worked in a leading IT services company before relocating to Singapore in 2001. She has recently completed her second Master's, M.A. (Arts) from the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Shilpa resides in Singapore with her family.
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Recommendations/Blurbs

These poems take us to the minutiae of the author’s beloved landscapes, familiar haunts and remembered neighbourhoods, but a new, rich tapestry of sights and sounds; of ethnic variety and riches. This is food for the soul; part of a significant journey of discovery, recall and recovery, a traveller’s recognition of how nature’s beneficence is a palpable blessing no matter where one is in the world.

 — Anne Lee Tzu Pheng

Tender. Present. Generous. Dignified. Shilpa Dikshit Thapliyal’s Aerial Roots is a deeply contemplative collection, intelligent and lustrous in its surfacing of rich feeling and authenticity. Perambulating around the banyan tree are poems laced in heavy symbolism. Threaded through are astonishingly beautiful images and sounds. The confessional moments meander their way confidently through verse, from the ghazal and haibun to prose poem. One becomes witness to a fondness—of memory, of nostalgia. Wait for the beautiful epiphanies, even as time and space remain suspended in this alluring lyric imagination. One encounters a poetry that bravely looks at ideas of identity, border crossings, diaspora, heritage, tradition, community, family, and what it means to belong. Indeed, this is a welcome homecoming for the author, and what a grand tour of a life’s journeying it has been. Sublime. Remarkable. Simply magnificent.

— Desmond Francis Xavier Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé
Winner of the Singapore Literature Prize

Shilpa's poetry traces how shifting light, from "coppered dawn" to "a sundown mist [descending] on the ghats," illuminates the tender narrative of a family in transition. The play between natural radiance and urban gleam becomes an objective correlative for the immigrant clan's own metamorphosis. Each poem distills the complex emotions of leaving and arriving, of roots seeking new soil while branches reach toward changed skies.

—Eric Tinsay Valles, poet, editor and educator

Shilpa's is a voice that is at once intelligent and humane. Her work is dynamic and beautifully paced—a culturally rich and sensually stimulating experience that is, quite simply, a joy to read.

— Kita Das, Ol James
The Letter Review

Shilpa has beautifully meshed the world she grew up in and with the world she currently calls home. She draws parallels between her childhood by recalling memories of Little India and her Amma, and finds joy in how technology keeps the family together internationally. This collection of poems invites the reader into her world of duality, through her thoughtfully crafted words.

— Latha
Writer

Through richly evocative language and a keen eye for botanical metaphors, Shilpa embarks on a poignant exploration of movement and displacement, love and belonging, and the liminal spaces between migration and settlement. Buttressed by her transnational sensibilities, the personal and the universal entwine in her poetry, serving as a living, breathing testament to the intricate connections between place, identity, and the human experience. Like seeds that grow into mighty banyan trees, Shilpa's poems weave a tapestry of interwoven perspectives, akin to a reticulated network of aerial roots—one which branches out into a forest of reflection and imagination that takes root in the reader's mind.

— Ow Yeong Wai Kit
Educator and Poet  

These poems are lush with images and symbols from the two countries/cultures Shilpa deftly inhabits, her original home in India and the new in Singapore where she now lives. The diction reflects this reality,  the English enriched with untranslatable words from the mother country and allusions ( people, places, birds, trees etc), pointing to a restless, assimilative mind journeying to seek identities, roots, and loops in her rich past and present.
 
A cornucopia of poetry.

— Robert Yeo
 Poet and Playwright

Aerial Roots is a heartfelt homage to memories of the poet’s time spent in India, her country of origin. Set under the metaphoric, awning leitmotif of the banyan tree, Thapliyal’s poems offer the reader a universe with hidden windows that open unto an “undergrowth of decades”. One unlocks new meanings every time one enters her work. The poems speak of dislocation, migration, identity or the loss of it, and of the untethered state of our being, while also being contained within exquisite, precise language. The poet has a remarkable ability to draw connections between the personal and the cosmic, the present and the past, longing and reality. Her work is tender, incisive, clear-sighted and deeply intimate, replete with “stains and spills of plump memories”. Her poetry stuns us, wounds us, keeps us warm, while being unapologetically her own. The poems display amazing manoeuvring of the terrain of the page and the mind - a gentle flow, akin to a river’s graceful swirl on its journey. The memories shared with us are mesmerising and quintessentially, culturally, charmingly Indian. Indeed her poems hold “… lamps to moonless skies”. The collection is a milestone written on the existential nuances of life. Every line, an “aperture for departure”.

— Vinita Agrawal
Poet and Editor
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About Rosetta Cultures

Rosetta Cultures is an imprint by TrendLit Publishing that focuses on championing and bridging languages and the arts across cultures and communities.

Rosetta Cultures is currently based in Singapore, serving local and international readers.

Publication Information

ISBN: 978-981-94-3584-5 (Paperback)
CIP: Available with National Libarary Board, Singapore
Publisher / Imprint: Rosetta Cultures
Date of Publication: August 2025
Suggested Categorization: Poetry, Contemporary Literature, Singapore Literature
Format: 19cm (H) x 13cm (W), 100 pages

内容简介

　　书内收录了15则触动心灵的小故事，以道家思想的博大智慧，配以精彩生动的漫画，带领我们认识中华传统美德。每一篇漫画前后，都有道博士带出引言及总结，启发读者认识当下，从小地方做起，领略人生的幸福。

　　相信这本书定能触动读者的心灵，增长智慧。

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ISBN：978-981-94-3901-0
出版社：北冥文化（新文潮出版社旗下出版品牌）
出版日期：2025年9月
建议分类：道家思想、宗教研究、心理励志
联系：contact@trendlitpublishing.com

內容簡介

　　《讓你的心住在愛之中，住在寬恕之中》是一部療愈心靈的智慧之書，仿若一盞明燈，照亮讀者生命的每一個角落。全書圍繞“愛”與“寬恕”兩大主題，循序漸進地引領讀者踏上一場內心的深度探索與療愈之旅。 
　　全書分爲五個章節，深入探討家庭、婚姻、抑鬱症、生命的真相以及寬恕的力量。書中不僅揭示了親子教育與婚姻關係的真諦，更深入剖析了抑鬱症的根源，以及人類靈魂深處的孤寂。它以溫暖的語言喚醒人們的內在力量，引導我們在生活的風雨中找到內心的寧靜與自由。
　　這不僅是一本對愛的禮讚，更是一場靈魂的覺醒之旅。它啓示我們，無論生活多麼困頓，唯有愛能療愈傷痛，唯有寬恕能擁抱過往。生命的意義不在於執着，而在於學會接納與釋懷。唯有當我們用愛與寬恕填滿心靈深處的空白，靈魂才能最終與光明相融。

作者簡介

　　東方聖光（Oriental Holy Light）成立於2023年，是香港政府注冊的非牟利慈善團體及服務機構。

　　本會宗旨是爲促進教育，以造福香港與廣大社會，透過出版印刷書籍，及舉辦不同身心靈活動，以提昇市民大衆及兒童對身心靈的認識與學習。主力幫助生活壓力大、內心無力、經常焦慮恐懼痛苦、受過重創、內心迷茫、找不到人生意義的人群，安撫情緒，滋養心靈，促進親子關繫、家庭和諧，並協助治愈罹患「抑鬱症」、「自閉症」等心靈感冒的人群，康複治愈陷入「心靈孤島」的大衆。藉着身心靈文化的傳播，緻力在人們心中播下陽光、溫暖、愛與光明的正向種子，積極培育大衆及下一代。

内容简介

　　这是一本能够穿透心灵的漫画。
 
　　爱的温暖从这里寻找，智慧的光明从这里点亮。轻松快乐时，阅读此书，可以获得深度的启迪；同时更重要的，这本书还将陪伴你度过生命中每次的孤独与徬徨。
 
　　以爱的光明，来温暖你的心灵。以宽恕的温暖，来唤醒你灵魂深处的爱。
　　拥有一颗真实不隐藏的心，一颗温暖利他的心，不论外界纷杂，你都是纯洁的。
　　爱并不是你爱我、我爱你，不是被美丑、富穷影响的执著妄想，不是强迫自己去「爱」。
　　没有指责、没有否定，只有宽恕与温暖，只有接纳与爱。
　　痛苦是如何产生的？当内心的诉求，得不到满足之时，所以你的看见，是在心中，而不是眼中。
 
　　人生有很多痛苦与无奈，很多想得而不可得，先做回真实的心吧，想反抗就反抗，不要扭曲自己的灵魂，唯有心安理得，平心静气的心，才具有宽恕的能力。
 
　　让《你只是爱，爱之中，一无所缺》这本全彩精装绘本漫画，用温暖的色调与笔触，生动的图像与对话，疗愈每颗受伤的心灵，陪伴你继续前行。

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ISBN：978-981-94-3661-3
出版社：北冥文化（新文潮出版社旗下出版品牌）
出版日期：2025年9月
建议分类：心理励志、心灵疗愈、灵性成长
联系：contact@trendlitpublishing.com

This booklet brings together the original English works from Streets & Places of Singapore Volumes 1 and 2. The two anthologies were envisioned as a way of mapping Singapore through literature—capturing how streets and places carry history, memory, and imagination. Published in Chinese, they highlight the city as seen through the lens of Chinese literary expression, while also embracing works that were first written in English and lovingly translated into Chinese.

About the Editor

Ang Lai Sheng (汪来昇, 1987–) is a Singaporean writer, translator, publisher, and columnist, and the Co-founder & Editor-in-Chief of TrendLit Publishing. His works and essays have been published across Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China. He is the author of the poetry collections After Commotion, The Void (2014) and Destroy All Gods (2016), and editor of anthologies including Never Before – 50 Essential Poems (2018), Streets & Places of Singapore (Vol. 1 & 2, 2022, 2025), and Impressions of Singapore (2023). He is also the Chinese-language translator of Anything but Human (2025) and The World May Say This, But I Believe That! (2025).

Beyond his publications, Ang champions emerging voices, fosters cross-cultural literary dialogue, and conducts workshops and talks for writers and educators. He has twice served as Writer-in-Residence for the Ministry of Education’s Chinese Language Elective Programme and was honoured with the 2023 NTU School of Humanities Alumni Award for his contributions to literature and publishing.

Authors

Alvin Pang／Daryl Lim Wei Jie／Shawn Hoo／Yeow Kai Chai／Yong Shu Hoong ／Yvonne Tham


Contents

Editor’s Forword

1.     Around the Lake I Go ◎ Yong Shu Hoong

2.     Hwi Yoh Trilling ◎ Shawn Hoo

3.     Katong ◎ Alvin Pang

4.     Kelip-kelip: An Entomologist’s Field Recording at Changi Village Circa 2007 ◎ Yeow Kai Chai

5.     My Kind of Town ◎ Daryl Lim Wei Jie

6.    
Toa Payoh Lorong 8 ◎ Yvonne Tham

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ISBN: 978-981-94-4467-0
Publisher: TrendLit Publishing Private Limited
Published Date: October 2025
Suggest Classification: Creative Non-Fiction, Singapore Literature, Locative Writing
Email: contact@trendlitpublishing.com

　　《我狮城，我街道》系列以“街道与记忆”为主题，从文学视角描绘新加坡的城市肌理、人文地景与生活日常。两册作品共汇聚五十多位作家的诗与散文，串联语言、族群、空间与记忆，构筑出属于狮城的文学地图。

《我獅城，我街道》
　　本书收录新加坡三代、二十六位作家的原创作品，以诗歌与散文书写街道与地方的故事、记忆与生活。有书写大坡小坡的周维介、小印度学艺的黄子明、描绘黑街旧事的吴伟才、漫步耶礼峇路的潘正镭、回望死人街的何志良与林方伟、记录上班日常的蔡欣洵，以及虚构“登百灵坊”的杨薇薇等。
　　书中不仅是一场文学漫步，更是一份留给城市与读者的“记忆档案”。主编汪来昇于〈心之所向〉中回顾了编书缘起与传播历程——若繁体版是让狮城走向世界，简体版则是温柔地回归故土。

《我獅城，我街道２》
　　延续第一册的精神与热度，本书收录三十位作者的二十九篇散文，书写更宽广的时间与地理幅度，继续关注新加坡的地方故事与生活痕迹。
　　从中峇鲁一颗“铁球”的跨世记忆，到安德逊路、苏菲雅路与盛港的人文变迁；从新加坡河与安祥山的静谧步行，到加冷河畔的劳动与歌声；从“阿裕尼十楼”的半世纪风华，到勿洛北与高文的烟火气、武吉巴督的魔幻写实、裕廊西与实龙岗北的陶窑兴衰——每一篇都以文字留住生活的温度。

　　愿我们深深爱着的这片土地与日常，历久弥新，继续闪耀人文的光彩。

特别附赠：英译版选集 —— Streets & Places of Singapore 1 & 2: Works originally written in English
　　此小册精选两册中原以英文创作的作品，完整收录英文本，展现文学跨语言的对话与文化交流之美。

About Flung

Here is a deepening inquiry into the self in the realm of love; a meditation on the ecstasy of the queer self that transcends conventional binaries. Between confessions, dreams and alternative lives, an underlying fear for the partner suffering from that inability to surrender motivates these pages. Fear is a burden that unravels and transforms into opportunities for edification, and therefore more and more love. Between the lover and the mystic self, this poem replays, exists, relents.

About Cyril Wong

Cyril Wong is a poet whose works “embrace themes of love, alienation and human relationships of all kinds” (TIME magazine, 28 Nov. 2007). His books include Beachlight (Seagull Books, 2023) and This Side of Heaven (Epigram Books, 2020). A two-time recipient of the Singapore Literature Prize (2006 and 2016) and the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award for Literature (2005), he completed his doctoral degree in English Literature at the National University of Singapore in 2012. His work was featured in Poems on the Underground in London (2022). His writings have appeared in journals like Poetry International, Poetry New Zealand, Ambit, Atlanta Review, as well as in anthologies by W. W. Norton and Everyman’s Library.

About Rosetta Cultures

Rosetta Cultures is an imprint by TrendLit Publishing that focuses on championing and bridging languages and the arts across cultures and communities.

Rosetta Cultures is currently based in Singapore, serving local and international readers.

Publication Information

ISBN: 978-981-94-4322-2 (Paperback)
CIP: Available with National Library Board, Singapore
Publisher / Imprint: Rosetta Cultures
Date of Publication: December 2025
Suggested Categorization: Poetry, Contemporary Literature, Singapore Literature
Format: 19cm (H) x 13cm (W), 108 pages