Mohamed Latiff Mohamed

Mohamed Latiff Mohamed (20 March 1950 – 13 October 2022) was a Singaporean Malay poet and writer.

Biography Mohamed Latiff Mohamed was born in Singapore on 20 March 1950. He was educated at Guillemard Malay School, followed by Tun Seri Lanang Secondary School and Kaki Bukit Secondary School.

Career After his secondary education, Mohamed Latiff studied at the Teachers Training College and taught at several primary and secondary schools before moving to Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore (CDIS) to design course materials for the Malay-language secondary curriculum. He retired in 1999 to focus on writing full-time. His poems tackle the social issues facing the Malay community in Singapore and he strongly believes in the power of literature to combat against racial discrimination in Singapore. This has led to friend and fellow Malay writer S.N. Masuri calling Mohamed Latiff a "poet of protest" and "an angry young man." His novel Dalam keasingan, which used symbolic characters and a style that was more akin to poetry, was adapted into a stage play by Teater Ekamatra in 1990.

Works Poetry Segumpal api selingkar pelangi: Puisi-puisi pilihan 1967–1977 (Solo Enterprises, 1978) Pralina (Oblivion): Antologi puisi (puisi-puisi pilihan 1978–1983) (The International Cultural Study & Development Centre for Asia (Pusat Studi & Pengembangan Kebudayaan Asia), 1983) Danau sukma: Sajak-sajak pilihan 1983–1987 (Angkatan Sasterawan ’50, 1988) Bagiku sepilah sudah: Kumpulan puisi-puisi pilihan 1990–2002 (Pustaka Nasional, 2002) Bila rama-rama patah sayapnya: Puisi pilihan 2002–2006 (Angkatan Sasterawan '50, 2007) Bangsaku di hari lahirku (Angkatan Sasterawan '50, 2011) A Crackle of Flames, A Circle of Rainbow: Selected Poems 1967–1977 (Tr. Zakaria Ali and Muhammad Herwanto Johari) (Ethos Books, 2017)

Fiction Kota air mata (Penerbitan Solo Enterprise, 1977) Di puncak rindu (Solo Enterprises, 1978) Sandyakala (The International Cultural Study & Development Centre for Asia, 1984) Dalam keasingan (Marwilis Publisher & Distributors, 1989) Batas langit (Pustaka Cipta Sdn Bhd, 1996) Ziarah cinta (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1998) Nostalgia yang hilang: cerpen-cerpen pilihan 1982–2002 (Pekan Ilmu Publication Sdn Bhd, 2004) Ziarah rindu (Pustaka Nasional, 2004) Confrontation (Tr. Shafiq Selamat) (Epigram, 2013) The Widower (Tr. Alfian Sa'at) (Epigram, 2015) Lost Nostalgia (Tr. Nazry Bahrawi) (Ethos Books, 2017)

Awards 1998: Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award. 1999: Malay Literary Award consolation prize for Batas langit (Malay Language Council of Singapore). 2002: Southeast Asian (SEA) Write award. 2003: Tun Seri Lanang Award (Malay Language Council of Singapore, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts). 2004: Singapore Literature Prize for Bagiku sepilah sudah (poetry collection). 2006: Singapore Literature Prize for Nostalgia yang hilang (short-story collection). 2008: Singapore Literature Prize for Bila rama-rama patah sayapnya (poetry collection). 2009: National Arts Council Special Recognition Award. 2013: Cultural Medallion