SG POETS ON TOUR
WORKSHOP:
TOPIC: WHEN POETRY MARRIES CALLIGRAPHY
Suitable for: 12 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $20.00 per pax
Mr Chow Teck Seng introduces how calligraphy has been employed to write poems, drawing examples from history, day-to-day life as well as the speaker’s own experience. The workshop focuses on Chinese calligraphy using brush and pen to personalize poetry, with examples from English and Malay manuscripts. There will be a demonstration, followed by a hands-on session. Participants will use both traditional and contemporary calligraphy materials. Most writing materials will be provided. No prior calligraphy experience is required. The session will be conducted in English and Mandarin, with on-site translator Dr Tan Chee Lay 陈志锐.
About Chow Teck Seng
Singapore-born, Chow writes poetry primarily in Chinese. Frequently contributing to literary journals, anthologies and the Chinese press in Singapore and abroad, he has won awards such as the Singapore Literature Prize (2014) and Golden Point Award (2009). His poems in English translation are found in “& WORDS”, “UNION” (Ethos), “Sg Poems 2015-6” and "Poetry at Sangam”and are adapted as short films by LASALLE students (2017). A former lecturer (Chinese-language Literature) at NUS and NIE, he is currently pursuing a PhD at Cambridge University.
About Dr Tan Chee Lay
Born and bred in Singapore, Dr Tan Chee Lay is an Assoc Professor in NIE, NTU and the Executive Director (R&D) of the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language. He has a BA in Chinese (National Taiwan Normal U), MA in English (NUS), MBA (Leicester) and PhD (Oriental Studies, Cambridge). He has won the Golden Point Award, Young Artist Award, Singapore Youth Award (Art and Culture) and has published over 20 creative writing and scholarly books.
WORKSHOP:
Winning Poetry: Stellar Voice & Style
Suitable for: 13 years old and above
Language: English
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $250.00 per session
What makes for a good poem? What are the qualities that make one poem distinguish itself from the rest? What do literary judges look for in an award-winning poem? In this workshop, Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé helps participants get an immediate sense of how inventive and exciting contemporary poetry has become, and explore what it takes to carve out that distinctive voice for themselves. Participants share insights on an array of poems representing diverse styles, thereby understanding what publishers look for in an emerging writer.
About Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé
Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé is the author of an epistolary novel, five hybrid works, and nine poetry collections. A former journalist, he has edited more than twenty books and co-produced three audio books. Trained in publishing at Stanford University, Desmond received his world religions masters from Harvard University and creative writing masters from the University of Notre Dame. Among other accolades, Desmond is the recipient of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, Independent Publisher Book Award, National Indie Excellence Book Award, Poetry World Cup, Singapore Literature Prize, two Beverly Hills International Book Awards, three Living Now Book Awards, and seven USA Regional Excellence Book Awards. He helms Squircle Line Press as its founding editor.
WORKSHOP:
Children’s Poetry - What Rhymes is Fine
Language: English
Suitable for: 11 to 12 years old
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $350.00 per session
In this fun workshop, poet Felix Cheong will play games with participants using rhymes and word association. The aim is to allow them to create poetry freely, to enjoy the creative process without fearing that it is "wrong" or "difficult" to understand.
About Felix Cheong
Felix Cheong is the author of 12 books and recipient of the National Arts Council's Young Artist Award. His work has been widely anthologised and nominated for the Frank O'Connor Award and the Singapore Literature Prize. He has been invited to festivals all over the world, from Edinburgh to Sydney. Currently an adjunct university lecturer, he holds a masters in creative writing.
LECTURE:
TOPIC: Singapore Fiction (English)
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 60 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 40
Price: $150.00
Presenter: Prof. Ismail S Talib
The presentation will discuss Singapore fiction in relation to its two main genres: the short story and the novel. Some issues pertaining to Singapore fiction, such as its history, its relationship to Malaysian literature, and Singaporean elements in some of the works, would be discussed.
About The Presenter
Ismail Talib is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature. He has an interest in stylistics, narratology, postcolonial theory and in Singapore and Malaysian literature in English.
LECTURE:
FOCUS: DRAMA (English)
TOPIC: Just Add Water: Growing A Playwright in Contemporary Singapore English Theatre
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 60 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 40
Price: $150.00
Presenter: Marcia Vanderstraaten
This paper seeks to examine the following questions: Are Singapore English-language playwrights today better off than before in terms of opportunities? Do the challenges they face remain the same as before? Most importantly, should we care?
About The Presenter
Marcia Vanderstraaten obtained her MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia, and was associate artist at W!LD RICE from Oct 2014 to Jan 2016. She is best known for HOTEL (W!LD RICE/SIFA, 2015), which won her and acclaimed playwright Alfian Sa'at Best Original Script at the M1-Life! Theatre Awards 2016.
LECTURE:
HISTORY OF THE SPOKEN WORD
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $300.00 per session
Presenters: Max Pasakorn, Ng Yi-Sheng, Stephanie Dogfoot
The history of spoken word in Singapore is one behind pubs and bars, where poetry meets theatre, music and drag. Though relatively new as compared to the “page” poetry, spoken word’s influence has deep roots in the island state. Join poets Ng Yi-Sheng and Stephanie Dogfoot as they delve into the spoken word scene in Singapore, while sharing their own memories of when they started. Moderated by Max Pasakorn.
About the Presenters
The fluffball of energy known as Max Pasakorn is a Thai-born spoken word poet residing in Singapore. He is a two-time finalist of Singapore’s National Poetry Competition (2017 and 2018) and the winner of the NUS Creative Writing Competition 2018. When not being a slave to the Singapore army, he can be found watching a Disney movie, or testing out one of his new creations at a poetry open mic.
Ng Yi-Sheng is a poet, playwright, fiction writer, journalist, researcher and LGBTIQ activist. He won the Singapore Literature Prize 2008 for his debut poetry collection last boy. Other works include the non-fiction book SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century, the novelisation of the film Eating Air, and the spoken word compilation Loud Poems for a Very Obliging Audience.
Stephanie Dogfoot is a writer, performer and educator who has won national poetry slams in the UK and Singapore. Her work has been featured in 11 different countries and she currently runs poetry night called Spoke & Bird, and co-runs a feminist comedy called Siao Char Bors Comedy.
LECTURE:
PUISI MELAYU SINGAPURA DAN SERANTAU
Language: Malay
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $300.00 per session
Presenters: Hamed Bin Ismail
This poetry event is an annual gathering to celebrate the wonders of poetry with the aim to heighten the appreciation of the art through discursive engagement and spoken words, so that critical ideas could be part of the creativity and criticality in the art of making and articulating poetry. With 'Semangat Berpuisi', that is Inspirit with Poetry, we come together for meaningful vision, ideas and imagination.
About Mr Hamed Bin Ismail
Hamed Bin Ismail has written and supervised the production of hundreds of television scripts. He received the Anugerah Persuratan Singapura (Malay Literary Award) for his plays “Anjing Untuk Diplomat” and “Singkap”, and his short story “Pak Long”. He also received the Golden Point Award for Malay Poetry in 2011, and in 2013, he published Suara Dalam, a collection of his poems from 1976 to 2012. Hamed also conduct writing courses for the drama activists, students, school teachers and budding writers.
POETRY READING WITH Q&A
E-Poetry - A Tamil Poetry Performance
Language: Tamil
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $250.00 per session
Eleven promising poets that have taken part in the Singpowrimo Tamil Poetry challenge 2018 will be performing their poems for their audiences. These poets include winners of the challenge and those that have done very well in the daily prompts. This includes them sharing about their writing processes and experiences. Each participant will be given 8 minutes for their sharing. The last 15 minutes of the programme would be an open mike where the audiences are given a mike to perform their pieces as well. So come down for an evening to hear how these newly turned poets for their inspiration and wrote their first few pieces of poetry and maybe even share a few verses of your own.
இணைய கவி துளிகள்
சிங்பொரிமொ தமிழ் கவிதைச் சவாலில் பங்கேற்ற பதினொரு வளரும் கவிஞர்கள் தங்கள் கவிதைகளைப் பகிர்ந்துகொள்வார்கள். இதில் சவாலின் வெற்றியாளர்களும், அன்றாடம் கருப்பொருள்களுக்கு சிறப்பாக எழுதியவர்களும் அடங்குவார்கள். அவர்கள் தங்கள் கவிதைகளோடு தங்கள் எழுத்துச் செயல்பாடுகள் பற்றியும் பேசுவார்கள். நிகழ்ச்சியின் கடைசி 15 நிமிடங்கள் பார்வையாளர்கள் தங்கள் கவிதைகளைப் பகிர்ந்துகொள்ளலாம். இந்த புதிய கவிஞர்களின் உந்துசக்தி என்ன என்பதை அறிந்துகொள்ளவும் உங்கள் கவிதைகளைப் பகிரவும் இந்நிகழ்ச்சிக்கு வருகை புரியுங்கள்.
OTHER EVENTS AVAILABLE (UPON REQUEST)
POETRY READING WITH Q&A
FREE FOOD (for the soul): Poetry Reading by Young Women Poets
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $250.00 per session
Seven up-and-coming women poets, some of whom are new in the scene, will showcase a range of poetry inspired by the likes of family, gender issues, spirituality and nationalism. Come and have a taste of FREE FOOD (for the soul). Poets performing include Natalie Wang, Amber Lin, Elizabeth Fen Chen, Ang Shuang, Carissa Cheow, Pamela Seong Koon and Sarah Mak. Hosted by Lim Xin Hwee
About The Presenters:
Xin Hwee is a student of the world. Her life goal is to help people become happier. She sings love songs off-key because she misunderstands love to a great degree.
Natalie Wang writes about unhappy women and angry ghosts. And cats. She has been published in LONTAR: The Journal for Southeast Asian Speculative Writing, SingPoWriMo anthologies, The Kindling journal, as well as collections like My Lot is a Sky (Math Paper Press) and Red Pulse II (Ethos). Her debut collection of poetry The Woman Who Turned Into A Vending Machine (Math Paper Press) will be released sometime in 2018.
Amber Lin (a.k.a. Hoo Xun Lin) is an actor, director, spoken word artiste, and performance coach. Since graduating from LASALLE, she has been engaged in both stage and screen productions, and accumulated a wide range of work experiences including puppeteering, video editing, and stage management. In 2017, she wrote and performed in her own one woman show "Force of Choice", which was re-staged in 2018. Her poems have been published in local anthologies, including SingPoWriMo 2016 by Math Paper Press.
Elizabeth Fen Chen writes poetry inspired by the everyday. She believes in the power of words to move people, such as "lunch will be provided". Her poems are usually short, like her attention span.
Ang Shuang's poems have been published in SingPoWriMo 2016 and 2017, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, and Words Dance Magazine. She will be starting her MFA in Creative Writing at Sarah Lawrence College this fall.
The founder of Singapore's first labour movement simulation conference, Carissa Cheow wears many hats but actually owns none. She does research and advocacy and seeks to create and develop social movements that empower individuals and communities. In whatever free time she has left (spoiler: she does not actually have any), she dabbles in poetry (as can be seen here) while hoping that her university will offer a Politics, Philosophy and Economics major soon.
Pamela Seong Koon is a occasional poet who likes Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sarah Mak is a Year 1 student from Eunoia Junior College. She a lover of animation, Studio Ghibli, films, video games, Pokémon and poetry!
POETRY READING WITH Q&A
In Spirit and In Truth Spiritual Poetry Reading
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $250.00 per session
A poetry reading with Keki Daruwalla, Nordita Taib, Aaron Lee, Lin Rongchan, Eric Tinsay Valles, Grace Chia, Chitra Ramesh, Ow Yeong Wai Kit, Psalmideo et al.
Spiritual poems inspire people to aspire to wisdom, love and self-realization. Representing various faith and humanistic traditions, the featured poets reach out to seek peace and virtue through art.
About the Presenters:
Host: Ow Yeong Wai Kit is an educator, editor, and writer. He has edited poetry anthologies such as From Walden to Woodlands and Love at the Gallery. As a teacher of English and Literature, he has an M.A. in English Literature from University College London. He is also an interfaith harmony advocate in the Holland-Bukit Timah Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC).
Eric Tinsay VALLES has published the poetry collections A World in Transit & After the Fall: dirges among ruins as well as co-edited Get Lucky Anthology of Singapore and Philippine Writings and Sg Poems 2015-2016. His poetry has appeared in SEA Review of English, Routledge’s New Writing & other journals. He has won a Goh Sin Tub prize. He has been invited to read poetry or commentaries at Oxford & Kistrech Festival. He is a director of Poetry Festival
(Singapore).
Grace Chia is the author of a novel, The Wanderlusters, a short story collection, Every Moving Thing That Lives Shall Be Food, three poetry collections, womango, Cordelia and Mother of All Questions. She is the editor of anthology,We R Family, and her writing has been anthologised in the US, Australia, Germany, France, Serbia, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. She has been
awarded writing residencies in Korea and Macau and was the first national Writer-in-Residence for NAC-NTU from 2011-2012.
PsalmiDeo Chorale has been promoting Philippine culture and artistry since 2002. In July 2016, the group was a Grand Prix finalist in the prestigious Singapore International Choral Festival (SICF), and was declared Category Champion in the Mixed Voices (Open) category. Currently under the direction of esteemed conductor Dr. Joel Navarro, "Psalmi" continues to explore new musical horizons and artistic challenges, while building bridges of fellowship with the various communities in Singapore.
Lin Rongchan’s works have appeared in anthologies and Lianhe Zaobao. Awards received include the SPH-NAC Golden Point Award 2011 (Chinese Poetry – Honourable Mention) and the 7th Singapore Tertiary Chinese Literature Awards (Poetry – 3rd prize). Rongchan is passionate about promoting creative writing. She has been an instructor for the Author-in-Residence Programme organized by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning since 2012.
Aaron Lee is a pilgrim poet, writing mentor, community organiser and regulatory/ethics lawyer. His three books of poetry (including Coastlands) are critically acclaimed and he has won many writing awards. He also co-edited several books, including the bestselling poetry anthology No Other City and the new A-level anthology Lines Spark Code. In 2014, he and his wife, the artist Namiko Chan Takahashi, co-founded the Laniakea Culture Collective to champion communitarian values through the arts.
Prof Edwin Thumboo has published five poetry collections, most recently Word-Gate (2013). An emeritus professor and professorial fellow at the National University of Singapore, he has held visiting professorships in the US, UK, Australia, Austria, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Studies of his work include Ee Tiang Hong’s Responsibility and Commitment: The Poetry of Edwin Thumboo (1997), Peter Nazareth’s Creating a Nation Through Poetry (2007), and Essays on Edwin Thumboo (2008) and Understanding Verbal Art (2015), both edited by Jonathan Webster.
Keki N. Daruwalla
Born: 1937, in a Zoroastrian family. Publications: Ten poetry volumes, including Collected Poems (Penguin), five volumes of Short Fiction and two novels. Third novel , “Swerving to Solitude” is in press with Simon Schuster. Readings: Has read widely in UK, Struga, Stockholm and USA.
Awards: Sahitya Academy Award 1984, Commonwealth Poetry Prize for Asia 1977, Padma Shri (India’s national Award) 1914, Poet Laureate Award Tata Literary Festival 2017.
Retired as Secretary Cabinet Secretariat 1995. Served as Special Assistant to Prime Minister 1977, and Minister Consular in Indian High Commission London. Was Member Commonwealth Observers Group for Zimbabwe Election 1980.
Nordita Taib
Pendidikan : Sekolah Rendah Duchess 1967- 1973
Sekolah Menengah Sang Nila Utama 1973-1976
Kerjaya : Kerani di Majlis Sukan Singapura
Karya : Antologi Puisi Siri Bebas Melata
Antologi Puisi Lentera Sastera
Koleksi Cerpen dan Sajak SG50 - Di Bawah Langit Tanah Pertiwi
Antologi Puisi Inggeris - Terjemahan SG POEMS
Anugerah : Anugerah Pena Emas 2013 Kategori Puisi
PANEL DISCUSSION:
on Tamil Poetry by Readers Circle
Language: Tamil
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $250.00 per session
The draw of Tamil poetry in Singapore and it’ challenges.
The Forum will explore how it is draw huge crop of the Tamil population and the challenges it faces.
About the Presenters:
Mrs Chitra Ramesh: Moderator- Working as teacher, writer, published 6 books to her credit, President of Vasagar Vattam, Tamil Readers Club, an avid reader, has won prize for her short story in golden point short story writing competition.
Mr Shah Navas: Writer, published 6 books to his credit. His books have won many prizes – Karikalan Chozan award, Mu Ramachandra Book Prize and Singapore Literature Prizes.
He owns a restaurant and has a varied interest in reading, and is the Secretary in Vasagar vattam literary society.
Mr M K Kumar, works as Safety Manager, has published 4 books to his credit and he compiled poems from women of Singapore and published. He has won first prize for his short story in Kalachuvadu and his writings are well recognized by literary circle in Singapore as well in Malaysia. He is Vice President of Vasagar Vattam - a registered literary society in Singapore.
Mrs Azhagunila Panchatcharam: She is a writer and published 4 books to her credit. She is involved in writing children’s story books. She is Assistant Treasurer of Vasagar Vattam, a registered literary society.
Mrs Bharathi Moorthiyappan: She owns a company Edu classic and actively involved in doing creative writing workshop and other Tamil related workshops in primary and secondary schools. She is interested in poems and writes poems in Tamil and plans to publish her work in the near future.
PANEL DISCUSSION:
Authorial Meditations: Engaging with Religious Narratives
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $250.00 per session
How does a poet or fiction writer engage with history, myth or religion to create a great literary work? What of the author’s own belief or spirituality — how is that navigated along with the art creation? What are the challenges and highlights of such intriguing work? Poet Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé facilitates this illuminating panel discussion with eminent authors Gwee Li Sui and Leonard Ng.
About the Presenters:
Moderator: Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé
Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé is the author of an epistolary novel, two hybrid works, and nine poetry collections. A former journalist, he has edited more than fifteen books and co-produced three audio books. Among other accolades, Desmond is the recipient of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, Independent Publisher Book Award, National Indie Excellence Book Award, Poetry World Cup, Singapore Literature Prize, two Beverly Hills International Book Awards, and three Living Now Book Awards. He helms Squircle Line Press as its founding editor.
Panelists:
Gwee Li Sui is a poet, a graphic artist, and a literary critic. He wrote Singapore’s first long-form graphic novel in English, Myth of the Stone, in 1993 and has published six volumes of poetry to date. His latest titles are Death Wish and the bestselling Spiaking Singlish: A Companion to How Singaporeans Communicate. A familiar name in Singapore’s cultural scene, Gwee has also edited several acclaimed literary anthologies and written and lectured on a range of subjects.
Leonard Ng is the author of the poetry collections This Mortal World (shortlisted for the 2012 Singapore Literature Prize) and Changes and Chances, both published by Ethos Books. His work can additionally be found in various journals and anthologies, including Asymptote, Kitaab, QLRS, Ceriph, UnFree Verse, and Union. He also serves as Director of the Urban Explorers of Singapore and is working on a new collection of poems focusing on Singapore’s green and abandoned landscapes.
PANEL DISCUSSION:
Masihkah Ada Semangat Puisi
Language: Malay
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $250.00 per session
This poetry event is an annual gathering to celebrate the wonders of poetry with the aim to heighten the appreciation of the art through discursive engagement and spoken words, so that critical ideas could be part of the creativity and criticality in the art of making and articulating poetry. With 'Semangat Berpuisi', that is Inspirit with Poetry, we come together for meaningful vision, ideas and imagination.
About the Presenters:
Djohan Abdul Rahman A freelance writer, Djohan loves to express his thoughts and emotions through poetry and short stories. In his spare time, apart from fishing, he loves to drive people up the wall with his crazy antics.
Noridah Kamari is a postgraduate student in Malay Literature. She is the co-owner of a local publishing firm, Unggun Creative. Noridah has won Anugerah Penulis Harapan 2013 and several national awards for her poems and essays.
PANEL DISCUSSION:
Poetry and Music
Language: Chinese
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $350.00 per session
Hear what the familar household name Muzi 木子, Lyricist for HOME 家and the Awakening 雾锁南洋(also a poet and academic on poetics), in addition, Zhang Yaotian 张耀天, a young rising musician who advocates the New Nanyang Shiyue or Poetry-music, have to tell us about the musicalization of Chinese-language poetry. Yaotian will bring his guitar to demonstrate and explain how he has composed music in relation to the verses using two case studies of SG Chinese poetry, one half-finished and the other already complete with a MV. Promised to sing live, Muzi will cite examples from the Chinese classical poetry, including the early Shijing and Southern Chu verses, to highlight how music and verses have worked together throughout the centuries. The session will be hosted and facilitated by Chinese poet Chow Teck Seng, who will share with the speakers and audience his experiences in the musicalization of his poems.
很多人因《家》、《雾锁南洋》和《故乡的老酒》 而知道木子这个词人。木子（即李茀民）是诗人，也是专栏作者，更是研究诗学的学人。 他将与本地年轻音乐人张耀天一起讨论诗歌和音乐的结合。耀天本身提倡南洋新诗乐，致力把新华诗歌音乐化，这次他将通过两首诗（一首半完成、一首已创作完毕并制作成音乐录像），现场用吉他示范和分析作曲的过程。木子也会以中国古代的诗经和楚辞等举例，现场哼唱，解释说明中文诗与音乐结合的情况。本场主持是诗人周德成，除了串场，他会适时分享他进行诗乐结合的情况与状况。
About the Presenters:
With prior experiences residing in Japan, Marco Zhang Yaotian seeks to make music embracing multiculturalism. A recent advocate of the Modern Nanyang Poetry-Music genre, as well as the guitalist and main vocal of the GIMA band which embraces world music, Zhang has been active in composing music and performing the SG Chinese comtemporary poems he has made .
张耀天（Marco）
是探索融合多元文化的旅日音乐制作人，他是“南洋新诗乐”Morden Nanyang Poetry and Music创作与吟唱的代表人物之一，他也是东南亚第一支吉他与马头琴组成的世界音乐跨界组合“吉马乐团”GIMA band的吉他手与主唱。
Mu Zi, the lyricist of Home and the Awakening, is also a music composer as well as a Chinese-language poet and an university academic. His recent poetry collection "Shi You Biequ" was shortlisted for the 2018 Singapore Literature Prize under Chinese poetry category.
木子（李茀民），新加坡诗人兼词曲作者，复旦大学古代文学博士。诗集《诗有别趣》刚入围2018 新加坡文学奖。
Currently doing his PHD at Cambridge University, CHOW Teck Seng or ZHOU decheng is the 2014 Singapore Literature Prize and 2009 Golden Point Award Winner for Chinese poetry. Author of the poetry collection "The Story of You & Me", Chow has seen several of his poems adapted as short movies and an anime, and made into songs.
周德成，剑桥大学博士在读，2014 年新加坡文学奖和2009年金笔奖得主。著有诗集《你和我的故事》。部分诗作改编成电影和动漫短片，以及歌曲。
WORKSHOP:
FOCUS: WRITING WINNING POETRY
PART OF NATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION
THEME: To be confirmed
Available in English, Tamil, Malay and Chinese
Suitable for: 13 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $150.00 per session
This workshop focuses on the entry requirements for the National Poetry Competition 2018, which will open from November 2017 onwards. How does one write with strong control over form, appropriate and precise diction, a creative flair as well as a unique and confident style? What makes a winning poem? Participants will receive a collection of poems by award-winning and established poets to gain insight into trends in Sg poetry. Kindly state the preferred language, dates and times, and we will get in touch with you.
Instructors:
Poetry Writing (English)
Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé helms Squircle Line Press as its founding editor. A former journalist, he has edited more than fifteen books and co-produced three audio books. Among other accolades, Desmond is the recipient of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, Independent Publisher Book Award, National Indie Excellence Book Award, Poetry World Cup, Singapore Literature Prize, two Beverly Hills Book Awards, and three Living Now Book Awards.
Poetry Writing (Chinese)
Born and bred in Singapore, Dr Tan Chee Lay is an Assoc Professor in NIE, NTU and the Executive Director (R&D) of the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language. He has a BA in Chinese (National Taiwan Normal U), MA in English (NUS), MBA (Leicester) and PhD (Oriental Studies, Cambridge). He has won the Golden Point Award, Young Artist Award, Singapore Youth Award (Art and Culture) and has published over 20 creative writing and scholarly books.
Poetry Writing (Malay)
Azhar Ibrahim, PhD is a Lecturer at the Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS). He teaches Malay-Indonesian literature and ideologies of development at the Department. His research interest includes sociology of religion, sociology of literature and critical literacy, and the Malay-Indonesian intellectual development. Amongst his published books are: Menyanggah Belenggu Kerancuan FikiranMasakini (2016), Contemporary Islamic Discourse in the Malay-Indonesia World: Critical Perspectives (2014), Narrating Presence: Awakening from Cultural Amnesia. (2014).
Poetry Writing (Tamil)
K. Kanagalatha (Latha) has published two collections of poetry in Tamil: Theeveli (Firespace) (2003), Paampuk Kaattil Oru Thaazhai (A Screwpine in Snakeforest) (2004) and Yaarukkum Illaatha Paalai (No man's desert) 2016. She has also published a short story collection Nan kolai Seyium penkkal (Women I Murder) in 2007, which won the biennial Singapore Literature Prize in 2008. Her poems and short stories have been published in multilingual anthologies in Singapore, such as Fifty on Fifty (2009) and Tumasik: Contemporary Writing from Singapore (2009), and various Tamil literary journals in India, Malaysia, France and Sri Lanka. She is currently the Associate editor of Tamil Murasu, Singapore’s Tamil daily newspaper.
PUBLICATION DISCUSSION:
FOCUS: SINGAPORE POEMS
PUBLICATION: Sg Poems 2015/2016 Anthology
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 80 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 20
Price: $150.00 per session
The anthology showcases poems by finalists in Poetry Festival (Singapore)’s competition over the last two years as well as featured poets during the festival in 2015.
The event opens with a discussion of the featured poems by Siti Hazirah Binte Mohamad, Gwee Li Sui and Subramaniam Kannappan.
The anthology book is available at http://www.poetryfestival.sg/books-and-services
About Hazirah Mohamed
Hazirah Mohamed is a teacher and a literary critic of Malay poetry.
About Gwee Li Sui
Gwee Li Sui is a poet, a graphic artist, and a literary critic. His recent works of verse include Who Wants to Buy a Book of Poems? (1998), One Thousand and One Nights (2014), The Other Merlion and Friends (2015), and Haikuku (2017). He wrote Singapore’s first full-length graphic novel in English, Myth of the Stone (1993), which has since been re-released in an expanded twentieth-anniversary edition by Epigram Books. Gwee received his doctorate from Queen Mary, University of London for his study of Newtonian influence in the poetry of the long eighteenth century. A familiar name in Singapore’s literary scene, he has written and lectured on a range of cultural subjects. He edited Sharing Borders: Studies in Contemporary Singaporean-Malaysian Literature II (2009), Telltale: Eleven Stories (2010), and Man/Born/Free: Writings on the Human Spirit from Singapore (2011) and wrote FEAR NO POETRY!: An Essential Guide to Close Reading (2014).
About Subramaniam Kannappan
Subramaniam Kannappan is a digital consultant and a literary critic of Tamil poetry.
LECTURE:
FOCUS: LITERATURE & NATION
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 50 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 50
Price: $150.00
Presenter: Emeritus Professor Edwin Thumboo
Why it is important to return to basics and reconsider the traditions of Singaporean poetry as contemporary poets create new poems about Singapore
About Prof Edwin Thumboo
An Emeritus Professor/Professorial Fellow in NUS, he has held visiting professorships at universities in the USA, UK, Australia, Austria, Hong Kong and Malaysia, including Fulbright-Hayes (Pennsylvania State University, 1979-1980), Ida Beam (University of Iowa, 1986) and George A Miller (Centre for Advanced Study, University of Illinois, 1998). He was Chairman of the Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies, VII Triennium (1983-1986). Professor Thumboo has published five collections of poems, the most recent being Word-Gate in 2013. Studies of his work include Ee Tiang Hong's Responsibility and Commitment: The Poetry of Edwin Thumboo (1997), Peter Nazareth’s Creating a Nation through Poetry (2007), Essays on Edwin Thumboo (Jonathan Webster, editor, 2008) and Understanding Verbal Art (2015).
LECTURE:
FOCUS: OVERVIEW OF SINGAPORE LITERATURE (ENGLISH)
TOPIC: Examining Singapore Literature in English:
What and Who do We Read, and Why? What's Worth Learning by Heart?
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 60 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 40
Price: $150.00
Presenter(s): Mr. Ow Yeong Wai Kit and Prof. Koh Tai Ann
A description of the range and variety of the fiction and examination of what is generally understood by the description “Singapore Fiction in English”. Stories are many (the House of Fiction is capacious), time is short, and there is much else to read besides Singapore fiction – what and who do we read then, and why?
Can Singapore poets/poems ever affix themselves in the hearts and minds of present and future generations of Singaporeans. Related to these are cultural identity (Do you need to be Singaporean to be a Singapore poet? Does it help if the poem is in Singlish?) and the processes of canonization. (What does it take for a poem to be enshrined?).
About The Presenters
Ow Yeong Wai Kit is an educator, editor, and writer. He co-edited the nature poetry anthology “From Walden to Woodlands” (Ethos Books). As a teacher of English and Literature, he has an M.A. (with distinction) in English Literature from University College London. He is also an interfaith harmony advocate in the Holland-Bukit Timah Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC).
Professor Koh Tai Ann, currently Senior Associate at NTU's Centre for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, has taught English Literature and Singapore/Malaysian literatures in English at the University of Singapore, NUS, NIE and NTU. Her Annotated Bibliography of Singapore Literature in English athttps://eps.ntu.edu.sg/client/en_US/SingaporeLiterature/ is a regularly updated, ambitiously comprehensive digital key to the entire body of creative writing in English.
LECTURE:
FOCUS: OVERVIEW OF SINGAPORE LITERATURE (CHINESE)
TOPIC: Constructing Chinese-ness in Singapore’s Chinese Literature
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 60 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 40
Price: $150.00
Presenter: Dr. Tan Chee Lay
About The Presenter
Born and bred in Singapore, Dr Tan Chee Lay is an Assoc Professor in NIE, NTU and the Executive Director (R&D) of the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language. He has a BA in Chinese (National Taiwan Normal U), MA in English (NUS), MBA (Leicester) and PhD (Oriental Studies, Cambridge). He has won the Golden Point Award, Young Artist Award, Singapore Youth Award (Art and Culture) and has published over 20 creative writing and scholarly books.
LECTURE:
FOCUS: OVERVIEW OF SINGAPORE LITERATURE (MALAY)
TOPIC: Sastera Melayu Singapura: Perkembangan dan Cabaran
(Singapore Malay Literature: Its Development and Challenges)
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 60 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 40
Price: $150.00
Presenter: Dr. Azhar Ibrahim
About The Presenter
Azhar Ibrahim, PhD is a Lecturer at the Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS). He teaches Malay-Indonesian literature and ideologies of development at the Department. His research interest includes sociology of religion, sociology of literature and critical literacy, and the Malay-Indonesian intellectual development. Amongst his published books are: Menyanggah Belenggu Kerancuan FikiranMasakini (2016), Contemporary Islamic Discourse in the Malay-Indonesia World: Critical Perspectives (2014), Narrating Presence: Awakening from Cultural Amnesia. (2014).
LECTURE:
FOCUS: OVERVIEW OF SINGAPORE LITERATURE (TAMIL)
TOPIC: Singapore Tamil Literature: The Constant Search for Identity
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 60 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 40
Price: $150.00
Presenter: K. Kanagalatha
About The Presenter
K. Kanagalatha (Latha) has published two collections of poetry in Tamil: Theeveli (Firespace) (2003), Paampuk Kaattil Oru Thaazhai (A Screwpine in Snakeforest) (2004) and Yaarukkum Illaatha Paalai (No man's desert) 2016. She has also published a short story collection Nan kolai Seyium penkkal (Women I Murder) in 2007, which won the biennial Singapore Literature Prize in 2008. The English translation of her short story collection 'The Goddess in the Living Room' published in 2014. Her poems and short stories have been published in multilingual anthologies in Singapore, such as Fifty on Fifty (2009) and Tumasik: Contemporary Writing from Singapore (2009), and various Tamil literary journals in India, Malaysia, France and Sri Lanka. Her works were also previously featured on Singapore’s MRT network in 1996 and also in the 2011 Moving Words campaign by The Literary Centre Singapore, and have also been translated into English, French and German. She is currently the Associate editor of Tamil Murasu, Singapore’s Tamil daily newspaper. Recently in 2016, she was joined by Indian writer B. Jeyamohan in the first-ever NAC-NIE Tamil Creative Writing Residency.
LECTURE:
TOPIC: This Image of Themselves": (re)Discovering the Merlion's Liminality
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 60 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 40
Price: $150.00
Presenter: Ian Chung
This paper employs the conceptual framework of liminality in order to perform a close reading of several Merlion poems, in order to demonstrate their support for an interpretation of the Merlion as a liminal creature, and gestures towards the implications this has for the Singaporean identity.
About The Presenter
A civil servant by day who watches too much TV by night, Ian Chung graduated from the Warwick Writing Programme. His writing has appeared in Asiatic: IIUM Journal of English Language and Literature, Axon: Creative Explorations, Camroc Press Review, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Ink Sweat & Tears, QLRS, The Cadaverine, Unthology No. 3 (Unthank Books, 2012), and various Math Paper Press anthologies, among others. He is the editor of Eunoia Review.
YOUTH POET AMBASSADOR
POOJA NANSI SPEAKS
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 60 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 40
Price: $150.00
Presenter: Pooja Nansi
Join Singapore’s Youth Poet Ambassador as she discusses why poetry is a powerful and necessary medium in addressing issues that are pertinent to Singaporean youth and why everyone should have a poem they can turn to in hard times. The hour-long session will be structured as a mini 20-minute lecture interspersed with a reading and a dialogue with the audience.
Pooja will also discuss the power of poetry in today’s society and why the current generation will be the ones to make a bigger difference.
POETRY READINGS WITH Q&A
FOCUS: AVANT-GARDE CONCEPTUAL POETRY READING
Suitable for: 15 years old and above
Duration: 60 minutes
Min Pax: 10
Max Pax: 40
Price: $250.00
What does the avant-garde look like in Singapore poetry? How are definitions interrogated and reframed? How are aesthetic conventions queried? What innovations have brought something new to the table? Poets of such diverse voices including Charlene Shepherdson, Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé, Elancharan Gunasekaran, Patricia Karunungan and Samuel Caleb Wee.
About The Presenter
Charlene Shepherdson is a poet and interactive narrative designer focused on education through technology and the arts for children, youth and adults. She uses language in written, performative and visual forms to bridge communities and empower voices. Her poems have been published in anthologies by Math Paper Press, Ethos Books and World Scientific Publishing. and The Straits Times. She is 1/3 of the spacer.gif collective, who runs Singapore’s oldest interdisciplinary open-mic, destination: INK.
Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé is the author of an epistolary novel, two hybrid works, and nine poetry collections. A former journalist, he has edited more than fifteen books and co-produced three audio books. Among other accolades, Desmond is the recipient of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, Independent Publisher Book Award, National Indie Excellence Book Award, Poetry World Cup, Singapore Literature Prize, two Beverly Hills Book Awards, and three Living Now Book Awards. He helms Squircle Line Press as its founding editor.
Elancharan is a multidisciplinary artist and poet. He resides in Singapore with his family and cat, Leo. He has a strange love for all things poetical and Sci-Fi. He is the author of several modern poetry collections. His latest publications are Untitled Protests and Why You So Dark? by UndergroundBooks (New York). He is also the creator of House Haiku. His poetry has been published worldwide, on various international print and online platforms.
Having grown up between Manila and Singapore, Patricia nurtures an interest in diasporic literature and tries to confront these disconnects between heritage and identity in her writing. She recently graduated from Nanyang Technological University with first-class honours in English Literature with Creative Writing, which she believes was only possible through excessive coffee consumption and cat cuddling therapy. She also co-edited the 2016 anti-realist fiction anthology “this is how you walk on the moon.”
Samuel Caleb Wee thinks very hard about made-up things and sometimes gets paid for using big words. Said big words have appeared in publications such as Ceriph, Kitaab, Esquire, and OF ZOOS. He co-edited "this is how you walk on the moon", an anthology of anti-realist fiction published by Ethos Books in 2016, and is currently a Masters candidate at NTU.
POETRY READINGS WITH Q&A
FOCUS: RACIAL HARMONY
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $250.00
Singapore has memories of how looking at others with a different skin tone as objects or categories soon makes one lose one’s own humanity. Poetry reminds us in an increasingly fractious world that we have many more things that can unite us than what can divide us. It can provide a space for all to yearn for respect and a vision in which all are brothers and sisters under the skin. The readers weave strands of Singapore poetry from various linguistic traditions to provide a map for the discussion of the serious issue of races/racial harmony.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDENTS
Identify themes on the issue of races/racial harmony from the various poems and, as a possible follow-up activity, creatively propose solutions to the problem of racial discrimination in society. Submit poems to the Poetry Festival (Singapore), and the selected poems may be showcased on its Facebook page and/or website.
Readers/Presenters may include Eleanor Wong, Cyril Wong, Christine Chia, Lawrence Lacambra Ypil, Theophilus Kwek, Tan Chee Lay, Eric Tinsay Valles, Aaron Maniam and Angeline Yap. With accompaniment by a musical ensemble Tanglewood Ensemble led by Gladwin Pantastico. Performers subject to availability.
About The Presenter
Aaron Maniam is the author of "Morning at Memory's Border", which was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2007. His next collection, "Second Persons", will be published in early 2018.
Angeline Yap is an award-winning writer whose poems have been in Singapore literary publications since her student days in the 1970’s. She has collaborated with writers and artists from Asia, Australia, the UK, the US. Her poems have been read or performed in Singapore, Australia, Edinburgh, Finland and elsewhere, over radio & television, in libraries, museums, parks, cafes & even a converted Australian jail! Some poems been translated, and others set to music for choir performances in Singapore and internationally.
Christine Chia is the author of The Law of Second Marriages and a sequel, Separation: a history. She is also the co-editor of the groundbreaking anthologies, A Luxury We Cannot Afford and A Luxury We Must Afford (Math Paper Press) and has contributed to Washington Square Review, Prairie Schooner, Brooklyn Poets Anthology, Unfree Verse, and the W!LD RICE play, Another Country.
Cyril Wong is the Singapore Literature Prize-winning author of poetry collections such as Unmarked Treasure and The Lover's Inventory. A past recipient of the National Arts Council's Young Artist Award for Literature, he completed his doctoral degree in English Literature at the National University of Singapore in 2012. His poems have been anthologised in the Norton anthology, Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia and Beyond (2008) and Chinese Erotic Poems by Everyman's Library (2007).
Eleanor Wong is a trained lawyer and untrained playwright. Eleanor’s plays have been produced in Singapore and the ASEAN region. Her works span from the prize-winning “Peter’s Passionate Pursuit” (1985) to “Initial Conditions” (2015), a performed read of short pieces on love and quantum physics which arose out of a 3-month stint as writer-in-residence at the Centre for Quantum Technologies. Other works Invitation To Treat and The Campaign to Confer the Public Service Star on JBJ. She has also published poetry.
Eric Tinsay VALLES has published the poetry collections A World in Transit and After the Fall: dirges among ruins (shortlisted for the 2016 Singapore Literature Prize) as well as co-edited Get Lucky: An Anthology of Singapore and Philippine Writings and Sg Poems 2015-2016. His poetry has been featured in SARE, Routledge’s New Writing and other journals. He has won a Goh Sin Tub Creative Writing prize. He has read poetry or commentaries at Oxford University and Kistrech Poetry Festival.
Lawrence Lacambra Ypil is a poet and essayist originally from Cebu, Philippines. He recently received an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa and an MFA in Poetry from Washington University in St Louis on a Fulbright Scholarship. His first book of poems, The Highest Hiding Place (2009) was given the Madrigal Gonzalez Best First Book Award. He teaches poetry writing at Yale-NUS College in Singapore.
Born and bred in Singapore, Dr Tan Chee Lay is an Assoc Professor in NIE, NTU and the Executive Director (R&D) of the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language. He has a BA in Chinese (National Taiwan Normal U), MA in English (NUS), MBA (Leicester) and PhD (Oriental Studies, Cambridge). He has won the Golden Point Award, Young Artist Award, Singapore Youth Award (Art and Culture) and has published over 20 creative writing and scholarly books.
Theophilus Kwek has published four volumes of poetry – most recently The First Five Storms, which won the New Poets' Prize in 2016. He has also won the Berfrois Poetry Prize and the Jane Martin Prize, and was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize. His poems, translations, essays, and reviews have appeared in The Guardian, The North, Southword, The London Magazine, Cha, and The Irish Examiner. He is Co-Editor of Oxford Poetry and Chief Executive Assistant at Asymptote.
Tanglewood Camerata is a performing group of classical musicians from Tanglewood Music School. Its’ members has performed extensively with various projects, orchestras and music festivals such as the Singapore International Festival of Music outreach performance at the Marina Bay Sands in October 2016 and Tanglewood Gala Concert in December 2016. The group presents a repertoire from classical to contemporary music.