Overdue post: my poem, “Horrorshow”, is in A Luxury We Cannot Afford: An Anthology of Singapore Poetry, edited by Christine Chia and Joshua Ip and published by Math Paper Press.
Check out the review of the anthology by Prof Philip Holden here.
Tag - arts
![[redacted]! #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] #[redacted] DISCLAIMER: This post is intended to be social commentary on [redacted] in any form, by satirically responding to the news of [redacted] that is trending now. It does not condone [redacted] in any form, and it does not condone the practice of [redacted]. If you propagate this post - that is, you quote from it, link to it, repost it or share it with others in any form - please take responsibility for whatever happens if you propagate the post out of context, or if you mismatch the audience and the content.](http://photos-h.ak.instagram.com/hphotos-ak-xaf1/10632090_637806086333975_1326216822_n.jpg)
It was a very serious story, but I found the concept it discussed absolutely hilarious, and I made it a point to tell my friends about it.
But because they are stupid – just kidding; they’re not and I love them a lot – no one got it. Which happens quite often, so I was, like, whatever.
But this morning, I suddenly woke up and the visual image of the concept appeared in my mind, and I was like: YES!
So I immediately grabbed my phone, fired up Phoster, and designed a little graphic, which I promptly Whatsapped to my friends.
The reaction: “Hahahaha.” “This is hilarious.” “Where did you get that from?”
But when I proposed to post it online, with a disclaimer, the reaction I received instead:
It’s troublesome to enforce how people share content. It’ll just be taken out of context and someone will report you for sedition. Then you can forget about being NMP.
No. Too sensitive to post.
I disagree with making it public. There will surely be people who will take it the wrong way. If it goes public, there will be people who will over-react. Sharing it with friends is fine.
So I decided to post what you see above instead. You can like it on Instagram too:
BONUS: Responses to this graphic:
Yeah, this is much better. You’ll still be reported, but it’ll be for being dumb.
Haha! But what is the point of posting it if everything is censored?
I know right.
So I’ve just submitted separate Presentation and Participation grant applications for two publications I’ve been working on:
- The Zookeeper’s Boy and Other Poems, a collection of 30 poems which I’ve written over the last six years (inclusive of my time at Toji – in fact, the bulk of the poetry was written while I was at Toji); and
- Standing On The Shore, a graphic novella that I wrote last year, and which will be illustrated by a Singaporean artist.
I know we’re only at the applications stage, but I’m really so proud of how everything materialised and coalesced.
From the project management i.e. coordinating meetings and pulling together the team, to getting quotations, to calculating the budget, to figuring out how to fill out the forms, and – allow me this moment to humblebrag – all while having to work on the documents during pockets of time at night when I got home from the day job, or on weekends, or during my days off.
But the going was really made easier with the encouragement I received from the different people who provided active constructive responses at all points of the journey, such as how to improve my work and, at the very minimum, acknowledging and indicating – verbally or otherwise – their support for my artistic goals.
Suffice to say, I’m pretty pumped and looking forward to finally publishing my work – if I secure funding, that is.
Keep your fingers crossed for me and wish me luck!