A luxury we must afford

Tue, 3 Jan 2017
2 min read
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A Luxury We Must Afford: An Anthology of Singapore Poetry. (PHOTO: Math Paper Press)
A Luxury We Must Afford: An Anthology of Singapore Poetry. (PHOTO: Math Paper Press)

My poem, “Where The Wild Things Are”, is in A Luxury We Must Afford: An Anthology of Singapore Poetry.

The anthology is edited by Christine Chia, Joshua Ip and Cheryl Julia Lee and published by Math Paper Press.

Details of the anthology launch:

Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2017
Time: 6pm to 7pm
Venue: The Chamber at The Arts House (1 Old Parliament Lane, Singapore 179429)

Synopsis:
What does the future of Singapore hold?

In 2015, the anthology A Luxury We Cannot Afford commemorated 50 years of man-made myth – 50 years of mysteries and ministries, Marxists and memorandums, the Merlion and The Man – and whether the 1969 assertion that “poetry is a luxury we cannot afford” still held true in the 2010s.

Instead of looking back, this companion volume to the first looks forward to everything SG51 and beyond. It is a collection of bold narratives of Singaporeans shaping their own future, a cornucopia of hyper-modern dreams of robots and aliens, yet also tales of muted despair at a future slipping out of touch with the past.

In the face of a fraught, uncertain future, there is no longer any need to debate whether poetry is an unaffordable luxury. In times like these, writers are the ones who must step up and reimagine possibility, speak out for hope and humanity, and inscribe the circumference of our soul. In 2017, poetry is…a luxury we must afford.

Please go for the launch by signing up here.

Read my poem here.

You can also read “Horrowshow”, which appeared in A Luxury We Cannot Afford, here.

Panel – Literally Speaking: Where do we teach?

Tue, 22 Nov 2016
1 min read
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Literally Speaking logo.

Where do we teach?
How does the place in which we teach literary works influence what we teach?

Join me, Matilda Gabrielpillai and Erin Woodford on this panel, as we share our experience of both institutional and non-institutional environments for teaching literature, and debate the possibilities and limitations that such contexts provide.

The session will be moderated by Philip Holden.

Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2016
Time: 7.30pm to 9pm
Venue: The Select Centre (Blk 231 Bain Street, #04-01 Bras Basah Complex, Singapore 180231)
Price: Pay as you wish at the door (suggested contribution $10)

*It’s shoes off at the space, so please dress comfortably!

Register at this link.
Join the Facebook event here.

SWF Book Launch: Discussion on Big Mole and Spider Boys

Thu, 22 Oct 2015
1 min read
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I’ll be speaking at this discussion in less than a fortnight!

SWF Book Launch: Discussion on Big Mole and Spider Boys
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2015
Time: 7pm to 8pm
Venue: The Arts House

After making waves in the global literary scene for introducing Singaporean literature to an international audience, the highly anticipated sequel to Ming Cher’s Spider Boys, Big Mole, has finally hit the bookshelves. Initially published in 1995 by Penguin New Zealand, Spider Boys was lauded for its use of vernacular language – and once again, this effective use of local colloquialisms has continued with Big Mole.

From Singlish to local slang words, we speak a language that is unmistakably and uniquely Singaporean. And if this everyday language is what sets the tone and scene for a homegrown story, how does it then affect our understanding of a Singaporean novel?

In this discussion, literary critic and writer Gwee Li Sui, NIE Assistant Professor Angus Whitehead and SOTA’s Subject Head of English Literature Laremy Lee will be sharing their opinions on Ming Cher’s use of language in his work, and in particular, how this feeds into his contribution to local literature.

See you there!