 2. SINGAPORE WRITERS FEST! The Writers' Fest returns again, and here's my events this time round: (a) APART - a poetry-play 9 Nov 14 7-8pm with Cyril Wong, Tania de Rozario, Pooja Nansi, Joshua Ip and Jollin Tan, dramaturged by Joel Tan National Museum, Gallery Theatre This one's really really special. How often do you see five poets thrown together on a stage to do what may seem like a play but is actually gut-wrenching gasps of confessional poetry interspersed with Joni Mitchell orgasms? Basically - never. Four of Singapore's premier confessional poets bringing the massive feels, and one comic stirred in to lighten the mix... what more could you ask for? This is so good they put it at the same time slot as the usually crazy Closing Debate of SWF. Except we're better. Come see us instead. [Festival Pass] (b) Love Lorn, Love Lost 2 Nov 14 530pm-630pm with Cyril Wong and Gwee Li Sui, moderated by Zhang Ruihe Singapore Art Museum, Glass Hall This is my only proper panel event for this year's SWF. And a humdinger it is, with Cyril (wiki | webpage) who has been bleeding epic keep keep bleeding love through 12(?!!) volumes of poetry now, and Gwee (wiki | webpage), whose comparatively slimmer output of two volumes does not diminish the epicness of his i-loved-a-Korean-girl-and-we-broke-up-but-this-book-is-our-love 2nd collection. I try not to malu. [Festival Pass] (c) Off the Page - Reads: The Beholder Has Many Eyes - A Poetry Reading on Beauty 5 Nov 14 630pm-830pm featuring the Ministry of Noise and Image-Symbol Department, moderator with Ann Ang and Pooja Nansi Molly Roffey's Irish Pub I'm not actually reading for this one, but I am damn friggin proud to present a selection of the best young voices reading in Singapore poetry and spoken word today, from the poetry collectives Ministry of Noise and the Image-Symbol Department. I came into contact with these talented poets through the inaugural SingPoWriMo last April, where they wrote circles around our feeble challenges. As an indicator of how awesome they are (or maybe just how awesome I think they are), the people involved in this reading compose >40% of the output for the SingPoWriMo 2014 collection launching shortly. I would like to list all their names but I have a feeling that everybody will know them very very soon. *Also, there is a high possibility that you may see 1 or 2 of the anthologies (see below) for sale at this event! (d) Off the Page - Reads: Eye/Feel/Write 1 Nov 14 3-5pm with Joshua Ip, Isa Kamari, Alvin Tan, Tan Chee Lay, Jollin Tan, Edwin Thumboo, curated by Joyce Toh and Desmond Kon Singapore Art Museum If you like contemporary art, and if you like poets responding to contemporary art, drop by and have a look at what inspired us to write what we did! My humble offering = 3 x liwuliiluwils. 3. NON-SWF EVENTS! KIND OF HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME! (a) Singapore Literature Prize 2014 Panel Discussion 26 Oct 14 5-6pm with Audrey Chin, Yong Shu Hoong, Josephine Chia and Hidayah Amin, hosted by Ian Chung BooksActually sonnets from the singlish got shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize! This year, the Book Council is putting serious armpit moisture into making sure SLP winners and shortlistees don't just disappear into lofty literary anonymity, by organising a bunch of community events leading up to the actual prize presentation. Come see me read poemz! (b) Speakeasy #15: Featuring Joshua Ip and Joel Tan 29 Oct 14 7-8pm Artistry Café The multi-talented Pooja Nansi has been organising the Speakeasy series of readings at the lovely Artistry Café (webpage | facebook)for more than a year now, and the audiences have been crushing it with love and enthusiasm. Team Double J are in the house for the 15th session, and we promise to mud-wrestle in strawberry-flavoured jello with our man-boobs flailing all over the place. In all seriousness I will be reading for 20 mins which is a very long time and so will Joel so please come down and give us moral support and give Artistry, which is such a supporter of the local arts, immoral support by buying copious amounts of booze. (c) Marco Polo Project Translation Event 2 Nov 14 11am-4pm with Julian Leyre, Alvin Pang, Andy Ang and other writers BooksActually Popup Store, Millenia Walk I'm not actually sure if this is meant to be open to the public but if you're walking around Millenia Walk just have a look at the BooksActually Popup Store, which is there for six months. You'll see a bunch of people staring at Chinese and magicking it into English and vice versa. Yes, this is cheem. If for any reason you want to participate, drop me a mail. (d) Book Launch for "A Luxury We Cannot Afford" and "SingPoWriMo 2014: The Anthology" with Christine Chia, Ann Ang and Pooja Nansi 23 Nov 14 4pm-6pm The Arts House OK THIS IS KIND OF AWESOME SO IT DESERVES A SEPARATE SECTION ALL BY ITSELF  4. ANTHOLOGIES ARE DROPPING LIKE LIKE LIKE THE BASS
(a) SINGPOWRIMO 2014: THE ANTHOLOGY So if you were anywhere on the Singternet in Apr 2014 you may recognise the above as the banner for SingPoWriMo (Singapore Poetry Writing Month), a fetishized form of ritual torture where poets squeeze a poem out of themselves on a daily basis for 30 days. With the encouragement of Alvin Pang, three of the moderators/participants decided to toss together a collection - Ann Ang, Pooja Nansi, and me-self. We threw together an indiegogo pyramid scheme to fund it, and separated many unwitting people from their money. At some point it will be payback time (uh-oh) but the good news is we are going to print in the next 48 hours! It's going to be a massive volume, so expect Value For Money to read the most exciting new work off the Singternet today. (b) A LUXURY WE CANNOT AFFORD If you are a Singapore poet, you will recognise these lines by that most towering of Singapore figures - "Poetry is a luxury we cannot afford." Hence, this anthology. This one is a different kind of beast than SingPoWriMo- a bit less colourful, a bit less raw and fresh in flesh and tooth and claw, and a bit thinner too... but more nuanced, more weathered, more heart-sick and tired and hopeful and bitter and respectful and angry and in love all at the same time. Read it. Both these collections are launching on 23 Nov 4pm at the Arts House, and we're bringing an amazing selection of readers together for your listening pleasure. Not to be missed.
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September 2023
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