tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286969912024-03-14T12:49:54.945+08:00Ng Yi-Sheng's CareerblogBuy my books! "SQ21" and "last boy"! Or pay me money to write stuff!!!Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.comBlogger290125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-15099486769169577892015-06-06T04:26:00.001+08:002015-06-06T04:26:17.700+08:00Goodbye, Flying Inkpot<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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(This article was written for <a href="https://sifa.sg/sifa/blog/">the SIFA Blog</a>, which is currently undergoing technical difficulties.)</div>
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As some of you will have recently heard, <a data-cke-saved-href="http://inkpotreviews.com" href="http://inkpotreviews.com/" style="color: #0782c1;">the Flying Inkpot Theatre Reviews</a> has closed down after 19 years of operation. It was Singapore's oldest (and at times, only) arts magazine, founded at the dawn of the nation's Internet history, in 1996.</div>
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<img alt="" data-cke-saved-src="/ckfinder/userfiles/images/Screen%20Shot%202015-06-05%20at%203_45_24%20am.png" src="https://sifa.sg/ckfinder/userfiles/images/Screen%20Shot%202015-06-05%20at%203_45_24%20am.png" style="cursor: default; height: 308px; width: 550px;" /></div>
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This is pretty personal for me. I've been one of the writers for the website since 2005, although less active of late. Hell, I used to hang out with <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.inkpot.com/theatre/2001Reviews.html" href="http://www.inkpot.com/theatre/2001Reviews.html" style="color: #0782c1;">Jeremy Samuel and Seow Yien Lin</a>, when they were covering TheatreWorks revue of its Writers Lab program, 30 Plays in 30 Days, all the way back in 2001. </div>
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I got to know editors Kenneth Kwok and Matthew Lyon around that time too, back when they were both still at NIE, when we were participating in a playwriting workshop called Playwright's Cove, organised by The Necessary Stage. Back then, both of them were still skinny and eating meat, and Matthew had all his hair. I was an NS boy, mind you, and they'd been to study in the UK, so they seemed so much older.</div>
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When I graduated and was hanging around Singapore, looking for a job, I found out they were reviewing shows. So I wrote a trial review for W!ld Rice's <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.inkpot.com/theatre/05reviews/0903,secolink,ny.html" href="http://www.inkpot.com/theatre/05reviews/0903,secolink,ny.html" style="color: #0782c1;">Second Link</a> and joined up. (Weird to think that their current show, <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.wildrice.com.sg/productions/165-another-country" href="http://www.wildrice.com.sg/productions/165-another-country" style="color: #0782c1;">Another Country</a>, is essentially an extension of that old project.)</div>
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Back then, the rest of the team was Deanne Tan, Malcolm Tay, Eugene Tan, Musa Fazal and Nadia bte Ibrahim (whom I never met). Of that lot, I'm the only one left. Oh, and back then, I was reviewing like a maniac. Two, sometimes three plays a month, local and foreign, avant-garde and conventional, Stage Club and Agni Koothu, even a few dance productions, everything, pao ka liao, I was there. I'd catch a show at eight, catch a bus at ten, maybe hang out at Borders till midnight reading plays for free, then get the last bus home and bang out the review before the dawn. Or maybe within three, four days, a week tops. <span style="line-height: 1.6em;">I had energy then. And focus. I think YouTube wasn't a big thing yet, and I had a lot to prove.</span></div>
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Because of my reviews - which were painstakingly detailed and justified, since I was part of the theatre community and couldn't hurt anyone's feelings without explaining exactly why, which were more lyrical than were necessary because I am, after all, a poet - I ended up reviewing for other sites. The Substation Magazine, Singapore Art Gallery Guide, The Online Citizen. And of course, the Straits Times, eventually. </div>
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And oh boy, was I furious at the limitations on style I got from the Straits Times. No "I" statements, even though theatre appreciation is subjective! No contractions, even though my natural writing voice is casual and conversational! And just 500 words to express everything I wanted to say! I'm just glad ST never called me out on those times when I emailed them a review for print, then proceeded to submit a more detailed review of the same show for the Inkpot.</div>
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I had a great sense of pride as an Inkpot reviewer. Part of it was the vintage of the website, but another thing was the fact that theatre people really appreciated the efforts the editors and (most of) the writers. They felt we were more balanced, when really, we just had more space and time to explain what we thought, and any negative things we said were easily forgotten. </div>
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We were an obscure site, you see. At one point, most of the theatre community may have known about us, but as the years rolled by, and audiences grew wider and more mainstream, it became clearer and clearer to us that we were a trade magazine, appreciated principally by insiders. We knew there were other review sites popping up - <a data-cke-saved-href="http://buttonsinthebread.com/" href="http://buttonsinthebread.com/" style="color: #0782c1;">Buttons in the Bread,</a> <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.justwatchlah.com/" href="http://www.justwatchlah.com/" style="color: #0782c1;">Just Watch Lah</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.qlrs.com/" href="http://www.qlrs.com/" style="color: #0782c1;">QLRS</a> - and we welcomed them, even recruited a few people based on their blogs.</div>
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But as time went by, I think we started to sense we were that much less relevant. We couldn't keep up with the huge calendar of today's theatre (let alone dance), and these days, everyone with a Facebook or Twitter account is a reviewer of sorts. If we wanted to really matter, we had to devote more time to it. But we were getting older and busier, and attempts at renewal (such as when I tried taking over parts of the site maintenance) turned out to be less than effective.</div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.6em;">So, I get <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.todayonline.com/entertainment/arts/spore-arts-website-flying-inkpot-closes-shop-after-19-years" href="http://www.todayonline.com/entertainment/arts/spore-arts-website-flying-inkpot-closes-shop-after-19-years" style="color: #0782c1;">Matthew's explanation</a> for why he and Kenneth decided to pull the plug. (Mayo Martin's entire article for TODAY is worth reading, btw.)</span></div>
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<em>'Lyon said: “Internet technology, along with the public’s expectations of websites, has progressed greatly since The Inkpot started. We realised there is so much more we could be doing — for example, videos, podcasts, social media and feature articles. I get frustrated when I feel I’m not doing something to the best of my ability, and that’s the feeling I have with the site ... it can’t continue as it is.”'</em></div>
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But I'm not content. I'm really hoping that the flag is carried on somehow - perhaps The Online Citizen could simply adopt the name for their meagre theatre reviews? Or perhaps some earnest new NIE grads could shoulder the responsibility themselves?</div>
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So yeah, I'm putting a call out: does anyone want to take over the Flying Inkpot? I'll still write for it off and on.</div>
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I'm also making this call out of guilt, because I overslept (jet lag) on the evening we were supposed to meet for our last photo shoot. We hardly get to meet in real life, you see. We're virtual colleagues.</div>
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<img alt="" data-cke-saved-src="/ckfinder/userfiles/images/temp.jpg" src="https://sifa.sg/ckfinder/userfiles/images/temp.jpg" style="cursor: default; height: 375px; opacity: 0.9; width: 500px;" /></div>
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But here's (clockwise from top left) Kenneth Kwok, Karin Lai, Jocelyn Chng, Naeem Kapadia, Selina Chong and Matthew Lyon, for your viewing pleasure. Just imagine me curled up behind them in the back, preparing to say boo.</div>
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P.S. This is relevant to SIFA because Inkpot used to review stuff at the festival diligently. And now this fest will be post-Inkpot. Another empire gone.</div>
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-92201832744248092802014-05-30T03:35:00.003+08:002014-05-30T03:35:51.908+08:00Queer performance in London. Sat 31 May<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>The UEA Library still hasn't managed to bring in my Netherlands book, so here's an advert for an event I'm doing this Saturday:</i><br />
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<b>Jay Bernard and Evan Ifekoya</b> present "Get off my back will you and give someone else a chance", a workshop and evening event about queer activism, art and performance.<br />
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<i>Date: Saturday 31 May 2014</i><br />
<i>Time: Workshop at 2pm, performance 7:30-10:30pm</i><br />
<i>Venue: Institute of Contemporary Art, ICA, The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH</i><br />
<b>Free workshop, £5 for evening performance</b><br />
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During the day we're running a free workshop based on the work of David Robilliard, whose retrospective is currently on at the ICA. We'll discuss the state of LGBTQI affairs, radical approaches to social change and the way artists have used their work to tackle injustice. There will be writing, discussion and performance. All participants will have the opportunity to devise a piece that will then be performed at the evening event in the Theatre space alongside a host of other great artists:<br />
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Ollie O'Neill<br />
Ng Yi-Sheng<br />
Olumide Popoola<br />
Evan Ifekoya<br />
Andra Simons<br />
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Alongisde the performances we'll be showing two short films that challenge the political and aesthetic status quo: "Feed/Kill" by Tejal Shah and "AfroOdyssey III" by Adejoke Tugbiyele<br />
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Book here:<a href="http://www.ica.org.uk/whats-on/get-my-back-will-you-and-give-someone-else-chance"> http://www.ica.org.uk/whats-on/get-my-back-will-you-and-give-someone-else-chance</a><br />
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And find out more on our facebook page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1497193430504568/">https://www.facebook.com/events/1497193430504568/</a><br />
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The workshop is free and begins at 2.00pm (all participants get free entry to the evening event)<br />
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The evening event is £5 and begins at 7.30pm.<br />
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-43988309795479896592013-11-26T04:40:00.003+08:002013-11-26T04:40:57.869+08:00POETRY THINGY #4 featuring STEPHANIE DOGFOOT, JERROLD YAM, and special appearance by NG YI-SHENG<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm hosting a poetry event with London-based Singapore-culture-dissemination group <a href="http://platform65.org/">Platform 65</a>. Come come!<br />
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<b>POETRY THINGY #4 </b><br />
<i>feat Stephanie Dogfoot, Jerrold Yam and Ng Yi-Sheng</i><br />
<i>Date: Wednesday 4 December</i><br />
<i>Time: 7pm</i><br />
<i>Location: <a href="http://www.woolfsonandtay.com/">Woolfson & Tay Bookshop</a>, 39 Bear Lane, London SE1</i><br />
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Platform 65's Poetry Thingy is a series of casual poetry + music open-mic sessions featuring poetry, spoken word, and live music by Singaporean artists. Each event features a headline artist (or two), but the mic’s open to everyone!
Bring your friends, your poems, and your songs.
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█ STEPHANIE DOGFOOT
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Stephanie Dogfoot, also known as Stephanie Chan, is a poet and sometime law student from Singapore, currently based in London. In 2010, on a summer holiday home, she won the Singapore Slam Championships and represented Singapore in the Indian Ocean Slam Championships on Reunion Island in December that year. In 2012, she won the Farrago UK Slam Championships and represented the UK in the European Slam championships in Antwerp (where she came 2nd runner-up). In June 2013, she represented the UK in the Poetry Slam World Cup in Paris and got into the semi-finals.
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She performs and organizes spoken word nights around London, sometimes other parts of the UK, and (when she gets to go home) Singapore. She has also performed at the Glastonbury Festival, Small World Festival, Nozstock Festival, the Poetry Cafe, Southbank Centre, various squats in London, and many cities around the UK from Birmingham to Oxford to Aberdeen.
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<a href="http://stephdogfoot.wordpress.com/">http://stephdogfoot.wordpress.com/</a><br />
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█ JERROLD YAM
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Jerrold Yam (b. 1991) is a law undergraduate at University College London and the author of poetry collections Scattered Vertebrae (2013) and Chasing Curtained Suns (2012) by Math Paper Press. His poems have been published in more than seventy literary journals and anthologies across twenty countries. He has won first prize and three honorable mentions in the National University of Singapore’s Creative Writing Competition 2011, first prize in the British Council's History and the City Competition, and is the youngest Singaporean to be nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He has been featured at Interrobang, London Book Fair and Singapore Writers Festival, among others. His poems have recently been translated to Spanish.
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Jerrold will also be launching 'Scattered Vertebrae' at Poetry Thingy #4, with a short discussion moderated by Ng Yi-Sheng.<br />
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<a href="http://jerroldyam.com/">http://jerroldyam.com/</a><br />
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█ NG YI-SHENG
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Ng Yi-Sheng is a full-time writer of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and drama. Since 2006, he has curated the annual LGBT literary event ContraDiction, and also co-edited "GASPP: a Gay Anthology of Singapore Poetry and Prose". His books include "SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century" and "last boy", which won the Singapore Literature Prize. He is currently pursuing an MFA in Norwich, UK.
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Directions: Woolfson & Tay Bookshop is 5min walk from Southwark Tube station. (Follow the orange Tate Modern lamp-posts onto Union Street, turn left onto Great Suffolk Street, and turn left again once you see The White Hart pub.)
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Buses: 45, 63, 100, 381, RV1.
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** Open-mic slots up for grabs! For enquiries, send Platform 65 a private mesage on FB or email cui@platform65.org.</div>
Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-66108811045803462292013-11-02T07:53:00.001+08:002013-11-02T07:53:45.616+08:00I won't be at the Singapore Writers Festival...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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... but my books will! Gonna take this opportunity to publicise the book launches I'm part of. (Sadly, <a href="http://www.singaporewritersfestival.com/event/balik-balik-kampung-by-verena-tay-diary-of-a-stone-monkey-by-ng-yi-sheng/">Diary of a Stone Monkey</a> is still being delayed at the publishers.)
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<b>The Last Lesson of Mrs De Souza by Cyril Wong | Ministry of Moral Panic by Amanda Lee Koe | The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories: Volume One</b><br />
<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><span style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -48px;">2 Nov, Sat 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM, </span></i><br />
<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Free </span></i><br />
<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Festival Pavilion, Campus Green, SMU</i></div>
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<em style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories</em><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"> is a new biennial anthology series, with this premiere volume showcasing the best short fiction from Singaporean writers published in 2011 and 2012. Join Jason and five notable contributors—Alfian Sa’at, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, Alvin Pang, Stephanie Ye, and Wei Fen Lee—in a discussion of their works.</span><br />
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<strong style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Featuring: </strong><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Alfian Sa’at , Alvin Pang , Amanda Lee Koe, Cyril Wong, Jason Erik Lundberg</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em><br /></em></span><b>The Substation Fairytales: Stories in The End</b><br />
<i style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -48px;">6 Nov, Wed 7 PM - 8 PM, </span></i><br />
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<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Binary Pavilion, Campus Green, SMU</i></div>
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<em style="font-family: inherit;">The Substation Fairytales: Stories in The End</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> are modern tales of love, identity, and belonging for adults. </span><em style="font-family: inherit;">Reasons for the Rain</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> is a poignant tale of serendipity and chance, of two strangers crossing paths in the concrete jungle. </span><em style="font-family: inherit;">The Crocodile Prince</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> is about a boy finding himself in a magical jungle of mystery. </span><em style="font-family: inherit;">Jack and Alice</em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> is a story built from inner thoughts and how the lives of the title characters are built both parallel and divergent from that of each other and in the fairy tales. There will be readings followed by a book signing, Q&A session and reception.</span></div>
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-4492620460330234922013-10-15T12:38:00.001+08:002013-10-15T12:38:47.762+08:00VIDEO & PRESS RELEASE: ASEAN SOGIE Caucus launches regional campaign criticizing declarations on women and children<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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By ASEAN SOGIE Caucus<br />
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On October 14, a regional network of LGBT rights organizations launched a video in response to the exclusion of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression (SOGIE) from the language of two recently adopted declarations protecting women and children from violence.<br />
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The video is part of a bigger campaign called “We are #ASEANtoo!” which was launched a week before the 23rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit on October 9 to 10, in Brunei. The Declarations on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Elimination of Violence Against Children (DEVAW and DEVAC respectively) were set to be adopted at the said summit.<br />
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The campaign also included an ASEAN-wide virtual conversation using the micro-blogging site Twitter. Dubbed “<a href="http://aseansogie.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/queer-tweets">#ASEANtoo! Queer Tweets</a>,” the virtual conversation coincided with the ASEAN summit. It drew Twitter users from all over the region and aimed to raise their awareness of issues related to SOGIE. The virtual conversations also aimed to expose the lack of transparency of ASEAN processes.<br />
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“The ASEAN Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression Caucus (ASC) started this campaign because of the many challenges we faced in ensuring that the two declarations explicitly mentioned SOGIE. Even with the help of our allies, we felt there was a high possibility that SOGIE would be dropped,” said Ron de Vera, ASC spokesperson. “When we saw that the officially adopted declarations didn’t mention SOGIE, we were very disappointed. We are also deeply concerned that there is an emerging pattern of SOGIE exclusion from human rights declarations in the ASEAN,” added de Vera. This is the second time SOGIE was not mentioned in the language of an ASEAN declaration. The first was in the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration adopted by the ASEAN on November 18, 2012.<br />
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The process of drafting the two declarations required national consultations by each country’s women’s caucus. This was meant to ensure participation of civil society organizations (CSOs). However, the drafts were not widely circulated, prompting CSOs to call out the ASEAN for its lack of transparency.<br />
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Discrimination, harassment, and violence against individuals of diverse SOGIE continue to be a heightened human rights issue in the region where laws related to SOGIE vary from one state to another. According to Social Action For Equality (SAFE), a Manila-based organization that monitors hate crimes against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people, there have been more than 164 LGBT killings in the Philippines since they started monitoring media reports in 2009. Figures on violence against LGBT people remain underreported due to poor protection mechanisms and legislation in the region.<br />
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“Lesbians, bisexual women, and trans women (LBTs) in all ASEAN countries face violence too. Their experience is further aggravated by the hate and stigma that come with their gender and sexuality, and that is why we need SOGIE to be explicitly mentioned in ASEAN declarations. Why exclude them? They are productive members of the ASEAN community too!” said de Vera.<br />
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The (ASC) is a network of activists and organizations in ASEAN member states who work to ensure people of diverse SOGIE are not marginalized from ASEAN-level mechanisms and processes.<br />
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The video may be viewed by clicking this link: <a href="http://bit.ly/aseantoo-video">http://bit.ly/aseantoo-video</a><br />
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For further information please contact ASC spokesperson Ron de Vera at rondevera@gmail.com<br />
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-48724747806273734612013-10-05T11:15:00.003+08:002013-10-07T10:34:56.315+08:00I've got a gig in London!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's going on next Wednesday! I'll be taking the train down from Norwich, performing 15 minutes of slam with some UK artists in <b>Forget What You Heard (About Spoken Word). </b></div>
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The Facebook page is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/235882709905450/">here</a>.</div>
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My fellow Singaporean poet, Stephanie Dogfoot, programmed me in - she recently represented the UK in the World Cup for Poetry Slam in Paris! It's also her farewell gig, 'cos she's returning home soon - hopefully developing our own scene.</div>
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<i>Date: Wednesday, 9 October</i></div>
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<i>Time: 19:30-23:00</i></div>
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<i>Venue: Ryan's Bar, Stoke Newington Church St N16, London</i></div>
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That's the best photo I took of Steph when we met up in London the second day I was here. The blurb for the event's below!</div>
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Autumn is upon us, cold weather is approaching, the year 2013 is drawing to a close so what does this mean?</div>
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NOTHING! Except that the October edition of Forget What You Heard is round the corner and its the LAST ONE where we'll have co-host Stephanie Dogfoot before she moves back to Singapore....
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So come down and join STEPHANIE DOGFOOT and MATT CUMMINS and celebrate/commiserate/bid farewell, and October's three spell-binding features you will definitely remember for a long time coming..fireball Anna Kahn, one of the most exciting & funny & accomplished young poets from Singapore today Ng Yi-Sheng and the tender yet ferociously compelling Alex Etchart.<br />
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and of course, YOURSELVES on the open mic! As always, entry by donation.
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p.s. Since our open mic is so consistently packed out nowadays, we'll only be letting half of the open-mic slots go BEFORE the night, so that there's still room for people to rock up on the day and take part. So that means there are SIX spots up for grabs to you eager social networkers. Go, go, go!
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ANNA KAHN
Anna Kahn writes letters for a living and poems because apparently thinking about words for eight hours a day is not enough thinking about words. She once beat Scroobius Pip in a Golden Gun contest judged by a lady with questionable taste (true story). She writes everything from PG-rated poems about sexual deviancy to firmly 18-rated poems about her own grandmother, but she promises that if you'd ever met her grandmother this would make perfect sense. She's never been published, partly because she's one of those dreadful spoken-word impostors the Independent says is killing poetry by never actually submitting anything to anyone.
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NG YI-SHENG
Ng Yi-Sheng is a Singaporean poet-playwright-journalist-fictionist and LGBT activist. He's the youngest ever winner of the Singapore Literature Prize, which he received for his debut poetry collection "last boy". Recently, he co-edited two literary collections: "GASPP: a Gay Anthology of Singapore Poetry and Prose" and "Eastern Heathens: An Anthology of Subverted Asian Folklore". For the past few years, he has taught in his country's only university-level creative writing program and co-organised the monthly multi-disciplinary arts event SPORE Art Salon. Right now, he's based in Norwich, doing his Masters in Creative Writing (Prose) at the University of East Anglia. He was possibly the first slam poet Stephanie ever saw and got inspired by in one of the first queer literary readings in Singapore in 2005.
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ALEX ETCHART
Alex Etchart is a community musician, folk singer, poet, activist, clown, drama teacher, workshop facilitator and all-round decent human being. He has been involved with and inspired by Occupy London, Friern Barnet library and Balcombe anti-fracking Community Camp. Taking a page from folk singers from Woody Guthrie to David Rovics, his poetry is urgent and unapolagetically critical of the world as we know it, and unflinching in its call to unfuck-it-up, with a solid dose of heart and humour. </div>
Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-24853542813897109742013-08-30T21:15:00.004+08:002013-08-30T21:15:54.286+08:00ContraDiction's tomorrow!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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TheatreWorks, 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road, Singapore 239007</div>
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7:30pm, Sat 31 August.</div>
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And here's my lineup of writers!</div>
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I'm also doing Southeast Gaysia, a talk on ASEAN gay culture and rights, at 4pm, same venue!</div>
Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-17573215516058152542013-08-21T23:04:00.001+08:002013-08-21T23:08:21.947+08:00IndigNation notes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Just for everyone's info: Akka is all set for Thursday night! It seems it's going to be a full-on performance rather than a staged reading. Here's a photo I took on site of Sonia Pravinaa (a transgender dancer and DSC volunteer) and Suresh Subash (actor), who'll be playing the characters Kamini and Vijay.</div>
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That's the playwright G. Selva hiding in the foreground btw!<br />
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Might as well regale you with some shots of the very successful queer sci-fi reading, Gaylien Invasion, while I'm at it:<br />
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My persona for the evening was High Priestess Marikita Pondan-Pondan, a being from an alternate dimension where gender is optional and sex is compulsory.</div>
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Audience!</div>
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My partner-in-crime for <i>Eastern Heathens</i>, Amanda Lee! (The other presenting writers were Nicholas Deroose, Joel Tan, Jeremy Tiang [in absentia] and the genuine sci-fi writer JC Yang.)</div>
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Did I mention I made rainbow cake balls for the event? Arduous task.<br />
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-7329208504912314792013-08-14T01:52:00.003+08:002013-08-14T01:53:12.048+08:00IndigNation 2013!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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August is here, so I'm gonna talk about the various literary and political events I'm doing for the <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/IndigNationSG">IndigNation LGBT Pride Festival</a></b>. (Click <a href="http://www.fridae.asia/newsfeatures/2013/07/29/12376.singapores-9th-lgbt-pride-season-aug-3-31">here</a> for the full calendar!)<br />
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<b>THURSDAY 15 AUG // 8PM</b></div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/396108873842869/">Gaylien Invasion : A Night of LGBT Science Fiction (Facebook)</a><br />
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Imagine what queer life might look like in the future… or on different planets… or with robots! Join us for readings of new short stories by local writers like Amanda Lee, Joel Tan, JY Yang and Jeremy Tiang. Curated and hosted by Ng Yi-Sheng.<br />
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<i>Venue: Select Books, 51 Armenian Street</i><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tb8nh66aQkA/UgpY3iK-cfI/AAAAAAAAGL0/g7dnQko6vUs/s1600/Akka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tb8nh66aQkA/UgpY3iK-cfI/AAAAAAAAGL0/g7dnQko6vUs/s400/Akka.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>FRIDAY 23 AUG // 8PM (SOLD OUT!)</b><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/158684494315074/">Akka (அக்கா): a reading of Singapore’s first queer Tamil play</a><br />
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Organised by Avant Theater and The Purple Alliance. In 1990, the playwright G. Selvanathan wrote and starred in Akka, a short play in Tamil about the life of a transgender woman. Join us for a staged reading of this play, followed by a discussion on language, race and gender. English subtitles will be provided.<br />
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<i>Venue: Artistry, 17 Jalan Pinang</i></div>
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<b>SATURDAY 24 AUG // 6PM</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/630710160286375/">To Russia With Love</a></div>
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In July, the Russian parliament adopted legislation banning the dissemination of information on “non-traditional” sexuality. The government claims that the law is meant to protect children and young people from information and propaganda that are harmful to their well-being and development. There has also been widespread increase in the number of violent incidents, assaults, harassment and bullying of Russian LGBT people and their allies. A few days ago, a young man died as a result of being tortured by an anti-gay group.
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Join us at Hong Lim Park to take a stand against the homophobia that is sweeping across Russia and express solidarity and support to our LGBT comrades there. There will be speeches from activists, poetry readings and the signing of a petition which will be submitted to the Russian embassy in Singapore. Come with a placard, or a message and let your voice be heard!
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<i>Venue: Hong Lim Park</i></div>
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<b>SATURDAY 31 AUG // 4PM</b><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/192921110871621/">Southeast Gaysia! </a><br />
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Organised by Sayoni. We all know about LGBT problems in Singapore, but have you heard about the queer rights revolutions happening in Cambodia, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations? Jean Chong and Ng Yi-Sheng, members of the ASEAN SOGI CAUCUS (sexual orientation and gender identity) group, will talk about different regional trends in queer rights.
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<i>Venue: 72-13, 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Rd</i><br />
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<b>SATURDAY 31 AUG // 7:30PM</b><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/669998949682641/">ContraDiction: an evening of LGBT literature</a><br />
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Our annual reading of LGBT Singaporean writing is back to close IndigNation 2013! We’ll be featuring poetry, fiction, drama, essays and more from an eclectic bunch of Singapore’s queer writers! Curated by Ng Yi-Sheng and Jasmine Seah.
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<i>Venue: 72-13, 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Rd</i><br />
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Ooh, and one extra thing that only got just added to the calendar: a queer art exhibition!<br />
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<b>THURSDAY 15 AUG // 6PM OPENING... EXHIBITION UNTIL SAT 31 AUG</b><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/409347965836992/">No Approval</a><br />
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Grey Projects presents
'No Approval', an exhibition in conjunction with Indignation 2013.
Works by Ezzam Rahman, Khai Rahim, Sarah Choo, Guo Yixiu, Marla Bendini, Loo Zihan, Ghazi Alqudcy, Elvin Ching, Lee Gwo Yinn, Farah Ong, Angela Guo, Felicia Low. Please see <a href="http://www.facebook.com/GreyProjectsTiongBahru">our Facebook page</a> () and <a href="http://www.greyprojects.org/">our website</a> for directions and hours.<br />
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<i>Venue: 6B Kim Tian Road, Tiong Bahru, Singapore 169246</i></div>
Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-87623111530406065322013-07-25T05:21:00.000+08:002013-07-25T05:21:07.285+08:00Eastern Heathens at BooksActually tonight, Thu 25 August 2013, 7:30pm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We're doing another launch of Eastern Heathens tonight at BooksActually!<br />
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<b>Eastern Heathens BooksActually launch</b><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/491354880943039/">https://www.facebook.com/events/491354880943039/</a><br />
<i>Thu 25 August, 7:30pm</i><br />
<i>BooksActually, 9 Yong Siak Street</i><br />
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Readers will include Amanda Lee Koe, Bryan Cheong, Jennani Durai and Li Huijia.</div>
Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-48428193932450690702013-07-18T08:08:00.002+08:002013-07-20T01:08:27.022+08:00Lit Up: PROGRESSION, 19-21 July<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm involved in the Lit Up Indie Arts Festival, coming up this weekend - <a href="http://www.litup.sg/">click here</a> for the website, or below for the programme.
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And how am I involved, you ask? Why, I'm helping performance artist Lee Wen carry out an idea he's had for a while: a durational 24-hour reading of Singapore literature, from Sat 20 Jul 7pm to Sun 21 Jul 7pm at the Courtyard!</div>
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We're also putting together an installation made of local lit books - am preparing to bring over my collection soon (below is a small portion thereof).</div>
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If you're a local writer, please come to me (if I'm on duty at the time) and give me some of your own writing, and I'll read it for 3 minutes or so. Or you could bring work from one of your favourite local playwrights, poets, fiction or non-fiction writers - I'm not picky.<br />
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I may, of course, be woefully sleepy when the time comes. Hope I can still do your treasured work of literature justice!<br />
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UPDATE: In total, I'm bringing 390 individual books in five suitcases and a backpack. Count<br />
'em!<br />
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-65254114611373625372013-06-28T14:37:00.002+08:002013-06-28T14:37:24.893+08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">PinkDot's tomorrow!</span></b><br />
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Praying that there's gonna be no haze. Will bring surgical masks just in case.<br />
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-83341096177019854902013-06-18T16:14:00.003+08:002013-06-18T16:14:38.351+08:00SPORE Art Salon Tuesday 25 June!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Advertising my schtick! Do take note of the Stephen Black book giveaway.<br />
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6 months into the year brings us the 31st Edition of SPORE Art Salon!</div>
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What's happening this 25 June at the 3rd floor of BluJaz Cafe - poetry by Tania De Rozario,</div>
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Sivaraj Pragasm's short film screening, wonder tunes using a seldom seen guitar technique from Yan Neil Chan, and a very special giveaway treat for our salonistas<br />
inspired by writer/poet Stephen Black!</div>
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Don't forget to bring your materials for the drawing sessions we have<br />
in between stage performances! See you then!</div>
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<b>WHERE : BluJaz Cafe (3rd Storey)<br />WHEN : Tuesday 25 June 2013 7:45PM onwards</b><br />
<b>RSVP : <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/669025896447422/">https://www.facebook.com/events/669025896447422/</a><br />$10 / guest --- includes 1 drink<br />proceeds benefit BluJaz and SPORE Art Salon featured artists</b></div>
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FOR OUR SALONISTAS -</div>
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the <i>"<span style="color: red;">I Ate Tiong Bahru</span>"</i> giveaway!</div>
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by <span style="color: #cc0000;">Stephen Black</span></div>
<a href="http://glossi.com/bookmerah/4447-book-merah">http://glossi.com/bookmerah/4447-book-merah</a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Photo credit: Books Actually</span></td></tr>
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We are putting up <b>2</b> of these perfect bound paperbacks to give away! Here's what you need to do...<br />
1 Share your thoughts and memories about Tiong Bahru with us! Anything from a one liner to a thesis essay long is acceptable!<br />
2 Find us on our Facebook event page here - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/669025896447422/">https://www.facebook.com/events/669025896447422/</a><br />
3 Post your writing, the last entry should appear on the Facebook event page<br />
<b>before 11:59PM of Saturday 22 June</b><br />
4 ...That's all!<br />
<br />
SPORE Art Salon and Stephen Black will pick the 2 most kickass pieces,
winners will be informed via Facebook and we will present the books
(...perhaps a reading too?) during the 31st Edition happening on Tuesday
25 June! Good luck and have fun!!<br />
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-<br />
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Unlike most of the island country of Singapore, the Tiong Bahru estate looks like it did when it was built over seventy-five years ago. Its distinctive Art Deco architecture and famous food have delighted Singaporeans for generations.<br />
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From swamps and kampungs to colonial public housing experiment to wi-fi'd cosmopolitan community, Tiong Bahru represents many of the changes which have occurred in Singapore and throughout Southeast Asia.<br />
<br />
<i>I Ate Tiong Bahru</i> is a fact-based, lyrical documentary. For more info, visit<br />
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/143782854/i-Ate-Tiong-Bahru-SAMPLER">http://www.scribd.com/doc/143782854/i-Ate-Tiong-Bahru-SAMPLER</a><br />
To buy, visit<br />
<a href="http://booksactually.bigcartel.com/product/i-ate-tiong-bahru-by-stephen-black">http://booksactually.bigcartel.com/product/i-ate-tiong-bahru-by-stephen-black</a><br />
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FEATURED ARTISTS <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TLmNJGHFST4/UbaLP13PdpI/AAAAAAAAAmA/S7fFAKi_uOo/s1600/NEIL-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TLmNJGHFST4/UbaLP13PdpI/AAAAAAAAAmA/S7fFAKi_uOo/s320/NEIL-1.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
YAN NEIL CHAN (guitarist)<br />
www.youtube.com/yanneilchan<br />
Neil, specialising in 'fingerstyle guitar', was awarded a full scholarship at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music to pursue a Bachelor of Music (Honors) Degree in Recording Arts and Science in 2011.<br />
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Neil has also performed at many major events such as the Mosaic Music Festival, NUS Arts Festival, ‘Esplanade Presents: National Day Celebrations,’ ‘Tones 2012,’ ‘Noise Singapore<br />
2011,’ and the ‘Singapore Youth Festival 2009.’<br />
<br />
He recently emerged champion at the ‘Singapore Street Festival Band Competition’ in 2012. Neil has been featured live on radio stations 98.7FM and Radiopulze. He has also been showcased on ‘Clicknetwork.tv’ under the music show ‘Playlist,’ featuring local musicians performing their original music.<br />
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SIVARAJ PRAGASM (filmmaker)<br />
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http://sivarajpragasm.wix.com/film<br />
"I started off as a musician, then became a writer, then became an editor and then eventually realized that I have always loved story-telling. I never realized that having visions or dreaming up entire scenes of make-believe films was actually something that only a few people would do during their free time.<br />
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So that's how I started my journey as a filmmaker. But I wanted to be different. I didn't want to be remembered as just another filmmaker but as someone who tried something different."<br />
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About the film -<br />
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Purgotory <i>2011, 16 mins</i><br />
A re-interpretation of the poem, Elephant In the Room by Terry Kettering; Purgatory is a place - a dark place where your past is read out to you. Dr. Terry Ward found herself there after an unfortunate accident. However, the sequence of events leading up to that is what really matters. Is she willing to confront the elephant in the room or continue living in denial about what she really did?<br />
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Director's Statement -<br />
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"Purgatory is my 5th short-film and my 1st after graduating from a film school. This would also be my first film that is based on an adaptation of an existing poem.<br />
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The Elephant in The Room by Terry Kettering is essentially a poem that deals with bereavement and denial and since my body of work has consisted mainly of themes that revolve around the human psyche and fragility of the mind, I felt that denial would be an ideal theme to work on in this project.<br />
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The main character, Terry Ward was created by combining the characteristics of some of my friends and incorporating her into a World where she plays a person with immense responsibilities, something she isn’t really ready to cope with. By structuring the film in a non-linear form, my intention is to play it in 2 different dimensions, one in Purgatory where she plays a victim and one in real life, where she plays the aggressor of sorts and how her actions in real life, eventually led her to Purgatory.<br />
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The other character, named Peter is modelled after a teacher I once had who often used condescending and sarcastic terms to punish and humiliate his students. Somehow, when I crafted the idea, this character came to mind and I thought it would be interesting if I could put these 2 together and observe the dynamics and the conflict that could potentially arise.<br />
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By putting these characters into play and reinforcing the theme of denial into their dialogue, actions and their existence, I hope to bring about a resolution that will allow viewers to react to not only the elephant in the room that is revealed in the film but also, the vicious cycle of the system in today’s society that blurs the line between the puppet master, and the puppet.<br />
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What happens in Purgatory, stays in Purgatory. "<br />
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TANIA DE ROZARIO<br />
www.taniaderozario.com<br />
Tania De Rozario is an artist, writer and curator interested in personal stories and their connections to larger issues of gender and sexuality. Author of Tender Delirium (Math Paper Press, 2013) and Reasons for the Rain (forthcoming, Nov 2013), she is currently penning her third book, And The Walls Come Crumbling Down. Recipient of the 2011 SPH-NAC Golden Point Award for English Poetry, she has undertaken writing residencies at Hedgebrook (USA) and Sangam House (India).<br />
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As a visual artist, Tania has been exhibiting for over a decade. Her first solo exhibition, A Language of Longing, opened at The Substation Gallery in 2011. Her curatorial portfolio includes Landing Places (Objectifs Centre for Photography & Filmmaking, Singapore, 2012) and Only Breath (Café Kunst Sappho, Amsterdam, 2009.)<br />
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She is also a co-founder/curator of EtiquetteSG, a multidisciplinary collective focused on platforming women’s voices. Including its upcoming anthology, it has showcased work by over 70 artists, writers, curators, filmmakers and academics.<br />
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Tania currently serves as an Associate Artist at The Substation, where she is working on Making Trouble, a two-year project investigating relationships between art and activism in Singapore. On the side, she teaches Contemporary Contextual Studies at Lasalle College of the Arts.<br />
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-72351701373159176672013-06-13T05:54:00.000+08:002013-06-14T04:33:12.534+08:00Busy weekend!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I've been neglecting this blog for a while, but no longer! Just wanna advertise two readings this weekend:<br />
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<b>REGRESSION</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/457556820998597/?fref=ts">https://www.facebook.com/events/457556820998597/?fref=ts</a></div>
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A day-long festival of music and spoken word in partnership with the Lit-Up Festival, featuring folks like Marc Nair, Deborah Emmanuel, Bani Haykal and Ila, etc, etc...
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<i style="font-family: inherit;">Date: Sat 15 June</i></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Time: 3:00 - 9:00pm (I'll be up between 5 and 5:45pm)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Venue: 13 Wilkie Terrace </i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Admission: Recommended donation of $8 (all proceeds will go to supporting the Indie Arts Festival this coming July)</span> </i><br />
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Part of <a href="http://www.13wilkieterrace.com/events">Displacements</a>, a month-long festival from 2 to 23 June, marking the closure and demolition of the house at 13 Wilkie Terrace.<br />
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<b>IMAGINARY NUMBERS</b><br />
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<a href="http://portal.cohass.ntu.edu.sg/TransculturalImaginaries%20-%20Festival/Documents/Festival_Programme.pdf">http://portal.cohass.ntu.edu.sg/TransculturalImaginaries%20-%20Festival/Documents/Festival_Programme.pdf</a></div>
A reading by faculty of the NTU Creative Writing Department, including Jen Crawford, Grace Chia and O Thiam Chin (yes, we've just hired him!).<br />
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<i>Date: Sat 15 June</i><br />
<i>Time: 7:30pm</i><br />
<i>Venue: Pitchstop Cafe, NTU</i><br />
<i>Admission: Free</i><br />
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Part of the <a href="http://portal.cohass.ntu.edu.sg/TransculturalImaginaries/general_info.asp">Transcultural Imaginaries Festival</a> from Fri 14 Jun to Mon 17 Jun, a literary festival and conference organised by the NTU English Department. (There are visiting writers like Yang Lian and Merlinda Bobis coming!)
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-1655894266612448972013-03-16T13:36:00.003+08:002013-03-16T13:43:58.453+08:00Launch of "Eastern Heathens", Sat 23 August, 6:30-7:30pm!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hey guys! <a href="http://www.theartshouse.com.sg/Programmes/EventPage.aspx?EventID=3003">Eastern Heathens</a> is FINALLY going into print!<br />
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What is it? Well, it's an anthology of stories inspired by Asian folklore - there's realism, fantasy, historical fiction, oriental steampunk, horror, comedy, sex... and I'm one of the editors! Mind you, it's mostly drawn from the inspiration and the sweat of my co-editor Amanda Lee Koe - and from the contributors. (I tried submitting a story, but we agreed it wasn't good enough.)<br />
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We sent stuff to the print shop yesterday and we're holding the launch next Saturday, at the Arts House, aka The Old Parliament House. It's part of the <a href="http://www.theartshouse.com.sg/Programmes/RegularSeries/Literally.aspx">Literally 9</a> festival to celebrate the arts centre's ninth anniversary. Alfian Sa'at, Cyril Wong and newcomer Bryan Cheong should be reading! I'm hosting, methinks.<br />
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<i>Venue: Arts House, Living Room</i><br />
<i>Date: 23 Mar 2013</i><br />
<i>Event Timing: 6.30-7:30pm
</i><br />
<i>Free admission</i><br />
<i>Facebook page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/442375729179327/?fref=ts">https://www.facebook.com/events/442375729179327/?fref=ts</a></i><br />
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The authors, btw, are:<br />
<br />
Bryan Cheong (Singapore)<br />
Hoa Pham (Australia)<br />
Cyril Wong (Singapore)<br />
Jeannine Hall Gailey (USA/Japan)<br />
Alfian Sa'at (Singapore/Malaysia)<br />
Amanda Lee Koe (Singapore)<br />
Jon Gresham (Australia/Singapore)<br />
Anila Angin (Singapore)<br />
Chan Ziqian (Singapore/Poland)<br />
Jennani Durai (Singapore)<br />
Li Huijia (Singapore)<br />
Abha Iyengar (India)<br />
Zeny May Recidoro (Philippines)<br />
Jason Erik Lundberg (USA/Singapore)<br />
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Seeya there!</div>
Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-7635971318661249652013-01-03T03:04:00.001+08:002013-01-03T03:04:21.021+08:00Several Announcements for January!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>1. Flying Circus Project!</b><br />
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I'm going to Myanmar from 3 to 15 January, to be part of the Flying Circus Project! <a href="http://flyingcircusproject.weebly.com/blog.html">Here's the blog I'm maintaining at Weebly.</a><br />
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<b>2. OH! Marina Bay</b><br />
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This means I'm gonna miss Evil Empire's <a href="http://www.ohopenhouse.com/">OH!: Open House at Marina Bay</a>, a series of interactive art tours that are happening this weekend and next weekend - that's 5, 6, 12, 13 Jan - at Marina Bay. I contributed a short story to their program, titled <i>Block Quotes</i>. If you wanna go, better go early - lines are kuh-ray-zee.<br />
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<b>3. Campaign City</b><br />
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I actually designed a poster for Evil Empire as part of their Campaign City: Life in Posters exhibition. It's showing at the National Library, Level 11, from 9 January onwards - huge light boxes on the walls, each featuring an artist's reinterpretation of one of the PAP's propaganda campaigns! I worked with the Speak Good English campaign in a way that celebrates local experimental writing.<br />
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<b>4. Choice Cuts</b><br />
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And there's actually already an exhibition I'm involved in on show, at Jurong Regional Library, called <a href="http://www.studiokaleido.net/choicecuts.htm">Choice Cuts</a> - a little installation by my friends at Studio Kaleido that gives you personal recommendations for Singapore literature, by Singaporean writers. As you can see, I'm featured as a recommender (not as a recommendee), as are Boey Kim Cheng, Wena Poon, Enoch Ng, etc, etc. (Gwee Li Sui is both a recommender and a -dee, ugh.)<br />
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The show will move from library to library until it opens in Central Lending around March. I should be able to make it for that launch.<br />
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That's all for now. I think!</div>
Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-70451365136114628362012-12-06T01:41:00.002+08:002012-12-06T01:41:17.998+08:00Archiving Cane/Microcosmos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I´ve written material for two art exhibitions opening this Thursday. Sadly, I can´t attend either of them because I´m in Scandinavia - I´m a blogger for the ILGA Conference in Stockholm next week!<br />
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This means you´ll have to attend in my stead. Pop over to the Substation for Loo Zihan´s <a href="http://www.substation.org/archiving-cane/">Archiving Cane</a>, which I´ve written an essay for:<br />
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<b><b>Archiving Cane</b></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Date: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Fri 7 Dec to Sun 16 Dec</span></i></span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Venue: The Substation</i></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Reception: Thu 6 Dec, 7:30pm</i><b>Please note that this exhibition contains material that is rated R21</b></span></span></b></div>
<div>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></b></div>
<br />
Then get a cab to Goodman Arts Centre for Amanda Lee´s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/432577316797550/">Microcosmos</a>, a photography exhibition for which writers like myself have written poetry and stories inspired by the art:<br />
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<a href="http://www.nguan.tv/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/microcosmos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://www.nguan.tv/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/microcosmos.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<b>Microcosmos</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Date: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Fri 7 Dec to Wed 12 Dec</span></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Venue: Goodman Arts Centre, Block B, 90 Goodman Road</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Reception: Thu 6 Dec, 8pm to 10:30pm</i></span></span></div>
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Click the links if you want to find out more!</div>
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-16353213919433779442012-11-21T00:03:00.004+08:002012-11-21T00:24:22.171+08:00But Is the Book Better?: Eating Air, Wed 28 Nov, Sat 1 Dec<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm off to the Georgetown Literary Festival in a bit, but before I do that, I'd like to advertise a little something I've got coming up. It's a screening of the fabulous 1999 motorcycle gangster movie at the Arts House, after which there'll be a talk about <a href="http://www.firstfruitspublications.com/firstfruitspublications/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=23">my novelisation thereof</a>!<br />
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<a href="http://kelvintong.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/eatingairhires.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://kelvintong.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/eatingairhires.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>But Is the Book Better?: Eating Air</b><br />
Venue: Screening Room, the Arts House<br />
Date/Time: 28 Nov, 7.30pm; 1 Dec, 3pm.<br />
Free admission<br />
(on a first-come-first-served basis)<br />
<br />
My talkback is on 1 December, with director Jasmine Ng! More info <a href="http://www.theartshouse.com.sg/Programmes/EventPage.aspx?EventID=2861">here.</a></div>
Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-19911333803650440942012-11-03T00:31:00.002+08:002012-11-03T00:31:33.600+08:00'Tis the Festive Season!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
And no, I don't mean Hari Raya Haji and Deepavali. I'm talking about the <a href="http://www.singaporewritersfestival.com/">Singapore Writers Festival</a> and the <a href="http://gtlfestival.blogspot.sg/">Georgetown Literary Festival</a>!<br />
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<a href="http://www.theartshouse.com.sg/portals/0/Images/Origin_green_SWF_black-bg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.theartshouse.com.sg/portals/0/Images/Origin_green_SWF_black-bg.jpg" width="309" /></a></div>
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Just bussed back from the SWF opening, in fact, where Math Paper Press did a <a href="http://www.mynewsdesk.com/sg/pressroom/booksactually/pressrelease/view/swf-2012-alfian-sa-at-x-cyril-wong-the-twin-launch-public-event-807991">twin launch</a> of Alfian Sa'at's <i>The Invisible Manuscript</i> and Cyril Wong's <i>Straw, Sticks, Brick</i>. </div>
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My book, <i>Diary of a Stone Monkey</i>, was supposed to come out too, but alas, there were printing problems. Seems like this is my year of stymied book launches. One of my stories is featured in the Sunday launch of <a href="http://www.singaporewritersfestival.com/index.php?option=com_php&Itemid=69&category=16&id=428">Fish Eats Lion</a>, though. Come, come!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Launch of <i>Fish Eats Lion: New Singaporean Speculative Fiction</i></b></div>
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<i>Sunday 4 November</i></div>
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<i>4pm-5pm</i></div>
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<i>ilovebooks.com Pavilion, Campus Green, SMU (Singapore Management University)</i></div>
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<i>FREE ADMISSION</i></div>
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Quite a few prominent names are featured in the fest, including Michael Cunningham, Monique Truong, and the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Please-Look-After-Vintage-Contemporaries/dp/0307739511">my Korea book</a>, Shin Kyun-Sook. Will see if I can get interviews and autographs. :)</div>
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But, more importantly, I've been invited to Penang!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3lG-53Ask8o/UJPmSo1wFxI/AAAAAAAAGA4/pF1r0r7yOc4/s1600/Georgetown.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3lG-53Ask8o/UJPmSo1wFxI/AAAAAAAAGA4/pF1r0r7yOc4/s640/Georgetown.png" width="451" /></a></div>
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See that upper left hand corner portrait? That's me! I'm actually being featured in the opening ceremony, where I'll be performing my poetry right next to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Samad_Said">A. Samad Said</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Musa">Omar Musa</a>. Can you believe it?</div>
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These are the events I'm involved in:</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Poetry Workshop with PELLTA and Arts</span></b></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Friday 23 November</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>8-9pm</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Sekeping Victoria</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Writers: Ng Yi-Sheng, Omar Musa and Nii Ayikwey Parkes</i></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit;">FREE ADMISSION</i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Official Opening C<span style="font-family: inherit;">eremony </span></span></b><b style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">by Chief Minister of Penang, Y.A.B. Lim Guan Eng</span></b></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit;">8-9pm</i></div>
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<i>Friday 23 November </i><i style="font-family: inherit;"> and Nii Ayikwey Parkes</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit;">Sekeping Victoria</i></div>
Readings and performances by A. Samad Said, Ng Yi-Sheng and Omar Musa<br />
<i style="font-family: inherit;">BY INVITATION ONLY</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Poetry Rant: Mad As Hell!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Sunday 25 November</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>12:30-1:30pm</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Sekeping Victoria</i></span></div>
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<i>Five poets get angry. Watch them get mad - and bad!</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Writers: Ng Yi-Sheng, Omar Musa, Alfian Sa'at, Shivani Sivagurunathan and Nii Ayikwey Parkes</i></span></div>
<i>Host: Jasmine Low</i><br />
<i>FREE ADMISSION - seating on first come, first served basis</i>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reading and Panel Discussion</b>: <b>Taboos or Travesties</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Sunday 25 November</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>2-3pm</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Sekeping Victoria</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>How do writers go about saying the unsayable? How do they deal with issues and themes that may cause scandal and uproar? See how these writers deal with challenging issues that simply need to be said.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Writers: Ng Yi-Sheng, Reggie Baay, Dina Zaman, Linda Christanty and David Van Reybrouck<o:p></o:p></i></span>
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<i>Moderator: Bernice Chauly</i>
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<i>FREE ADMISSION - seating on first come, first served basis</i>
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... and then from 3 to 20 December I'll be in Stockholm for the ILGA Conference. More about that later. :)</div>
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-374429009845623522012-09-22T08:24:00.005+08:002012-09-22T08:24:50.087+08:00Singapore/Malaysia Book Launch at Silverfish Books, 5:30pm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Will be speaking at <a href="http://silverfishevents.blogspot.sg/2012/09/singaporemalaysia-book-launch-at.html">Silverfish Books</a> in Kuala Lumpur this evening, 5:30pm, to promote my translation of "The New Village"! Three books to be promoted, in fact:<br />
<ol>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Robert Yeo’s <a href="http://www.ethosbooks.com.sg/store/mli_viewItem.asp?idProduct=273" style="color: #2971a7;"><i>ROUTES</i></a><i>. </i>Robert Yeo, a.k.a Yeo Cheng Chuan, (b.1940, Singapore -), is a poet and playwright, novelist and newspaper columnist on the arts, literary and theatre essayist advocating the establishment of a distinctly Singaporean tradition in writing. He was for many years a lecturer in the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University and was a proponent for the greater inclusion of the study of Singaporean texts in the school curriculum. Poet and critic Aaron Lee has described Yeo as being “the most Singaporean of Singaporean writers”.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr Wong Yoon Wah’s <a href="http://www.ethosbooks.com.sg/store/mli_viewItem.asp?idProduct=290" style="color: #2971a7;"><i>THE NEW VILLAGE</i></a>. Wong Yoon Wah (b. 13 August 1941, Perak, Malaysia - ) is one of the few Singaporeans who excel as an international poet, critic and scholar. Prolific in both creative and academic writing, he has published over twenty collections of prose, poetry, and academic writings on Chinese and comparative literature in Chinese or English. For his commitment to promoting literature regionally, he has been awarded the Southeast Asia Write Award (1984), the Cultural Medallion (1986), and the ASEAN Cultural Award (1993).</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wong Phui Nam’s <a href="http://www.ethosbooks.com.sg/store/mli_viewItem.asp?idProduct=289" style="color: #2971a7;"><i>THE HIDDEN PAPYRUS</i> <i>OF HEN_TAUI</i></a>. Wong Phui Nam's poems are regarded as among the best Malaysian ones in English, unsurpassed in their eloquence and linguistic richness. Most of them are contemplative and draw their images from the local landscape. Wong Phui Nam's poetry explores the experience of living in multi-cultural Malaysia. "Before the British set up this country, Malaysia was a totally agrarian society," he says. "Suddenly we get this commercialism and development of plantations to supply a metropolitan power. Even for a writer in Malay, whether he is a Malay or a non-Malay, he has to reinvent the language. All the more so for Indians and Chinese. For a Chinese, when we write in Chinese, we cannot pretend that nothing has happened and try to write Tang poetry. So for us to write in English, we are exiled three times, culturally and spiritually from China, culturally from the indigenous Malay culture, and then writing in English. We cannot claim that it is a tradition. I would say we have appropriated the language. So, in a way, it is a much more interesting medium to work with, to work with the language against the tradition."</span></li>
</ol>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Professor Mohammad Quayum, of the International Islamic University of Malaysia, will moderate the event, which will include discussions with regards to the development of Malaysia/Singapore writings in English. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Venue: Silverfish Books, </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>28-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>59100 Kuala Lumpur. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Date: Saturday, 22 September 2012 </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Time: 5.30 pm</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Admission is free. All welcome, but seats are limited.</span><br />
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-45099553190980719812012-09-09T14:27:00.000+08:002012-09-09T14:27:00.834+08:00Perfection of 10, Thu 13 to Sat 15 Sep<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I've got a play coming up! Or perhaps it'd be more accurate to say WE've got a play coming up. I was invited to crazy-experimental director Sean Tobin to be part of a team of ten Singaporean playwrights, each creating a segment of a wacky play marking the Esplanade's tenth anniversary!<br />
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<a href="http://haydenng.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/perfection-of-10-2-a.jpg?w=640&h=959" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://haydenng.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/perfection-of-10-2-a.jpg?w=640&h=959" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Perfection of 10</b></div>
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<i>Thu 13 to Sat 15 Sep, 8pm (additional Sat matinee at 3pm)</i></div>
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<i>Esplande Theatre Studio</i></div>
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<i>Tickets at $25 from <a href="http://www.sistic.com.sg/portal/dt?retry=1&dt.windowProvider.targetPortletChannel=JSPTabContainer/sEventsCalendar/Event&dt.provider=PortletWindowProcessChannel&contentCode=ten0912&dt.windowProvider.currentChannelMode=VIEW&dt.isPortletRequest=true&dt.containerName=JSPTabContainer/sEventsCalendar&dt.action=process&dt.window.portletAction=RENDER">SISTIC</a>.</i></div>
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10 established Singapore Playwrights were invited to reflect on their experiences as theatre-makers and their notions of perfection. They then set out to capture a perspective of life on earth, in Singapore and in the theatre, through their own 10 minutes of stage time. <br />
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10 stage items from the past productions of 10 established local Theatre companies help create a world in which these characters can reside.
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The perfect child from the perfect home, the perfect actor on the perfect stage, in front of the perfect audience, and of course the perfect review. Not to forget perfect relationships, the perfect life, and the perfect death. Can all this be captured in the perfect play?
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Are these ‘mirrors of nature’ real or imagined? Archetype or stereotype? Is this biography or fakery? Is this existentialism or entertainment? Comedy of Manners or a Problem Play?
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As we join in celebrating Esplanade’s 10th Birthday, we also celebrate the trials and accomplishments of Singapore and its stage, through the intercepting thoughts of 10 well-loved local playwrights and 4 actors collectively asking, “Why do we bother?”
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Performed in English with some Mandarin, Malay and dialect, with English surtitles. Suitable for patrons aged 16 years and above.
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P<i>erformed by Ang Hui Bin, Patricia Mok, Rizman Putra, Tan Shou Chen
</i><br />
<i>Written by Desmond Sim, Ng How Wee, Irfan Kasban, Jason Wee, Jean Tay Kaylene Tan, Li </i><br />
<i>Xie, Verena Tay, Ng Yi-Sheng & Zizi Azah
</i><br />
<i>Directed by Sean Tobin
</i><br />
<i>Dramaturgy by Low Kee Hong
</i><br />
<i>Produced by Michele Lim
</i><br />
<i>Set Design by Wong Chee Wai
</i><br />
<i>Light Design by Adrian Tan
</i><br />
<i>Costume Design Hayden Ng
</i><br />
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There will be a post-show discussion with the artists.</div>
Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-40430557346834365572012-08-28T07:06:00.000+08:002012-08-28T07:06:06.368+08:00SPORE Art Salon tonight!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Why not advertise? Alvin Pang's supposed to be on, unless he's still lost his voice (it was lost over the weekend), in which case I'll have to replace him! Just warning ya.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5tjnqdQ2vZE/UDD1N7vMrxI/AAAAAAAAAQw/JTxgXRKVcvg/s1600/salon21st.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5tjnqdQ2vZE/UDD1N7vMrxI/AAAAAAAAAQw/JTxgXRKVcvg/s400/salon21st.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>
<br />
It's our 21st salon! To celebrate our coming of age, we're calling a mix of fresh and familiar faces to the stage.You'll encounter a live graffiti artist, a brand new model and a nationally awarded poet. Plus, you'll get to say hi again to Weish from the Cold Shoulder (18th edition), Su from 'Call Me Bea' (19th and 20th) and Fauzo from the Russian Dolls (5th, 9th and 14th). Come hang out with the family!<br />
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WHERE: BluJaz Cafe, 3rd Storey (12 Bali Lane)</div>
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WHEN: Tuesday 31 July 2012, 7:30PM onwards</div>
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FB Event Page : <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/485692351460948/">https://www.facebook.com/events/485692351460948/</a></div>
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FEATURED VISUAL ARTIST<br />
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ASRI SCOLA (visual / graffiti artist)<br />
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<a href="http://www.scola.carbonmade.com/">http://www.scola.carbonmade.com/</a><br />
Asri Scola describes himself as a teleporter who feeds on visual aesthetics. It has been a decade since he started writing his way into the street/graffiti culture. His progressive works explores the intervention of spatial relations and colours, interspersed with distinct streaming line movement. Scola versatility has seen his artworks exhibited in " 100 Friends:100 Artists ", " Art The Hall - Art Garage " and " Off The Wall - Graffiti Kings from France and Singapore " exhibitions to name a few.<br />
His works has been featured in different platforms such as Culturepush, Actually MAG, Arts Republic, Singapore Writers Festival and Street Visibility Catalogue.<br />
He was one of the 4 winning designs for ActuallyMAG 8th Signature bag competition recently. Currently his hands are tied with street art NDP project, Calligraphy Graffiti works for local museum (revealed soon) and pending exhibits.<br />
Besides doing mural and illustration, Scola likes to dwell on different array of disciplines from printmaking to paper-cut to photography. Significantly, he enjoys the process more as it gives the ability to eliminate and reconstruction that allows for accidental self-discovery. Though Scola likes to document and express his thoughts through his artwork, his normal alter ego has a conflicting separate identity of procrastinating and unusual fascination of teleporting.<br />
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FEATURED PERFORMING ARTISTS<br />
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HOST<br />
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TEH SU CHING as "Felicity"<br />
Teh Su Ching is a bilingual writer, performer, and producer. A short film she wrote and produced, Ash, premiered at the Moscow International Film Festival in June. A condensed, silent version of Ash, renamed Evening Shift, has been shortlisted for the Louis Vuitton Journeys Awards. In 2011, Shanghai theatre group 3rd Culture Theatre staged her English and Mandarin play Seven Days in Jing An in Shanghai’s Jing An district theatre festival. In 2008, another play, Russia! was featured in the Yale Playwrights Festival. Russia! was also read at The Substation, where Lim Yu Beng played the lead. Su Ching's full-length play Ubin will be given a reading in New York's Workshop Theatre in October. Catch her as forensic expert Jean Wu in the hour-long drama Code of Law, which debuts on Mediacorp's Channel 5 September 13th.<br />
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MODEL <br />
JURANE SOLANO<br />
Born in 1990, Jurane Solano has been singing the instant she could, with more than a few winning titles under her belt. She grew up listening to “almost every genre conceivable”, but says that “Broadway almost always comes out tops.”<br />
Her love for musical theatre is evident – she’s played the lead actress in several local productions to full-houses, commanding a nationwide following.<br />
She hopes to one day create a platform that can leverage on people’s artistic talents to make a real improvement to the world.<br />
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weish (musician)<br />
<a href="http://youtube.com/weishbub">http://youtube.com/weishbub</a><br />
Weish started out as a wedding singer many years ago, but only began writing songs proper in 2010 and has never looked back since. Extremely excited about expanding her sound, she has grown from a lone-ukulele getup to vocal and instrumental looping, as well as forming bands - among which is Cold Shoulder, for whom she sings and plays the synth. She currently hosts the open mic sessions at The Pigeonhole, and is passionate about providing platforms for new musicians to grow and be found.<br />
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ALVIN PANG (poet)<br />
Alvin Pang (b.1972) is a poet, writer and editor. His poems have been translated into fifteen languages, and has appeared in major festivals and publications worldwide. A Fellow of the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program (2002), his books include Testing the Silence (1997), City of Rain (2003), What Gives Us Our Names (2011) and Tumasik: Contemporary Writing from Singapore (2009). He was Singapore’s Young Artist of the Year for Literature in 2005, and received the Singapore Youth Award for Arts and Culture in 2007. He represented Singapore at London’s Poetry Parnassus event, part of the 2012 Olympic celebrations. His most recent volumes of poetry – both just released in 2012 – are: Other Things and Other Poems, published in Croatia, and Waiting for the Barbarians published by Arc in the UK.<br />
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FAUZO (musician)<br />
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A 'veteran' of the SPORE Art Salon editions, Fauzo loves challenges and exploring various intricate pieces of Classical music. His deep love for music started when he first learnt the power chords of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". From then on, a musical journey began with the exploration of various genres - from Latin Rock to Progressive Rock and finally, finding love in classical music after nailing Mozart's Piano Sonata on the electric guitar, an assignment proposed by his guitar instructor.</div>
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-69765318835092595302012-08-23T15:45:00.002+08:002012-08-23T15:45:35.952+08:00ContraDiction approacheth!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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And this time we've got a proper poster, too!<br />
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<b>ContraDiction 8: Our Very Own Literature</b><i><br />Sat 25 Aug, 7.30pm, </i><br />
<i>The Reading Room (21 Tanjong Pagar Road, #04-01 – former Mox Bar)</i><br />Our annual queer literary evening is back, with a new focus! Listen to some of Singapore's oldest works of queer literature from the 1980s, as well as works by our youngest writers from the 2010s. Featuring Ovidia Yu, Joel Tan, NUS Poet-in-Residence Jay Bernard and many more. <br />
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By the way, we have some video clips from last week's Gaily Ever After event, uploaded to YouTube!<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl5tIilbL0I">Part 1 (Cyril Wong)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IP_WWjo9QU">Part 2 (Ng Yi-Sheng)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvr-2mtgFlo">Part 3 (Tania de Rozario)</a><br />
... and <a href="http://youtu.be/V5nTR6Ha74w">Part 4 (Anila Angin)</a> is below:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/V5nTR6Ha74w" width="420" height="280"></iframe></div>
Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-16599911947658993902012-08-13T02:37:00.002+08:002012-08-13T02:39:32.999+08:00Gaily Ever After: Our Very Own Fairy Tales, Fri 17 Aug<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I should of course mention that I've done a rather fun <a href="http://www.fridae.asia/newsfeatures/2012/08/10/11851.you-can-choose-not-to-get-hiv-elizabeth-pisani?from=login&success=1">interview on Fridae</a> with the awesome HIV epidemiologist <a href="http://www.portraitindonesia.com/">Elizabeth Pisani</a>, whom I met at the Makassar International Writers Festival. It's been getting quite a number of comments (much more so than my usual humdrum articles about the arts in Singapore), and the even haters are terribly amusing to read.<br />
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But, on to literary matters! My first <a href="http://indignation.sg/">IndigNation </a>event's coming up this Friday!
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<b>Gaily Ever After: Our Very Own Fairy Tales</b></div>
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Fri 17 Aug, 8pm, BooksActually (9 Yong Siak Street)</div>
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Sit down for an evening of storytelling with four Singaporean writers, each bearing a fairy tale with a gay twist. Featuring Ng Yi-Sheng, Cyril Wong, Tania de Rozario and Anila Angin.</div>
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I'm pretty happy about this event, since it's really my brainchild: just happened that I knew quite a few queer fairy tales had been written, so we're binding them together. I think it'll be fun.</div>
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If you want to know about the IndigNation Festival in general, here's the full calendar (<a href="http://www.fridae.asia/newsfeatures/2012/07/30/11824.singapores-8th-indignation-festival-to-focus-on-lgbt-heritage-aug-3-25">text version here</a>):</div>
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<a href="http://static.fridae.asia/media/images/00/15/71/157175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static.fridae.asia/media/images/00/15/71/157175.jpg" /></a><strong>Landing Places: Our Very Own Art<br />Thu 16 Aug</strong>, 7pm, Objectifs (56A Arab Street); exhibition runs till 6 Sep<br />
Landing Places is a Singapore-based, multidisciplinary exhibition happening in conjunction with IndigNation 2012. It features work by 10 queer artists and seeks to document experiences of how our sexualities affect the ways in which we define, create, articulate, question, reject and/or relate to notions of home. The exhibition will comprise drawing, painting, photography, collage, and animation.<br />
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<strong>Are You GAYme Enough? 2: Our Very Own Gameshow<br />Fri 17 Aug</strong>, 9.30pm, Play (21 Tanjong Pagar Road)<br />
Oogachaga brings back the popular 'Are You GAYme Enough?', and this year’s edition promises to be bigger, better and raunchier! Watch the contestants battle it out on stage as they get quizzed on topics ranging from sexuality and sexual health to local LGBT history and culture. Join in the fun by assisting (or sabotaging) the contestants when they use the 'audience card' or the 'helpline card'. We’re not sure if it’ll be the survival of the smartest or the cutest – what we do know is that one very GAYme champion will walk away with grand prize worth $3000! First 100 audience members get free entry and a standard housepour! To join as a contestant, simply register at <a href="http://tinyurl.com/OCGayme" style="color: #5f7487; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/OCGayme</a> Register before 12pm, 10 August 2012. Like us on Facebook at <a href="http://tinyurl.com/OCGayme" style="color: #5f7487; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/OCGayme</a> and stand to win a pair of tickets to Toy Factory Productions' Purple! Hurry, contest ends on 27 July, at 12 noon.<br />
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<strong>Our Very Own Stories</strong><br />
<strong>Fri 24 Aug</strong>, 8pm, The Factory (22 Lim Tua Tow Road); exhibition runs till 7 Sep<br />
Our Very Own Stories showcases real Singaporean LGBT people who have struggled and triumphed against the challenges of self-worth and discrimination. Curated by Nicholas Deroose, this collaboration between five community photographers seeks to give hope to a future generation and show them a possible future beyond the adversities that they face today.<br />
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<strong>ContraDiction 8: Our Very Own Literature<br />Sat 25 Aug</strong>, 7.30pm, The Reading Room (21 Tanjong Pagar Road, #04-01 – former Mox Bar)<br />
Our annual queer literary evening is back, with a new focus! Listen to some of Singapore's oldest works of queer literature from the 1980s, as well as works by our youngest writers from the 2010s. Featuring Ovidia Yu, Joel Tan, NUS Poet-in-Residence Jay Bernard and many more.</div>
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</div>Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28696991.post-25867496793344962202012-07-29T02:31:00.000+08:002012-09-10T02:31:30.954+08:00Fun with Clerihews!Guess what finally got published in today's Sunday Times?
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Ng Yi-Shenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18175656890555470042noreply@blogger.com0