#SGLit
French Concession, Shanghai 2007
Writing the City, the craft based writing workshop for Singapore based writers run by Sing Lit Station now has a Facebook page here.
So do join up!! The schedule for workshops this year is below. Do email me if you would like further information.
The Valentine’s Edition of Speakeasy was held at Artistry on 10 February 2017 to a packed and sweaty audience overflowing to the tables outside.
I was privileged to read some of my favourite love poems, and thankful that I was placed first so by the end of the evening everybody had forgotten me. On stage I took my glasses off so I couldn’t see anyone, but forgot to raise the microphone stand to suit my height. This means that the only photo of me reading shows me as a hunchback with toothache. Thanks to Shu Hoong for that photo.
I should also thank Shu Hoong for giving me me my very first reading in Singapore at the Book Cafe near Mohd Sultan Road in 2003 where I read my story We Rose Up Slowly. Prof. Kirpal Singh spoke on that evening a long time ago too about creativity.
Back at Speakeasy, you can see by these images that Shu Hoong has done well to retain his youthful, calm thoughtfulness - to be contrasted with Ashley50 whose up front good looks and virulent utilitarian pragmatism remain as erotic and enticing as ever.
The set list, courtesy of Pooja, was as follows:
1. Jon Gresham
2.Marylyn Tan
3. Balli Kaur Jaswal
4. Darryl Whetter.
5. Paul Tan
6. Yong Shu Hoong
7. Ruth Tang
8. Daryl Yam
9. Will Beale
10. Ian Chung
11. Barrie Sherwood
12. Samuel Lee
13. Renee Ting
14. Ashley 50
15. Cyril Wong
A larger version of the images is here. Please in all cases ask me for permission if you wish to use any image.
I note I am available to take promotional, marketing portraits or event shots for a fee. Please contact me if you are interested.
2016 has been a productive year for me. Despite Brexit, Trump, the loss of David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Carrie Fisher, and, possibly, the beginning of the end of life as we know it, 2016 was full of joyful, creative progress with lots of fun with our baby growing up. In this mixed up, sad, insane, dystopian world I was privileged to have lots to enjoy.
Some of the creative things I got up to included:
1. Being a featured author at the Singapore Writers Festival.
Sneaking into the green room, scrawling graffiti on the white board … and not being able to operate the capsule coffee machine were highlights … together with being on panels with Robin Hemley, Cathy Torres, Eric Tinsay Valles, Jeffrey Lim, Audrey Chin & Ng Yi-Sheng.
2. Finding a home for a new story, The Looker, within the anthology In Transit
I am very happy with the way The Looker shaped up. I beta tested a romantic white saviour ending versus an open ended, lyrical ending … you'll have to read the story to see which ending I chose for The Looker
3. A Long Bicycle Ride into the Sea finds itself in Singapore Love Stories
ALBRITS is not autobiographical, although it very well could be. This anti-love story ends with our arrogant protagonist bewildered and alone in a bed-sit in Bermondsey.
4. My photo story, The worker from Jiangxi, is published in This is Not a Safety Barrier
I want to do a whole book with photo stories like this one. The good news is that the worker's compensation claim was upheld in December 2016.
TINASB is edited by Marc Nair and Yen Phan. TINASB also includes a ruthless poem about the photographic gaze by Verena Tay inspired by one of my images ‘Old Man at Tekka Centre’.
More of my images inspiring Verena Tay’s poetry were published in Left-Right. This is a wonderful Singapore Photography book edited by Geraldine Kang and Kenneth Tan and I would recommend it to anyone unfamiliar with the quality and vision of Singaporean photographers and writers.
6. The Finger published on line at Singapore Poetry
Thanks to Jee Leong Koh for publishing The Finger, available free on line at Singapore Poetry. Singapore Poetry is an important outlet for Singapore writers and provides fresh and intelligent views on Singapore literature.
7. The Model published in Esquire Singapore
Thanks to Amanda Lee Koe for publishing a story, The Model, in the April 2016 edition of Esquire magazine.
I really enjoyed taking part in this multi-media show. The Science Centre & SWF teams were extremely professional and easy to work with. I do hope they repeat the presentation in 2017.
9. Teaching creative writing for a few weeks as Writer in Residence at School of the Arts
Mr Chips eat your heart out. It’s hard work and a fascinating process trying to influence and persuade and communicate to people. Exhausting and very rewarding.
Writing the City is a monthly creative writing workshop community held at Toa Payoh library and supported by NLB and the British Council and run by Sing Lit Station.
We are looking for a sponsor if you are interested in helping us pay the facilitators and guest presenters.
11. Mucking about with Sing Lit Station
Sing Lit Station has achieved a lot thanks to the hard work and talents of a large number of volunteers and interns and the leadership of Daryl Qilin Yam and Joshua Ip - and it's not even a year old. Watch out 2017 for more poetry, prose, bootcamps, workshops and zombies.
Images from the inaugural Sing Lit Station Prose Bootcamp with various writers, academics, publishers, and agents. Thanks to our four prose writers: Teoh Ren Jie, Clarissa Goenawan, Toh Hsien Min and Ng Yi-Sheng, and to the wonderful support from many of Singapore Literature's leaders and supporters including:
... and a big thanks to Daryl Qilin Yam - for doing most of the heavy lifting, Tse Hao Guang - for impersonating Ng Yi-Sheng, Joshua Ip - for whisky and venue, and Krishna Udayasankar - especially for her input on the texts.
I'm looking forward to regrouping in the middle of next year to see how these four texts turn out.
On Thursday 24 November 2016, Ng Yi-Sheng launched his new book of poems, Loud Poems For a Very Obliging Audience (Math Paper Press, 2016) at BooksActually.
Yi-Sheng, the award winning poet, is one of Singapore’s most engaging literary personalities full of energy, eccentricity and erudition. I've had the pleasure of appearing on a panel at SWF with Yi-Sheng in costume presenting twenty plus slides on Singapore Horror.
He’s not just a poet he’s a writer wearing multiple hats as an editor (see Eastern Heathens), blogger (see also the fascinating East is Everywhere), gay activist, critic, journalist, playwright, fashion icon and cultural commentator (see A History of Performance Poetry in Singapore).
LPFAVOA gathers Yi-Sheng’s best spoken word poems presented over a 16 year period. My goodness, that’s a long time.
I’ve also had the pleasure of reading the early draft of Yi-Sheng’s collection of shorts stories for Sing Lit Station’s 2016 Prose Bootcamp. This collection will be something to watch out for in the future.
Scene from Sing Lit Station Prose Bootcamp, Singapore, December 2016
Hao Guang's ear, Hsien Min listening to Kenny Leck with Clarissa Goenawan and Hoe Fang's hand in the background
These are the third batch of images from my attendance at Singapore Writers Festival 2016.
More images from the Singapore Writers Festival 2016 are here and also here.
All images are copyright Jon Gresham. Permission should be sought for any use and should be attributed to:
‘Jon Gresham www.igloomelts.com'
Again, please kindly email me for approval to use any image, especially if you are a commercial organisation.
These are the second batch of images from my attendance at Singapore Writers Festival 2016.
The final images will be posted by the weekend.
Images from the first half of Singapore Writers Festival 2016 are here.
All images are copyright Jon Gresham. Permission should be sought for any use and should be attributed to:
‘Jon Gresham www.igloomelts.com'
Again, please kindly email me for approval to use any image, especially if you are a commercial organisation.
These are the images from my attendance at the first half of Singapore Writers Festival 2016.
It was a pleasure and a privilege to participate as a panellist, reader, hot dog consumer and audience member. The SWF team, led by Kai Chai, did a wonderful job.
I particularly enjoyed catching up and chatting with new and old friends, as well as:
1) Appearing on the Writing from the Diaspora panel with Cathy Torres, Robin Hemley and Eric Tinsay Valles, and the Singapore Horror panel with Jeffrey Lim, Ng Yi-Sheng and Audrey Chin.
Butch Dalisay has a terrific article in The PhilStar on SWF which profiles our panel.
2) Sitting in the Chamber listening to Gwee and Kim Cheng ('home is where you knock on the door and they let you in') talk about Unwritten Country.
Here’s Gwee’s talk published at Singapore Poetry, and an important quote on the third way (not a given) for the future of Singapore literature.
“In this Singapore, the newsmaking meteors may come and go, but what people will talk more about is writers, books, and their ideas. The press will talk more about these. It will discuss the interests of works and the aesthetics of writers and make connections within literary traditions. The common goal of social beings will be to manifest and sustain the magic of writing, the power of writing.
Our readers will read Singaporean literature not to support Singaporean writing – can we stop saying that already? – but to encounter truly gripping works. Our readers will grow out of a blind awe for literary celebrities and into a committed dialogue with creators as thinkers.
We may have more book clubs – but, above and beyond that, we will have general knowledgeable citizens who understand the social disservice of wanting to pulp books they disagree with. We will understand that writing is precisely that place to experience newness and otherness, what constitutes basic knowledge!
You see, the true future of writing doesn’t lie in an environment with writing, award-winning or bestselling writing, but in an environment conducive for writing. And, for that to take shape, there has to be an understanding and respect for imaginative freedom.”
3) Reading with my fellow writers at the launch of Singapore Love Stories, published by Monsoon Books.
Images from the launch will be posted soon!
4) Taking Sophia to the book launch of Capital Misfits and BooksActually's Gold Standard, published by Math Paper Press. Unfortunately there are no photos of the launch as we had to leave the building for noise reasons and it’s hard to take pictures while wearing a baby harness.
5) Meeting Eka Kurniawan and listening to the panels on Speculative Fiction with Yi-Sheng, JY Yang and Jason Erik Lundberg. Images coming soon.
The Festival was a welcome refuge from the tidal wave of Trump that hit during the week.
More images from the last half of the festival will be appear on my blog soon.
You can also see images from Singapore literature events and readings here.
All images are copyright Jon Gresham. Permission should be sought for any use and should be attributed to:
‘Jon Gresham www.igloomelts.com'
Again, please kindly email me for approval to use any image, especially if you are a commercial organisation.
On 2 November 2016 In Transit: An Anthology from Singapore on Airports and Air Travel was launched at BooksActually.
The book is edited by Zhang Ruihe and Yu-Mei Balasingamchow and published by Math Paper Press.
The book features a diverse and interesting collection of poems, short stories and essays, including one of my short stories, The Looker.
You can buy the book on line here or at BooksActually.
All images are copyright Jon Gresham. Permission should be sought for any use and should be attributed to:
‘Jon Gresham www.igloomelts.com'
Again, please kindly email me for approval to use any image, especially if you are a commercial organisation.
The guest poets introduced by Pooja Nansi at Speakeasy #29 on 19 October 2016 were Tania De Rozario, Alfian Sa'at and Cyril Wong.
This was an evening for juvenilia and the poets read from their very early work. Often emotional, cringeworthy, comic and immature the readings were quite entertaining.
Tania's work was heartfelt and deeply vulnerable. Pooja's diary entries had so much attitude and energy. Cyril's singing was other worldly, angelic and beautiful, while Alfian was his charming, brilliant self.
All images are copyright Jon Gresham. permission should be sought for any use and should be attributed to ‘Jon Gresham www.igloomelts.com'.
Please kindly email me for approval to use any image, especially if you are a commercial organisation.
Image Symbol Department, a Singapore writing group gave a preview of new works at BooksActually on 16 October 2016.
Jennifer Anne Champion (“A History of Clocks”, “Caterwaul”), Amanda Chong (“Professions”), Samuel Lee (“A Field Guide to Supermarkets in Singapore"), Daryl Lim Wei Jie (“A Book of Changes”) and Daryl Qilin Yam (“Kappa Quartet”) read from their new books.
The poets will launch their books, published by Sing Lit Station/Ten Year Series, at Singapore Writers Festival:
Daryl Qilin Yam will also launch his debut novel, Kappa Quartet at Singapore Writers Festival too:
All images are copyright Jon Gresham and should be attributed to ‘Jon Gresham www.igloomelts.com'. Please kindly email me for approval to use any image, especially if you are a commercial organisation.
