1. Feature article written for SIX-SIX News
A Poetic Platform
The upcoming Singapore National Poetry Festival provides a multilingual
and multi- cultural platform, featuring poetry in our four official languages
and workshops by poets from all walks of life.
The festival will run from July 24-26 at venues such as Gardens by the
Bay and LASALLE College of the Arts. Performers for the event include
poets Edwin Thum- boo, Azhar Ibrahim and Tan Chee Lay. It will also
showcase performances by winners and commended entries from the
Singapore National Poetry Competition, which was open to members of
the public.
Eric Valles, published poet and festival director of the event, says that the
festival will be “diverse, multi-generational and multi-cultural. There will
be something that will appeal to everyone.”
Valles himself has published books such as A World in Transit and After
the Fall: Dirges Among the Romans, with the help of grants by the
National Arts Council. He feels that Singaporean poetry is reaching out to
the audience in the West, as there are Singaporean poets who have been
published in other countries. One such poet is Koh Jee Leong, who
released a book by UK publishing house Carcanet Press.
“The poetry here is dynamic and appealing more to the grassroots,” says
Valles. “I think a good poet combines an artful form and significant matter
in order to speak for a particular time and place.”
Although the poetry scene in Singapore is sometimes interpreted as
inaccessible, he mentions that there are many available platforms for poets
to share and read each oth- er’s works.
“Poetry can be written and shared on mobile phones, with local apps such
as Text in the City,” he explains. “Soon, with the help of statutory boards,
we will see poetry everywhere in Singapore.”
Spoken poetry has also reached out to more citizens with the rise of poetry
slams and open mics in Singapore.
Deborah Emmanuel, 27, writer and performing poet, voices her thoughts
on the popu- larity of spoken poetry in Singapore.

2. “I think spoken word poetry allows emotions to carry through voices. A lot
of people grew up thinking poetry is inaccessible, and that it is only
available to literature stu- dents. But people are now realising that it’s not,”
she says. “There’s been an exponen- tial growth in people attending
spoken poetry events here since the past five years and it’s really nice to
see.”
Familiar with performing spoken poetry at events such as TEDx
Singapore, she ex- presses her love for poetry and how it is meaningful.
“Personally, I think that poetry saved me. It helps me deal with tragedy in
a way that makes life better. It allows you to turn tragedy into something
more beautiful than pain.”
She will be conducting a workshop on spoken poetry for the festival on
July 25.
Poetry is also popular among the many citizens who lead busy lives and
are constant- ly on the go.
As Ng Kah Gay, an editor at Ethos Books Singapore, says: “Poetry is
compact and fits our espresso lifestyle. We are still able to read poetry
given time constraints.”
He further expresses that Ethos is more than happy to welcome new poets.
“Poetry should be free for anyone to try because it allows for emotional
and intellec- tual expression,” he says. “But published poets will need to
be sensitive to how the word is expressed. We are more than happy to
guide beginning poets on their journey.”
With its wide array of workshops and performances, the upcoming
Singapore Nation- al Poetry Festival allows a welcoming environment for
those who are keen to learn more about poetry. If you would like to hone
your poetry skills or immerse yourself among poetry mixed with other
forms of art like music, mark your calendars and head on down from July
24 to 26. Admission to the festival is free of charge.