February 16, 2012

The SRN is delighted to announce that our new documentary film ‘Writers Engaging the Social‘ is now available for viewing via NUS YouTube. Please click here to view:

http://youtu.be/yxggMumdQnU

The 40 minute film, prodcued by FASS and directed by the poet and critic Gwee Li Sui features four writers who write in each of Singapore’s four official languages. They are Rasiah Halil, Lee Tzu Pheng, Ting Kheng Siong and Vadi PVSS. Each of the writers shares with Gwee their take on the meaning of literature, poetry and theatre and on how Singapore wrestles with its own historical and social constraints in relation to the literary arts.

For more about each of the writers, please see their biographies below:

GWEE Li Sui is a literary critic, a poet, and a graphic artist. He wrote Singapore’s first full-length graphic novel, Myth of the Stone, in 1993 and published a volume of humorous verse, Who Wants to Buy a Book of Poems? in 1998. A familiar name in Singapore’s literary scene, he has written academic essays on a range of cultural subjects as well as edited Sharing Borders: Studies in Contemporary Singaporean-Malaysian Literature II (2009), Telltale: Eleven Stories (2010), and Man/Born/Free: Writings on the Human Spirit from Singapore (2011). Gwee received his BA Hons (First Class) from the ELL department in 1995, where he was later a Senior Tutor (1997-99 and 2002) and Assistant Professor (2003-2009). He received his PhD from Queen Mary, University of London.

Rasiah HALIL (b. 1956) is a poet, writer, translator, and trainer. Her books, Perbualan Buku Catatan Seorang Gipsi (Conversations: Notebook of a Gypsy, 1988, poetry in Malay and a few in English), Orang Luar (The Outsider, 1991, short story), Sungai & Lautan (River & Ocean, 1995, poetry), Ayah Tidak Sayang Padaku Lagi (Father No Longer Loves Me, 2007, short story and radio play), Hikayat Sri Anggerik (The Chronicles of Sri Anggerik, 2007, poetry, short story and essay in Malay and a few in English) and other works/anthologies published in various media within the region dwell on social and humanitarian issues.  Published since 1972, her works received many commendations and five Malay Literature Awards since 1983. She wrote a fortnightly column (1998-2006) for the Malay newspaper, Berita Minggu, using the pseudonym of “Sri Anggerik”. Rasiah also had a weekly literary column (2004-2009) in Berita Minggu using “Tun Fatimah” as her pseudonym.  She taught in schools and three institutions of higher learning in Singapore and Brunei. Rasiah attended the University of Iowa’s International Writing Programme in 1995 on a Fulbright scholarship. Rasiah received her undergraduate degree from the University of Singapore (1979) and her M.A. from FASS, and was a senior tutor in Malay Studies.

LEE Tzu Pheng taught English Literature at NUS from 1969, retiring as Associate Professor in 2001; has won numerous awards for her poetry including the Singapore Cultural Medallion (1985), the SEA Write Award (1987), the Gabriela Mistral Award (from Chile, 1995), the Montblanc-Centre for the Arts Literary Award (1996), and the Singapore National Book Development Council Award for Poetry three times.  She has four collections of poetry and a book for developing reading-readiness in young children. Her poetry is published and studied internationally, has been read over the BBC, and some of her poems have been set to music by Singapore composer, Professor Bernard Tan.  She was a Fulbright Fellow to the University of California (Irvine) in 1996, and has mentored many young writers.  Lee strongly believes in making poetry non-intimidating and accessible, and her own style is known for its relative simplicity and clarity.  A Catholic, she considers herself an ordinary person blessed with an extraordinary gift.

TING Kheng Siong graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore in 1994. He was the award recipient for NAC Young Artist Awards in year 2007. He won several international literary writing awards including the 2001 World Chinese Literary Reports Competition and 2003 ASEAN Youth Short Story Writing Competition. Kheng Siong is currently the Vice President of the Singapore Association of Writers. His published works include the poetry collection Room for Thirty-Three, the prose collection The Mountain Forgets, and traditional riddles Beings from the Riddles Island.

Vadivalagan (or Vadi PVSS as he is affectionately known) is a bilingual (English and Tamil) writer, director, and performer of the stage, radio and TV. He has staged several critically acclaimed plays in Singapore and Australia. His plays have won several local awards too. The local daily, The Straits Times, includes Vadi PVSS in an exclusive club of creators for the twenty-first century. A tele-movie titled Pathu Maasam, which he wrote and directed, was broadcasted on Singapore’s Vasantham TV and India’s Vijay TV. The first Tamil cartoon in Singapore Vigadavadi, conceptualised, co-written, and co-directed by Vadi PVSS, won the Prix Jeunesse International Award in 1999. Vadi PVSS who is currently pursuing a law career was previously sponsored by the National Arts Council to pursue a Masters in Creative Industries, Australia in 2004-2005. Vadi holds a Juris Doctor, Law (Class of 2009-SMU), a Masters in South East Asian Studies Programme (NUS), a Post Grad Diploma in Teaching (NIE-NTU), a B A Hons (European Studies NUS) and a BA merit (Economics and European Studies, NUS).