Song of a Reformed Headhunter

 Weekly column written for the Singapore Unbound newsletter. Sign up here . Thanks to you, last summer we raised USD500 from the sale of Gaudy Boy books for the Black Lives Matter movement and donated it to VOCAL-NY , a statewide grassroots membership organization that builds power among low-income people directly impacted by HIV/AIDS, the drug war, mass incarceration, and homelessness. VOCAL-NY Action Fund has just announced the first round of its 2021 NYC Council endorsements. If you live in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, check out these progressive candidates: Lincoln Restler (District 33), Sandy Nurse (District 37), and Tiffany Cabán (District 22). The Singapore government has again made itself a laughing stock around the world for charging labor and democracy activist Jolovan Wham for illegal assembly. What danger did Wham pose to public order? Why, your Honor, he held up a picture of a smiley face . To show solidarity with Wham, online citizens are posting...

2020 has been quite the eventful year, with COVID outbreaks in many countries. Despite the disruptions and restrictions, the arts remain as crucial as ever, with literature, TV, and movies a source of comfort for many people while they are sheltering in place. Writers have been particularly affected by the pandemic. What you may not know is that, unlike many independent literary platforms, Singapore Unbound pays writers for reading at our events and contributing to our publications and contests. We have also created an emergency relief fund for writers who have lost their jobs. We would like to ask for your support as we support writers through this challenging time. Since the beginning of this year, Singapore Unbound has organized the following: SURF - Singapore Unbound Relief Fund SURF offers a USD200/SGD280 grant for freelance writers in need of aid, with no strings attached. To date, a total of 17 grants have been given out, providing a total relief of $3,400. 4th Bienn...

Weekly column written for the Singapore Unbound newsletter. Sign up here . Of the five essays selected for a revamped unit on personal writing, my ninth-graders liked the essay by Native American author Elissa Washuta best. "Wednesday Addams Is Just Another Settler" is amusing and moving, just digressive enough to hold the attention and not frustrate it. It is a very contemporary voice, that takes the measure of its distance from tradition, and so the measure of American itself. My students enjoyed the writing exercise inspired by the essay: to compare themselves to a fictional character that they love or used to love. I had essays on characters from childhood reads and from computer games. I recommend Washuta's essay to you for Thanksgiving reading. Two Essay Readers have joined the SP Blog team, in addition to our new Poetry Reader and Fiction Reader (announced in the last newsletter). Jerrine Tan and Prasanthi Ram will be reading your personal essays as ...

 Weekly column written for the Singapore Unbound newsletter. Sign up here . Gaudy Boy, Singapore Unbound's publishing arm, is launching a new translation imprint, to be called Gaudy Boy Translates . We applaud the work of translators and translation imprints in bringing us news from the world republic of letters, but we are also aware of gaps in the publication of translations. All too often such publications focus on the bigger countries and the more well-known authors. Gaudy Boy Translates aims to fill some of this gap by publishing translations from minoritized countries, languages, and social, economic, and political communities. We are especially eager to promote translations that interrogate national identities and boundaries. The inaugural title of our new imprint, Ulirát: Best Contemporary Stories in Translation from the Philippines , fits the bill admirably. This groundbreaking anthology challenges mainstream conception of Filipino literature, shaped mostly by ...

 Weekly column written for the Singapore Unbound newsletter. Sign up here . Here's an article that explains why it's more accurate to call the American presidential election Election Week, instead of Election Day. In brief, different states have different rules, and some states, such as swing states Georgia and Pennsylvania, do not allow the counting of in-person early voting ballots or absentee ballots until Election Day, and other states, such as North Carolina and Ohio, accept absentee ballots postmarked Election Day or the day before. Trump's announcement of an attempt to stop the counting after Election Day is a blatant effort to deprive Americans of their vote. Any fair-minded person will want every vote counted, as long as the ballot followed the rules of the state in which it was cast. This delay in proclaiming a winner may prolong the tension, both psychological and social, but this wait, not a real delay, is necessary to ensure that every valid vote ...

I'm feeling very grateful for Thow Xin Wei's incisive review of CONNOR & SEAL. He does not like everything about the book, but he expresses his reservations and insights with such understanding and empathy for the project of the book that I feel very much read. This is what true reading looks like. It takes time and thought, and to be given such time and thought is a great privilege. "This stylistic cleavage is, perhaps, a consequence of the two-part structure Koh has borrowed from Thomas and Beulah, which emphasises the separation between the two sides. Taken pessimistically, one could point out how the form reflects a "disconnection" and isolation that is inherent in the human condition at every level: between individuals, genders, ethnicities, states and citizens, and nations. But one should also see how the formal division allows for a sustained and dedicated exploration of each side, allowing us to gain a sense of the richness within. Sale...