Juicy Winners of 7th Singapore Poetry Contest

Weekly column written for the Singapore Unbound newsletter. Sign up here.

We are very pleased to announce the results of the 7th Singapore Poetry Contest. In conjunction with our Gaudy Boy launch of Monique Truong’s delicious novel The Sweetest Fruits now out in Singapore and Malaysia, this year’s contest had the novel’s title for its theme. Open to everyone, the contest was judged by Singapore Literature Prize winner, Marylyn Tan. Winners receive a cash prize, publication, and a signed copy of The Sweetest Fruits if they live in Singapore and Malaysia.

We received a total of 157 poems. The entries came from 14 countries around the world. Singapore leads with 71 entries, followed by Nigeria 16, the US 16, the Philippines 15, India 10, the UK 9, South Korea 4, the UAE 4, Canada 3, Malaysia 3, the Netherlands 2, Spain 1, Switzerland 1, Taiwan 1, and 1 with no address. Because of the high quality of the entries, our judge decided to award two Honorable Mentions for exemplary work, in addition to the top three winners. Enjoy the poems here.

Just 5 more days to buy a Gaudy Boy book and support a low-income Asian immigrant community in the face of rising anti-Asian sentiment in the US. We are donating all sales revenues from March to May to MinKwon Center for Community Action, based in Flushing, Queens, who does an excellent job in advocating for tenants, turning out the vote, and providing social services in Korean and Chinese. Please be generous. Thank you.

Jee Leong Koh
May 27, 2021

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