Singapore Poetry Is 3 Today!

I started this blog 3 years ago on October 15, 2013 with the aim of introducing Singaporean literature and arts to an American audience. The aim has since broadened to encompass cultural exchange between the two countries Singapore and the USA. Singapore Poetry has published new works of poetry and fiction, and curated the reprinting of published works from all the major literary genres. The Singapore’s Favorite Poem thread collects in one place the poems that Singaporeans love. The annual books round-up My Book of the Year, launched at the end of 2014, is now a much-anticipated reading list. The Singapore Poetry Contest, which seeks poems by non-Singaporeans using the word “Singapore,” was started in April 2015 and saw an increased number of entries from all over the world this year.

Also in 2015, the summer Special Focus Series was initiated to shine a spotlight on an established Singapore writer. In 2015 we looked at the gardening poems of Leong Liew Geok; this year we remembered the boundary-crossing writings of the late San Francisco-based writer Justin Chin. In April this year, SP started the Book Reviews exchange, paying USD50 for a review of a Singaporean literary work by an American, and vice versa. In addition to its focus on literature, SP has featured interviews with visual artists, filmmakers, magazine founders, designers, actors, and musicians.

My heartfelt thanks to all the contributors and readers who have supported this blog for the last three years. Your creativity and enthusiasm sustained this cross-cultural, transnational venture.

So, what’s coming up for SP in the next three years? Singapore Poetry will be coming together with the Singapore Literature Festival in NYC and the Second Saturdays Reading Series to form the Singapore Unbound project. SP has always covered the festival and reading series, but the integration of different platforms and energies will, I hope, make an even greater impact than before. Like its predecessors, Singapore Unbound aims to cultivate cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the peoples of Singapore and the United States. It will continue to be independent, innovative, and inspiring. I hope you will give your support to this new-old project, and follow the new website and social media when they go up.

Fun Facts about Singapore Poetry:

~ Between Oct 15, 2013 and Oct 15, 2016, the total number of blog-posts is 295.

~ The most frequent post tag is Cyril Wong.

~The most popular day is Monday and the most popular hour is 2:00 am (EST).

~ The day with the highest number of views is Monday, December 7, 2015.

~ The post with the highest number of views is “A Luxury We Cannot Afford,” closely followed by “Mother Tongue,” and more distantly by “To my fellow Singaporean artists and art lovers.”

~ The top commenter is datta2014.

Thank you for reading!

Jee

Book table at the 2nd Singapore Literature Festival in NYC