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Cyril Wong

Born:	June 27, 1977 (1977-06-27) (age 30) Singapore
Occupation:	Writer/Poet
Nationality:	Singaporean
Website:	http://www.cyrilwong.com

Cyril Wong (b. 1977) is the author of five published collections of poetry in Singapore. Image File history File links Wikitext. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Singapore. ... This article is about work. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... This article is about the art form. ...

Biography

Born in 1977, Cyril Wong attended St Patrick's School, Singapore and Temasek Junior College, before obtaining an Honours degree in English Language and Literature from the National University of Singapore, where he was a second-year undergraduate when his first collection of poems were published in 2000. Saint Patricks School is a Roman Catholic secondary school for male students in Singapore. ... Temasek Junior College (commonly known as TJC or TJ) is a Junior College located in the Eastern region of Singapore. ... University Cultural Centre The National University of Singapore (Abbreviation: NUS; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Abbreviated 国大; Malay: Universiti Nasional Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் தேசிய பல்கலைக்கழகம்; Indonesian: Universitas Nasional Singapura) is Singapores oldest university. ...

His poems have appeared in journals around the world, including Atlanta Review, Fulcrum 3, Poetry International, Dimsum, Poetry New Zealand, Wascana Review, Asia Literary Review, the W.W. Norton & Co. anthology, Contemporary Voices from the East and Chinese Erotic Poems (Everyman's Library Pocket Series). He contributes articles on Singapore art to New Zealand-based experimental arts magazine White Fungus. He was a featured poet at the Edinburgh International Book Festival (UK), the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, the Sydney Writers' Festival and the Singapore Writers' Festival. His poems have been praised by American poet, Cole Swensen, as being "seeds of light that believe in life – so much so that they can look at it honestly."

His poems have been adapted to dance, drama, film and music. These collaborations have been presented in various countries, including the 27th Bali Arts Festival and the Magdalena International Festival of Women in Contemporary Theatre (USA, 2005). TIME (Aug 19-25, 2003) described, "Existence" a play based on Cyril's poems by The Fun Stage, as portraying "the love of two young Singaporean men for each other as doomed," as well as how "being accepted by mainstream society doesn't mean that all the problems faced by homosexuals will go away."

Cyril Wong is openly gay,^[1] and is one of the few figures in the Singapore literary scene to have come out. He lives with his life-partner, Sheo S Rai, and singer/conductor, Wilson Goh, in Singapore. He was also a soprano countertenor with early-music ensemble, Musica Obscura and he has sung with Singaporean group, The Singers Vocal Ensemble. Cyril is currently doing a Master of Arts at the National University of Singapore. This article is about the singing voice part. ... A countertenor is an adult male who sings in an alto, mezzo or soprano range, often through use of falsetto, or sometimes natural head voice. ...

Books

• Excess Baggage and Claim, co-authored with Terry Jaensch (Transit Lounge, 2007) ISBN 9780975022856
• Like A Seed With Its Singular Purpose (Firstfruits, 2006) ISBN 9810559305
• Unmarked Treasure (Firstfruits, 2004) ISBN 981050408X
• Below: Absence (Firstfruits, 2002) ISBN 9810475926
• The End of His Orbit (Firstfruits, 2001) ISBN 9810443293
• Squatting Quietly (Firstfruits, 2000) ISBN 981042826X

Chapbooks

• The Boy With The Flower That Grew Out Of His Ass (Books Actually, 2007) ISBN 9789810583873

Awards

• Singapore Literature Prize (2006)
• National Arts Council's Young Artist Award (Singapore, 2005)
• Golden Point Award (Singapore, 2004)
• Potent Prose Ax Prize (USA, 2002)

The Singapore Literature Prize (abbreviation: SLP) is an award in Singapore to recognise outstanding published works by Singaporean authors in any of the four official languages: Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. ...

References

Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 158th day of the year (159th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• SOFTBLOW Poetry Journal
• "Poetry and the Renaissance Machine", Harvard Asia Quarterly
• Audio recordings on The Cortland Review
• Wong's poetry in Quarterly Literary Review Singapore