On the 22nd of May, BARSG hosted our first event of 2015 “BARSG Presents: Cyril Wong”. The event was a conversation between acclaimed poet Cyril Wong and BAR sg members as well as the audience about his work, influences and inspiration. Here are some snaps of the full-house event. 

Chloe began writing after giving up childhood dreams of being the Sugar Plum Fairy in Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. Even though she still spends more time in the dance studio than at poetry readings, she’d resent it if you made her choose between the two. She is currently an English major in NTU.

April is an 18 year old who is trying to navigate the uncertainty that lies between JC graduation and university. She often divides her time between stirring and writing about stirring cake batters, which, she believes, is a thoroughly therapeutic process. She can usually be found in the kitchen with a pen in her hand, cocoa powder on her sleeves and a Christmas album playing in the background.

Robert Bivouac is a Chinese-Malaysian writer currently living in Singapore. An advocate for racial justice, feminism and diversity in media, he writes fiction, poetry, and criticism from the perspective of a non-Western man of color in a heavily Westernized nation. He has appeared in the inaugural Singapore Poetry Writing Month (“SingPoWriMo”) anthology and several publications by Singapore’s Creative Arts Programme, and will appear in The Sea is Ours: Tales of Steampunk Southeast Asia, an anthology of Southeast Asian steampunk fiction by Rosarium Publishing.

Cheryl Julia is a postgraduate student at Trinity College Dublin. Her work has been published in QLRS, The Adroit Journal, and Prick of the Spindle, among others. Her first poetry collection, "We Were Always Eating Expired Things", was published in 2014.

Alisa Maya reads Literature at the National University of Singapore. In between heading her college’s student-run literary magazine and writing essays she watches re-runs of ‘90s sitcoms and cycles. Her hopes include putting together a collection of prose or poetry to be published soon and also climbing a small mountain. She writes at www.alisamaya.com

Samuel is an English literature major in NUS. He does not remember when exactly he started writing, only why. His favorite poets are Tony Hoagland, Matthea Harvey, Arthur Yap and Adrienne Rich. Among his hopes and aspirations is the dream of living with a cat named Smiley Muffin by the time he turns 28. His work has been included in Symbal Magazine, and the anthologies, "A Luxury We Cannot Afford" and "SingPoWriMo." More recently, his poems have been used in "Artifacts," a choral work by Eric Banks, which will be premiered by the SYC Ensemble Singers in December 2014.

When he isn’t daydreaming about fantastic faraway places, Keith can be found jogging along Dover Road or questing for the best avocado smoothie in Singapore. He fills the time between waking and sleeping with doodles and poetry. Currently studying in Yale-NUS College.

Wahid is 17, and currently assumes the front of a JC student. In reality, he is a boy in love with poetry and music. He hopes to make a living out of one or the other (although this will probably not be the case). He can usually be spotted in his bedroom with a guitar and a notebook close by.

Gabriel Ng is a JC student who subsists on a diet of poetry and music (from jazz to indie). Aside from pen and paper can also be found with a guitar or bass in hand. Has a myriad of other incongruous interests like anime/manga, board games and baseball among them.

Tysha Khan is a creativity enthusiast, who enjoys the process of creating. She began her writing journey at the age of 13 when she started receiving visits from poetry. She has been published in the poetry anthology Kepulauan, and is trying her hand at other forms of writing. She also enjoys performance and theatre a whole lot, and is an aspiring actor.

Werner runs so much it probably borderlines on unhealthy. While he isn’t running, he can usually be found reading in a small corner while simultaneously jamming to the radio in his head. His work has appeared in SOFTBLOW.

Luca remembers seeing a coelacanth in the polar bear tank at the zoo. She writes best the way she draws — on and in scraps. She has been published on Cha in their Ancient Asia Issue.

Jia Ling enjoys staying at home watching shows and occasionally writing. She takes delight in travelling to new countries where she can embarrass herself freely and is stuck in between the mind of a 5 year old and the responsibilities of a 20.

Shawn Hoo writes mostly poetry and sings in a choir, while making time to fulfil his national duty. He occasionally tries his hand at submitting poetry to places, and is fortunate enough to have his poems appear in publications like Black Fox Literary Magazine and more recently in A Luxury We Cannot Afford. He hopes to one day find his love for poetry and choral music intersect.

I’m Eilun, a sixteen-year-old student. I write poems about gender, infatuation, and teenage girls. I also write short stories about gender, infatuation, and teenage girls murdering each other. I’m currently the editor of NOW[n.], a school-based literary magazine. I write because very few people seem to want to, and even fewer seem to need to.

Ting Wei Tai graduated from Raffles Institution and will begin his undergraduate studies at Yale University in August 2015. His poems have previously been featured in the Brasilia Review, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Cha, Eastlit and the Eunoia Review.