Alfian Sa'at

Last updated

Alfian Sa'at
BornAlfian bin Sa'at
(1977-07-18) 18 July 1977 (age 47)
Singapore
OccupationPlaywright, poet, writer, translator
NationalitySingaporean

Alfian bin Sa'at (born 18 July 1977), better known as Alfian Sa'at, is a Singaporean playwright, poet, and writer. [1] [2] He is known for penning a body of English- and Malay-language plays, poems, and prose exploring race, sexuality, and politics, topics considered provocative in Singapore. [1] [2] Alfian has also translated Malay-language novels by Malay Singaporean writers to English. [1] Alfian has received a number of national literature awards, such as the 2001 Young Artist Award and three Life! Theatre Awards for Best Original Script. [1] Alfian is the resident playwright of theatre group W!LD RICE. [3]

Contents

Early life

Born in Singapore in 1977, Alfian is a Malay-Muslim of Minang, Javanese, and Hakka descent. [4] Alfian is an alumnus of Tampines Primary School, Raffles Institution (RI), and Raffles Junior College (RJC), where he served as chairman of the drama societies in RI and subsequently in RJC. [5] He took part in the National University of Singapore's Creative Arts Programme—an annual creative writing programme for secondary and junior college students—twice under the mentorship of Singaporean playwright Haresh Sharma, first at the age of fifteen, and a second time at seventeen. [5] [6] [7] During his two years at RJC, Alfian received the Kripalani Award for Outstanding Contribution to Creative Arts. [8] Alfian was a medical undergraduate at the National University of Singapore but did not graduate. [5]

Career

In 1998, Alfian published his first collection of poetry, One Fierce Hour, [5] which was described by journalist Lee Tzu Pheng in The Straits Times as an "exciting, landmark collection." [9] Alfian was described by Malaysia's New Straits Times as "one of the most acclaimed poets in his country... a prankish provocateur, libertarian hipster". [5] A year later in 1999, Alfian published his first collection of short stories, Corridor, which won the Singapore Literature Prize Commendation Award. [5] Seven of the short stories from the collection were adapted for television. [5] In 2001, he published A History of Amnesia, his second collection of poetry, which was shortlisted for a Kiriyama Asia-Pacific Book Prize. [5] The same year, Alfian won both the inaugural National Arts Council-Singapore Press Holdings Golden Point Award for Poetry, as well as the National Arts Council's Young Artist Award for Literature. [10]

Alfian's plays have been translated into German and Swedish, and have been read and performed in London, Zurich, Stockholm, Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. [10] He has worked as a playwright with theatre group The Necessary Stage as well as the Malay theatre group Teater Ekamatra. [10] Alfian is currently the resident playwright of theatre group W!LD RICE. [3] In 2015, Nadirah was selected by The Business Times as one of the "finest plays in 50 years" alongside productions by Goh Poh Seng, Michael Chiang and Haresh Sharma and others. [11]

In 2016, it was reported that Alfian's co-written play sex.violence.blood.gore and his short story collection Malay Sketches was included on a reading list at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, while the University of York and West Virginia University has his poem "Singapore You Are Not My Country"and selected poems on their reading lists respectively. [12] In particular, the University of York's Dr Claire Chambers noted that this was because Alfian "introduces non-Anglophone words and concepts, and puts together words in an expressive portmanteau style". [12]

Works

Plays

Awards

Related Research Articles

This article deals with writing that deals with LGBT themes in a Singapore context. It covers literary works of fiction, such as novels, short stories, plays and poems. It also includes non-fiction works, both scholarly and targeted at the general reader, such as dissertations, journal or magazine articles, books and even web-based content. Although Singapore lacks a dedicated gay book publisher or gay bookshop, it does have at least one dedicated gay library, Pelangi Pride Centre, which is open weekly to the public. Many of the works cited here may be found both in Pelangi Pride Centre, as well as the National Library or other academic libraries in Singapore, as well as in some commercial bookshops under 'gender studies' sections.

The literature of Singapore comprises a collection of literary works by Singaporeans. It is written chiefly in the country's four official languages: English, Malay, Standard Mandarin and Tamil.

Edwin Nadason Thumboo B.B.M. is a Singaporean poet and academic who is regarded as one of the pioneers of English literature in Singapore.

<i>Peculiar Chris</i> 1992 novel by Johann S. Lee

Peculiar Chris is a novel which deals with gay themes by Johann S. Lee, published in Singapore by Cannon International in 1992.

The Singapore Literature Prize is a biennial award in Singapore to recognise outstanding published works by Singaporean authors in any of the four official languages: Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. The competition is organised by the Singapore Book Council (SBC) with the support of the National Arts Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yasmin Ahmad</span> Malaysian film director

Yasmin binti Ahmad was a Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter. She was the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well known in Malaysia for being humorous and touching. Her work crossed cross-cultural barriers, particularly her ads for Petronas, the national oil and gas company. Her works have won multiple awards both within Malaysia and internationally. In Malaysia, her films were highly controversial due to their depiction of events and relationships, which have been considered 'forbidden' by social conservatives, especially hard-line interpretations of Islam. She was a central figure of the "first" New Wave of Malaysian cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Arts Council, Singapore</span>

The National Arts Council (NAC) is a statutory board established on 15 October 1991 to oversee the development of arts in Singapore. It is under the purview of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. The NAC provides grants, scholarships, awards and platforms for arts practitioners, as well as arts education and programmes for the general public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daren Shiau</span>

Daren Shiau, BBM, PBM, is a Singaporean novelist, poet, conservationist, and lawyer in private practice qualified in Singapore, England and Wales. He is an author of five books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ng Yi Sheng</span> Singaporean writer

Ng Yi Sheng is a Singaporean gay writer. He has published a collection of his poems entitled last boy, which won the Singapore Literature Prize, and a documentary book on gay, lesbian and bisexual Singaporeans called SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century in 2006.

Tan Tarn How ) is a Singaporean playwright and senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (Singapore). His plays have been staged in Singapore and Hong Kong, and have won numerous awards. In 2011, Epigram Books published a collection of six of his plays.

The Necessary Stage is a Singaporean non-profit theatre company with charity status. Formed in 1987 by Alvin Tan, TNS was established with its own mission to create challenging, indigenous and innovative theatre that touches the heart and mind. TNS is a recipient of the National Arts Council's Major Grant FY2014-2016, and is also the organiser of the annual M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. It is currently located at the Marine Parade Community Building.

Haresh Sharma is a Malaysian born naturalised Singaporean playwright. To date, he has written more than 100 plays that have been staged all over the world, including Singapore, Melbourne, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cairo and London. Sharma has a BA from the National University of Singapore as well as an MA in Playwriting from the University of Birmingham, obtained in 1994 on a Shell-NAC Scholarship.

Michael Chiang is a prolific playwright and screenwriter in Singapore. He is known as "Singapore's most famous and successful playwright".

Nora Samosir is a Singaporean actress of Indonesian descent who won a 2002 Life Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has been active in the Singapore theatre scene since 1979 and has worked in television and film. Some of her more notable performances include The Swallowed Seed (2002) and Revelations (2003)

<i>Heartland</i> (Shiau novel) 1999 novel by Daren Shiau

Heartland is the first novel written by Daren Shiau. The book received the Singapore Literature Prize Commendation Award in 1998, together with Alfian Sa'at's Corridor. In 2007, an academic edition of Heartland was adopted into a textbook for Singapore secondary schools offering English literature in their GCE O-Level curriculum.

The Singapore Writers Festival is a literary event organised by the National Arts Council. Inaugurated in 1986, the festival serves a dual function of promoting new and emerging Singaporean and Asian writing to an international audience, as well as presenting foreign writers to Singaporeans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glen Goei</span>

Glen Goei is one of Singapore's leading film and theatre directors. His broad ranging body of work embraces the full gamut of the performing and visual arts and includes film, theatre, musicals, large scale shows, World Expos, dance, music, and architectural design.

Joshua Ip is a Singaporean poet, and writer.

Mohamed Latiff Mohamed was a Singaporean Malay poet and writer.

<i>Death of a Perm Sec</i> 2016 novel by Wong Souk Yee

Death of a Perm Sec is a 2016 novel written by Singaporean playwright, former political detainee, and former chairman of the Singapore Democratic Party Dr Wong Souk Yee. The book depicts the mystery and fallout surrounding the demise of the Permanent Secretary of the housing ministry, Chow Sze Teck, after he was accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes over his career. The novel explores the dark heart of power politics, from the country’s tumultuous post-independence days to the socio-political landscape of the 1980s. Death of a Perm Sec was one of four finalists for the inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize in 2015, and was subsequently shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bahrawi, Nazry (October 2016). "An interview with Alfian Sa'at". Asymptote Journal.
  2. 1 2 "A Moment with… Playwright Alfian Sa'at". Lifestyle Asia. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  3. 1 2 "W!LD RICE :: About". W!LD RICE. Archived from the original on 8 May 2005. Retrieved 26 November 2006.
  4. Schenk, Olaf (2004). "Alfian Bin Sa'at [ Singapore ]". Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Alfian Sa'at (b. 1977)". Poetry.sg. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  6. NUS Knowledge Enterprise (August 2001). "Dissecting Poetry". National University of Singapore. Archived from the original on 14 November 2006. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
  7. Lim, Audrey. "Deny Thy Country, Young Man: An Interview with Alfian Sa'at". oddrummer's home page. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
  8. Gwee, Li Sui. "Alfian Bin Sa'at: Biography and Brief Introduction". The Literature, Culture, and Society of Singapore. Postcolonial and Postimperial Literature in English. Archived from the original on 11 December 2006. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
  9. Lee, Tzu Pheng (18 July 1998). "Poet says it Fierce and in verse". The Straits Times. p. 13. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 "Alfian Sa'at / Bio". poetry.sg. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  11. Yusof, Helmi (January 2015). "The finest plays in 50 years". The Business Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  12. 1 2 Sin, Yuen (15 February 2016). "Who's afraid of 'chao ah beng'? Overseas universities use Singaporean literature to teach". Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Retrieved 15 February 2016.