Topaz Winters

Topaz Winters
Born	(1999-09-25) September 25, 1999 (age 26) United States
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	Singaporean
Alma mater	Princeton University
Period	2013–present
Genre	Poetry, essays
Website
topazwinters.com

Topaz Winters (born September 25, 1999) is the pen name of Singaporean writer Priyanka Balasubramanian Aiyer. ^{[1] [2]}

Early life and education

Winters was born in the United States and raised in Singapore. ^[1] She graduated from Princeton University in 2023 with a B.A. in English and certificates in Creative Writing, Visual Art, and Italian. There, she studied poetry and fiction under Danez Smith, Monica Youn, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, and Joyce Carol Oates. ^[3]

Career

Winters writes on illnesses such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, dissociative amnesia and hyperacusis, as well as her experiences of being a queer and disabled woman of color and an immigrant. ^[4]

She is the author of the chapbooks "Heaven or This" (2016) and "poems for the sound of the sky before thunder" (Math Paper Press 2017) ^[5] and the full-length poetry collections "Portrait of My Body as a Crime I'm Still Committing" (2019) ^[3] and "So, Stranger" (Button Poetry 2022). ^[6] In 2024, Button Poetry issued a reprint of her second, self-published book "Portrait of My Body as a Crime I'm Still Committing" in a five year anniversary edition, with new poems and a foreword by Blythe Baird. ^[7]

She is the youngest author to be published by Math Paper Press, the youngest Singaporean nominee for the Pushcart Prize, ^[1] and the youngest visiting author at several MFA programs across the United States. ^[8]

She is the editor-in-chief at the publishing house and literary journal Half Mystic, which has published work by KB Brookins, Adam Falkner, Alexandra Eldridge, Mree, and The Haunt. ^[2] In 2023 she founded the online literary magazine Kopi Break with Max Pasakorn and Kendrick Loo, publishing new voices in Singaporean poetry. ^[9]

Winters wrote and appeared in the 2017 short film "SUPERNOVA" (directed by Ishan Modi). ^[10] With Crispin Rodrigues, she is the co-curator of the 2020 Singapore Writers Festival digital art installation "Letters From Home to Home". ^[11] She embarked on a book tour across the East Coast in celebration of "So, Stranger" in 2022, performing with musicians and writers in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. ^{[12] [13]} In 2024 she embarked on a book tour across the Midwest in celebration of "Portrait of My Body as a Crime I'm Still Committing: 5 Year Anniversary Special Edition," performing with musicians and writers in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. ^[14] She has performed her poetry at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Center for Fiction, and the Singapore Writers Festival. ^[15]

Her peer-reviewed scholarly paper "Queering Poetics: The Impact of Poetry on LGBT+ Identity in Singaporean Adolescents" was published in the Journal of Homosexuality when she was 19 years old. She is the youngest author to be published in this journal. ^[16]

Works

Poems

• "I Said 'I Miss You' & You Said 'I Love You Too'". SWWIM Every Day. 2025 ^[17]
• "Meet Me at Our Spot". Poetry Northwest. 2025 ^[18]
• "No You Say It First". Foglifter. 2024 ^[19]
• "The Psychiatrist Said I Would Outgrow My Violences", "Unmasking Ceremony", "This Will Go Easier If You Can Think of Something to Believe In". Waxwing. 2024 ^[20]
• "Idol". The Drift. 2024 ^[21]
• "Nocturne for Changing the Subject". Passages North. 2024 ^[22]
• "Self Portrait as Methods of Survival". The Boiler. 2023 ^[23]
• "It's Not That I'm Angry". Poets.org. 2022 ^[24]
• "Home Ghazal (Alvin Says, It is What We Love That Gives Us Our Names)". Hobart. 2022 ^[25]
• "Terrible Things Are Happening in New Jersey!". The Ex-Puritan. 2022 ^[26]
• "Arrival", "That Summer I Wrote the Same Poem Over & Over". Diode Poetry Journal. 2021 ^[27]
• "& When I Say the Word Hunger You Know I’m Speaking of Resurrection". Tinderbox Poetry Journal. 2020 ^[28]
• "I Found a New World Across the Sea". Under a Warm Green Linden. 2019 ^[29]
• "The Night You Are Diagnosed". DIALOGIST. 2019 ^[30]
• "Every Day the Same Story About Immigrants". Ghost City Review. 2019 ^[31]
• "When my First Boyfriend Learned I Was on Anti-Psychotics, He Laughed & Told Me He Always Suspected I was Crazier than I Let On". Birdfeast. 2019 ^[32]
• "Origin Story". Occulum. 2018 ^[33]
• "War Story With My Father". Sundog Lit. 2018 ^[34]

Essays

• "April is Over, April is Over". Pithead Chapel. 2025 ^[35]
• "One of You Leaves First". Perks of Being Dumped: A local anthology of heartbreak writing. Marshall Cavendish. 2024 ^[36]
• "Debt Collector's Lullaby". Half Mystic. 2022 ^[37]

Books

• So, Stranger. Button Poetry. 2022. ISBN 9781638340249
• Portrait of My Body as a Crime I'm Still Committing. Button Poetry. 2019 and 2024. ISBN 9781733881609

Scholarly papers

• Queering Poetics: The Impact of Poetry on LGBT+ Identity in Singaporean Adolescents. Journal of Homosexuality, 67:2, 206-222. DOI 10.1080/00918369.2018.1536415 ^[16]

Edited

• Half Mystic Journal, Opus II, Issue II: Sevdah. Half Mystic Press. 2025 ^[38]
• Half Mystic Journal, Opus II, Issue I: Presto. Half Mystic Press. 2024 ^[39]
• You Make Yourself Another. Lucy Hannah Ryan. Half Mystic Press. 2023. ^[40] ISBN 9781948552158
• Half Mystic Journal, Issue X: Elegy. Half Mystic Press. 2022 ^[41]
• Waiting for Frank Ocean in Cairo. Hazem Fahmy. Half Mystic Press. 2022. ^[42] ISBN 9781948552110
• Half Mystic Journal, Issue IX: Synaesthesia. Half Mystic Press. 2021 ^[43]
• Half Mystic Journal, Issue VIII: Sforzando. Half Mystic Press. 2020 ^[44]
• Say Mother Say Hand. Marie Conlan. Half Mystic Press. 2020. ^[45] ISBN 9781948552103
• The Family That Carried Their House on Their Backs. Sammie Downing. Half Mystic Press. 2019. ^[46] ISBN 9781948552080
• Hag. Tamara Jobe. Half Mystic Press. 2019. ^[47] ISBN 9781948552066
• Half Mystic Journal, Issue VII: Aubade. Half Mystic Press. 2019 ^[48]
• Half Mystic Journal, Issue VI: Interlude. Half Mystic Press. 2018 ^[49]
• Crowd Surfing With God. Adrienne Novy. 2018. ^[50] ISBN 9781948552028
• Half Mystic Journal, Issue V: Cadenza. Half Mystic Press. 2018 ^[51]
• Knock. Melissa Atkinson Mercer. Half Mystic Press. 2017. ^[52] ISBN 9781948552004
• Half Mystic Journal, Issue IV: Grazioso. Half Mystic Press. 2017 ^[53]
• Half Mystic Journal, Issue III: Nocturne. Half Mystic Press. 2017 ^[54]

Personal life

Winters moved to New York City after graduating from Princeton University in 2023. She uses she/they pronouns and is in a relationship. ^[1] She owns a black cat named Volta. ^[55]

References

1. Ho, Olivia (2019-04-29). "The 'rebel girls' of Singapore poetry: Young, outspoken and pushing boundaries". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
2. "Topaz Winters: On Music, Tech And Writing". Lifestyle Guide. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
3. "Topaz Winters, student and artist, makes meaning out of suffering". The Princetonian. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
4. "'Worthy of taking up space': Jennifer Lee '23 founds nonprofit to support Asian Americans with disabilities". The Princetonian. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
5. "poems for the sound of the sky before thunder". BooksActually. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
6. "So, Stranger (Button Poetry)". Button Poetry. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
7. "Portrait of my Body as a Crime I'm Still Committing". Button Poetry. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
8. Parker, Annamarie. "Visiting poet Topaz Winters reflects on her writing journey". The North Wind. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
9. "About". Kopi Break. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
10. TAN, MEGAN (2018-08-11). "A new chapter for SingLit". The Business Times. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
11. "Singapore Writers Festival - Letters from Home to Home". Singapore Writers Festival. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
12. lincolnvillagesun (2022-08-18). "Poet Topaz Winters curates a soulful night of music and verse at 'So, Stranger' launch". The Village Sun. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
13. "Arts Briefs". The Provincetown Independent. 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
14. "Tour of My Body as a Crime I'm Still Committing". Tour of My Body as a Crime I'm Still Committing. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
15. "Emerging Talent and Legendary Artists Celebrated The YoungArts Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art". Vogue. 2024-04-09. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
16. Aiyer, Priyanka (2020-01-28). "Queering Poetics: The Impact of Poetry on LGBT+ Identity in Singaporean Adolescents" . Journal of Homosexuality. 67 (2): 206–222. doi:10.1080/00918369.2018.1536415. ISSN   0091-8369. PMID   30407889. S2CID   53236989.
17. "SWWIM Every Day". SWWIM. 2025-02-17. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
18. "Winter & Spring 2025". Poetry Northwest. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
19. "Foglifter Journal Volume 9 Issue 2". Foglifter Journal and Press. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
20. "Waxwing Literary Journal: American writers & international voices". waxwingmag.org. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
21. "Idol". The Drift. 2024-03-12. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
22. "Issue 45". Passages North. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
23. "Topaz Winters". The Boiler. 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
24. Poets, Academy of American. "2022 Academy of American Poets Prize". Poets.org. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
25. "Home Ghazal (Alvin Says, It Is What We Love That Gives Us Our Names) by Topaz Winters". www.hobartpulp.com. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
26. Winters, Topaz. "Terrible Things Are Happening in New Jersey!". ex-puritan.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
27. "Topaz Winters". diode poetry journal. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
28. Winters, Topaz. "& When I Say the Word Hunger You Know I'm Speaking of Resurrection | Tinderbox Poetry Journal" . Retrieved 2023-11-19.
29. "Issue 8: Topaz Winters". Green Linden Press. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
30. "Week 33: Topaz Winters". DIALOGIST. 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
31. "Topaz Winters". Ghost City Press. 2019-08-02. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
32. "Topaz Winters | Birdfeast 14". www.birdfeastmagazine.com. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
33. occulum (2018-10-31). "Origin Story | by Topaz Winters". Occulum. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
34. "Winters". Sundog. 2018-09-16. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
35. "April is Over, April is Over". Pithead Chapel. 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
36. "9789815218152". MarshallCavendish.com. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
37. "X: Elegy | Silver-Tipped Swallow: "Debt Collector's Lullaby"". Half Mystic. 2022-07-17. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
38. "Half Mystic Journal Opus II, Issue II: Sevdah". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
39. "Half Mystic Journal Opus II, Issue I: Presto". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
40. "You Make Yourself Another by Lucy Hannah Ryan". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
41. "Half Mystic Journal Issue X: Elegy". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
42. "Waiting for Frank Ocean in Cairo by Hazem Fahmy". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
43. "Half Mystic Journal Issue IX: Synaesthesia". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
44. "Half Mystic Journal Issue VIII: Sforzando". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
45. "Say Mother Say Hand by Marie Conlan". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
46. "The Family That Carried Their House on Their Backs by Sammie Downing". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
47. "Hag by Tamara Jobe". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
48. "Half Mystic Journal Issue VII: Aubade". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
49. "Half Mystic Journal Issue VI: Interlude". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
50. "Crowd Surfing With God: 5 Year Anniversary Special Edition by Adrienne Novy [PREORDER]". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
51. "Half Mystic Journal Issue V: Cadenza". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
52. "Knock by Melissa Atkinson Mercer". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
53. "Half Mystic Journal Issue IV: Grazioso". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
54. "Half Mystic Journal Issue III: Nocturne". Half Mystic. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
55. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-04-15.