What’s on at the Singapore Writers Festival 5-14 November 2021?
With the theme, Guilty Pleasures, this year’s Singapore Writers Festival, gets underway on Friday 5 November. Festival Director Pooja Nansi has this to say to The Art of Travel: “We are leaning into this (theme) and boldly celebrating the things we love as we challenge the very notion of what belongs in a literary sphere. Through this year’s programmes, we want festival-goers to reconsider what they know as literary and explore unexpected ways of storytelling as we gravitate even more towards the things we enjoy during these periods of change and discomfort.”
Pooja Nansi – herself as established poet – answered four questions from us about her experience this year, putting together what will be a hybrid event, compared to last year’s totally virtual affair. Go here to read our questions and her very comprehensive answers.
Q1. I know it is very difficult planning and managing an event like SWF in these restrained times. Could you share more about what is considered a hybrid event, and what are some examples of events that festival goers can attend in person, and which are only online?
- A hybrid festival essentially involves programming across digital and physical spaces in various formats. Eg: In person attendance, pre-recorded content and live streamed content. It is indeed challenging to plan for a hybrid event, but it has become necessary given the current climate.
- A hybrid festival is more than including some physical programmes and hoping they can take place as they usually do. The programmes now need to adhere to the relevant safe management measures, while at the same time still be conducted in a manner that connects with the audiences and brings the programme’s message across. Finding the right balance between this is definitely a challenge, but it also makes the process very rewarding when the audiences enjoy and appreciate these physical programmes that are featured.
- Last year’s Festival was fully digital, and we are excited this year to organise a hybrid version to give Festival goers the chance to head down to experience some programmes in person. We will be having both online events that are either pre-recorded or happening live in real-time, as well as programmes that festival goers can attend physically.
- Some in-person programmes include our collaboration with The Projector to screen three guilty pleasure films, Magic Mike XXL, Mean Girls, and Mortal Kombat. Festival goers will also have a chance to physically experience the festival in programmes like Speed Hating where Joses and Lucas Ho invite participants to bond and connect over their shared hatred, Singapore Crimes: A Tour which brings us through the grisly scenes of Singapore’s historical gruesome crimes, and even a performance titled Extinction Feast presented by Practice Tuckshop discussing symbols of prosperity in Chinese food culture.
- For younger audiences, they can check out a Digital Comic-writing and Illustration Workshop by M. Sharif Ishni, or learn about the life and experience of pioneer Hedwig Anuar, at our Literary Pioneer exhibition located at the National Library Plaza.
- For international audiences or those who are unable to join us in person, we have a variety of exciting programmes taking place digitally. These include Mixtape Memories, a programme where 20 writers and singers including Rai from Jack and Rai will take us through a nostalgic throwback of songs from the ’80s and ’90s,Translating Culture in Text, where Yan Geling and Amang discussing the dynamic relationship between the translator and the writer and the evolution of literary works across language and cultures. In line with this year’s theme of Guilty Pleasure, we also encourage festival goers to check out our cheeky programmes like What Kind of You are You? our Youth Fringe programme where Merve Emre and Crystal Abidin will discuss the rising phenomenon of personality tests and birth charts and Better than Sexting: Love Letters where Charlene Shepherdson and Ang Shuang read steamy and heartfelt excerpts of letters in the history of literature and delve into the intimacy of sending love letters.
- Some of our online programmes will be happening in-person whilst being live-streamed at the same time, for audiences to have the flexibility to choose which format they are the most comfortable with. This includes our Keynote Commision OBIT: The Art of Being, crafted specially for this year’s festival where Rizman Putra will share what it means to be “offbeat” and flamboyant in a world infatuated with presenting authenticity, or From Wet Market to Table where local cookbook authors and chefs Pamelia Chia, Shamsydar Ani, and Sarah Huang Benjamin share their kitchen stories and love for local produce. Last but certainly not least, we cannot forget the much anticipated Festival Debate: This House Believes You Should Always Upsize.
- To sign-up for any of our in-person events, festival goers can also go to the SISTIC page here.
Q2. Are there any meet the author sessions, or where media and other participants can buy a book and get it signed by the author? An essential for any writers’ festival, I would think.
- There will definitely opportunities for you to meet writers and purchase their books at various book launches including Yap Swi Neo’s You Might Want To Marry My Husband, Around The World in 68 days by Koh Buck Song, Priscilla Tey’s Twitchy Witchy Itch, and The Good Guys by Darren Chen.
Q3. As I’m writing a preview of the festival and while I like the theme very much, did you decide on it because reading a book – or writing a book – can be considered “a guilty pleasure? I know plenty of authors who have written a least one of their books – me included – without revealing to those close to him or her, what was being written.
- This year’s theme came about, in part, from how serious things were in the past year, and how we need a break from that and a departure to talk about things that bring joy instead.
- I also realised how people were turning to their “guilty pleasures” for comfort – be it a Korean drama, music or cringy romance novel they kept hidden under their pillow, guilty pleasures drew people in during challenging times.
- So for this year’s festival, we are leaning into this and boldly celebrating the things we love as we challenge the very notion of what belongs in a literary sphere. Through this year’s programmes, we want festival-goers to reconsider what they know as literary and explore unexpected ways of storytelling as we gravitate even more towards the things we enjoy during these periods of change and discomfort.
- This year’s festival will also have something for everyone – from crime/mystery thrillers and ghost stories, to chick lit, comics/manga/anime, and even food and erotica, we hope to bring some cheer and laughter to all our festival goers, and to also delve into the complicated relationship between guilt and pleasure.
Q4. What’s missing from this festival that you would like to make sure you include in future editions?
- Personally, I miss the physical festival grounds as a communal meeting space and I hope that as the world opens up, we are able to convene again in this manner in the not too far future.
For more on the Festival programme, go to: https://singaporewritersfestival.com