Alvin Pang

ALVIN PANG (b. 1972) was named 2005 Young Artist of the Year (Literature) by the National Arts Council, Singapore. He holds First Class Honours in Literature from the University of York in England and an Honorary Fellowship in Writing from the University of Iowa's International Writing Program (2002). His first volume TESTING THE SILENCE (Ethos Books, 1997) was listed as one of the Top Ten Books of 1997 by The Straits Times and was short listed for the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Book Award in 1998/9. CITY OF RAIN (Ethos Books, 2003), his second volume of poetry, was the only Singaporean book to be named to the Straits Times Top Ten List for 2003.

He is the co-editor of the seminal volume, NO OTHER CITY: The Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry (Ethos Books, 2000), one of the Straits Times' Top Ten Books for 2000 and a key text on university syllabuses. In 2001, he was one of a quartet of bilateral editors who developed a joint anthology of Singapore-Filipino love poetry. It was released as LOVE GATHERS ALL: A Philippines-Singapore Anthology of Love Poetry (Ethos Books / Anvil Press, 2002), and won the Global Filipino Literary Award for Poetry in 2003. He is also the Country Editor (Singapore) for aforthcoming Penguin Book of Southeast Asian Verse, and C-editor, along with the poet John Kinsella, of a forthcoming anthology of Singapore and Australian poetry.

Pang was the Featured Poet in the Spring 2002 issue of the Atlanta Review (USA), a journal which counts Nobel Prize laureates Seamus Heaney and Derek Walcott among its contributors; he is also among the select few poets celebrated in its 10th Anniversary edition. His work has also been featured in journals such as the English Review (UK), Paper Tiger (Australia), Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature, Bonnier's Literary Magazine, Slope (USA), Quarterly Literary Review Singapore and RHYTHMS: The Millennium Anthology of Singapore Poetry, for which he was also the English Language Poetry Editor. His poetry has appeared at the Poetry Society and Poetry Library in London; and has been staged by professional theatre companies in the US, Malaysia and Singapore. It has also been exhibited in the Asian Civilisations Museum, expressed as sound sculpture, screened on national television, and requested and read on BBC Radio.

A recipient of several Singapore International Foundation and National Arts Council grants, Pang frequently assists the National Arts Council in literary projects. He served on the organizing committees of the Singapore Writer’s Festivals in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003. He is also a founder and coordinator of WORDFEAST 2004 – Singapore’s first international poetry festival. In 2003, Pang co-founded The Literary Centre (Singapore), a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to literary development, where he still serves as a Director.

Pang has made several international appearances in support of Singaporean writing. He led a delegation of Singapore writers to Australia in July 2001 and another to the Austin International Poetry Festival in April 2002. He featured at the 2003 Edinburgh International Book Festival and the 2006 Sydney Writer's Festival as an invited international poet. He has also read at major literary festivals in Bali, Darwin, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Perth and elsewhere.

A former teacher, civil servant, journalist, columnist and online producer, Pang is the founder and editor of online poetry anthology, The Poetry Billboard (http://www.poetrybillboard.com), the Literary Singapore news website (http://www.writer.per.sg) and mailing list (info@writer.per.sg). He also contributes an occasional column to the Straits Times commentary section on technology, culture, society and other issues. Some of his articles, essays and commentaries are collected on http://www.verbosity.net. On a commercial basis, he consults on web, editorial and strategic communications, and research for a range of corporate and public sector organisations.

Books (Literary) 1997 - Testing the Silence (Ethos Books, 1997) - Poems 2000 – Co-editor, No Other City: The Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry (Ethos Books, 2000) 2002 – Co-editor, Love Gathers All : The Philippines-Singapore Love Anthology (Anvil Books/Ethos Books, 2002) 2003 - City of Rain (Ethos Books, 2003) – Poems 2006 - Other Things (chapbook of unpublished poems)