SPEAKING UP FOR THE UNSPOKEN

By Jolene Lee

Diploma in Creative Writing for TV and New Media

Singapore Polytechnic

Winning the prestigious Singapore Literature Prize in 2008 for his first collection Last Boy was a dream debut for Ng Yi-Sheng, but he also had to contend with the criticism that came hand in hand with the honour.

Yi-Sheng reveals he was confronted in a bookstore by someone who felt he did not deserve the award. The man told Yi-Sheng he should be ashamed of himself for winning.

But the 38-year-old poet and playwright believes the prize did go to the right person.

“You can give it to the person who is the best or the person who needs it the most,” he states.

He thinks it is the latter in his case and is grateful for the opportunity to showcase his work.

And he is also unfazed by the bookstore encounter. He says he continues to write the way he wants to and has learnt to trust his instincts more, knowing that “your work is not going to be for everyone”.

Testing the boundaries

Yi-Sheng’s daring and unique writing style has found expression in plays, fiction and his signature poems.

Many of the full-time writer’s works involve Singapore’s LGBT+ scene, like Last Boy, A Book of Hims and SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century. He says he wants to write about LGBT+ issues even though they’re still considered a touchy topic in Asia.

Yi-Sheng also admits to being thrilled writing about “topics that are a little bit taboo”. He feels that it’s fun to test the boundaries because they may be more flexible than people would expect.

In his new work, Lion City: A Collection of Short Stories, Yi-Sheng uses metaphors that people associate with Singapore to explain how fascinating the country is. His goal was to write about local history in a fresh yet realistic way so people can have a different view of the country. Otherwise, he says, "what's the point of me being here?”