The first migrant worker poetry competition made waves in Singapore late last year. The BBC picked up the story, too. Turns out, it’s back again for its second edition, happening at the National Library’s Possibility Room on Dec 13. This time around, the initial submission period (which closed Nov 1) saw three times as many entries and seven language represented (up from two last year).
Perhaps most excitingly, whereas last year’s submissions were from all-male poets, 60% of the entires this year are from women. Shivaji Das, one of the organizers of the contest (we interviewed him here), said this year’s competition will have “very interesting and unique perspectives.” So if you missed it last year, this one is definitely to catch. The event will feature all the winning poems, recited alongside their English translations.
The judges for this competition include Singlit poet Alvin Pang, poet and literary critic Kirpal Singh, BanglarKantha contributor Pampa Ghosh, Filipino poet Shane Carreon and others. This year’s event also includes a display of poems by migrant workers in China, Kuwait and Malaysia, who have submitted work in support.
The pot for first place is $200.
