#Ng Yi-Sheng

[filipmagnuswrites]

The Short Story Reader #120 - The World's Wife by Ng Yi-Sheng

Previous | Next Here’s one of the most creative pieces of flash fiction I’ve read in recent memory, the story of a wife whose demand to have her husband’s body recovered from the vacuum of space leads to a most unexpected development. Ng Yi-Sheng imagines this body developing its own atmosphere, becoming a planet in miniature. It’s all described with a twinkle, the narrative one side of a…

[ombrosalgia]

flesh to last ten thousand years.

— Ng Yi-Sheng, from “ Crystal Pear“’

[ladyarduenna]

when you get this you have to post 3 books you would recommend then send this ask to 10 of your favourite followers 🌃

first of all congratulations on being the first ask i've gotten in four dusty years (life etc etc)

second of all this couldn't have come at a better time!! i started reading for pleasure recently and have devouring books with a HUNGER. so here goes.

- no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood 

a friend recommended it to me without telling me what it's about except for that it's for the chronically online. and as someone who has been Chronically Online since 2009 on tumblr, i truly cannot stress this enough. 

if you've been on tumblr (and the internet as a whole), you will def enjoy this book. not so much what it's about but more so how it's written. for what it's actually about, i reckon just about anyone should be able to get into it, provided you experience emotions

- the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid 

look...i haven't been this affected by a narrative in a LONG. long. while. i've yet to do second reading but the first one really had me riveted and that's a lot. I HAVEN'T FELT SO ALIVE IN SO LONG. 

idk if it's possible that you avoid spoilers (i low-key did until i read it which. maybe that's why i loved it) but basically. epic romance set in old hollywood. seven husbands. glamour and fame! taylor swift fans love it! worth at least one read even if it's to say you didn't like it at the end.

- black waters, pink sands by ng yi sheng 

so i have to do my local theatre scene a solid and recommend this. it's two plays -- desert blooms and ayer hitam in one book. one about lgbt rep in singapore and the other about african diaspora in singapore. 

both were staged as what is called a 'performance lecture' whereby it's like a lecture but in the form of a stage play and severely underrated when they were staged tbh, but that's also because lack of funding and tight censorship laws. great examinations on what it is to be lgbt and black in singapore

anyway i recognise it's probably impossible to get it if you live outside of singapore but kinokuniya ships internationally!

[marcottestation]

just like how ‘the loud poem to be read to a very obliging audience’ by ng yi-sheng is so tsukasa-coded

I swear as a lit student I am going to read all my texts in WXS voices

[yourdailyqueer]

Ng Yi Sheng

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay

DOB: 25 November 1980

Ethnicity: Singaporean

Occupation: Writer, poet, playwright

[strawbcrrywine]

@asianlitnet event 01: favourite book

↳ lion city by ng yi sheng

Yet I have eavesdropped on their mutterings in the car park, and I will venture to guess that they dream of cities. Implausible cities, ludicrous cities, cities that buck the definition of the word itself. Every city I have described was first born here in the mind of another; every possible permutation of their attributes has been or shall be considered in their minds.

[white-echo]

She's a keen-eyed story teller who reveals all the magic and horror of being a woman, a lover, a mother, a daughter.

Ng Yi-Sheng, about Natalie Wang, in review of her poetry book “The Woman Who Turned Into A Vending Machine”

[fuckyeahreading]

LOUD POEMS FOR A VERY OBLIGING AUDIENCE by NG YI-SHENG

I am gushing over this book! Not only can he string words together that results in a beautiful collection of poetry, but this book has made me laugh out loud in public several times. This collection is a reflection of Singapore culture; he’s used a lot of local colloquialism in his poems. What’s more important, to me, is that this book is a critique of the Singaporean political structure, but is done in a very lighthearted way that it makes you laugh at how ridiculous and unreasonable the government can be.

Also, look at that cover!

[gerrymike]

wait where can i find ng yi-sheng’s harbour

ITS IN his Lion City anthology wait it’s pretty short i might scan it for here

[southeastasianists]

When it comes to discussing Singapore’s history, conversations usually center around colonialists like Sir Stamford Raffles, the split from Malaysia, and, of course, the late Lee Kuan Yew’s charge to transform the Lion City. Very little is known about the small black community stitched into our social fabric since the 1800s.

Three theatre practitioners hope to enlighten Singaporeans through a performance-lecture titled Ayer Hitam: A Black History of Singapore on Sunday at the School of the Arts. Ayer Hitam, which translates to “black water,” refers to the African diaspora crossing the ocean to get to Singapore.

The 90-minute performance by Jamaican-British actress and Singapore resident Sharon Frese, director Irfan Kasban, and writer Ng Yi-Sheng; was first staged in January at the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival at Black Box Theatre.

Among things to look out for in the show is Frese sharing images and documents relating to slavery, colonialism, jazz, and the nationalist struggle.

In 1827, a colonial survey found five black residents living on the island – two men and three women. By 1834, the number rose to 62, organizers say.  

Several black boxing champions adored by Singaporeans included one known as Joe Diamond, a Mecca-born boxer who visited Singapore regularly between 1930 and 1945 to fight. He gained a big following in the local Malay community.  

Another well-known black Singaporean was Mak Pak Shee, a member of parliament representing the Geylang area in the 1950s of mixed ancestry. While it was said that he was Indian-Cantonese; in reality, his father was a sailor of African descent, organizers said.

Tickets to Ayer Hitam: A Black History of Singapore are S$41.99 and can be purchased online. Come early for refreshments and Afrobeat entertainment by DJs Rushmo, Justo and Roxie Le Fox.

[chinesetong-china]

Learn Chinese in Chinese stories｜Chinese legends｜Nuwa mended the sky

Human always like to live by water. The Yellow River Basin in China also gave birth to the earliest Chinese culture, and China's floods seem to be quite frequent, the  five thousand years of Chinese history also was a history of water control.

In the Chinese legend, the water God Gonggong fought with the fire God Zhurong, Gonggong damaged the Buzhou mountains which supported the sky and earth, the water came out of the sky river, flooding the world. This was the first great flood. Finally, the human creator Nu WA made a multicolored divine stones out of hot fire

and mended the sky.

人类总是逐水而居。在中国的黄河流域也诞生了最早的华夏文化，而中国的水灾似乎特别多，中国人五千年历史，也是一部治水的历史。

传说水神共工与火神打架，一怒之下撞坏了支撑天地的不周山，天河的水流出，人间洪灾泛滥，这就是人类第一次大洪灾。最后，人类的创造者女娲娘娘炼成五彩巨石，终于修补了天空的漏洞。

   CONTENT

Pan gu kai tian hou

盘古开天后

After Pangu created the world

 You yi zuo ju da de shan zhi cheng zhe tian he di

有一座巨大的山支撑着天和地

There was a huge mountain that supported the sky and the earth

 Ta de ming zi jiao bu zhou shan

它的名字叫不周山

It was called ‘Buzhou’ mountains

 Nv wa niang niang chuan zao de ren lei jiu sheng huo zai bu zhou shan xia de tu di shang

女娲娘娘创造的人类就生活在不周山下的土地上

The human beings created by Nu WA live on the land beneath the Buzhou mountain

 Ta men xing fu de sheng huo zhe

他们幸福地生活着

They lived happily

 Ke shi you yi tian

可是有一天

Yet one day

 Tian shang de huo shen Zhurong he shui shen Gonggong da le qi lai

天上的火神祝融和水神共工打了起来

The God of fire Zhurong and God of water Gonggong fought in the sky

 ‘Bu zhou shan nai cheng tian shi zhu,ruo zao sun huai hou guo bu kan she xiang

不周山乃撑天石柱,若遭损坏后果不堪设想

Buzhou montains are the stones to support the sky ,consequence is unimaginable if it damaged’

 ‘Wo yao rang suo you ren dou zhi dao wo shui shen gong gong de li hai

我要让所有人都知道我水神共工的厉害

I will let everyone know how sharp I am

 Bu zhou shan tan ta ,tian he de shui liu le xia lai

不周山坍塌，天河的水流了下来

Buzhou montains collapsed ,and the water in the Sky’ river came down

 Wei le zheng jiu sheng ling wan wu

为了拯救生灵万物

To save the people and other creatures

 Nv wa jue ding xiu bu tian dong

女娲决定修补天洞

Nuwa decided to mend the sky

 Xiu bu tian dong zhi you yi ge ban fa

修补天洞只有一个办法

These is only one way to mend the sky

 Bi xu shou ji tian di jian de bao shi

必须收集天地间的宝石

Must collect precious stones in the universe

 Yong zhi re zhi huo lian cheng wu cai shen shi

用炙热之火炼成五彩神石

Make a multicolored divine stone out of hot fire

 Zhi you wu cai shen shi cai neng bu tian

只有五彩神石才能补天

Only the multicolored divine stone can mend the sky

 Tian dong zhong yu xiu bu hao le

天洞终于修补好了

Finally the sky was mended

 Bu zhou shan que quan bu tan ta le

不周山却全���坍塌了

All the Buzhou mountains collapsed

 Tian di shi qu zhi cheng

天地失去支撑

The sky and earth lose support

 Suo you sheng ming dou wu fa zai zhe pian tu di sheng cun

所有生命都将无法在这片土地上生存

All creatures can’t live on the land

 Ke shi nv wa yi jing mei you li liang qu zheng jiu ta men le

可是女娲已经没有力量去拯救他们了

But Nuwa had no power to save them

 Wo de zhe si tiao tui ke yi zhi cheng tian he di

我的这四条腿可以支撑天和地

My four legs can support the sky and the earth

 Ke shi na xie ren lei zong shi chao chao nao nao de

可是那些人类总是吵吵闹闹的

But those humans are always noisy

 Zhen de zhi de qu jiu ta men ma

真的值得去救它们吗

Is it really worth saving them

Ta men yong yuan dou shi wo de hai zi

他们永远都是我的孩子

They will always be my children

 Qiu qiu nin bang bang ta men

求求你帮帮他们

Please help them

 Wo zhi dao le

我知道了

I see

 Qi shi wo hai shi xi huan an jing yi dian

其实我还是喜欢安静一点

I still like to be quiet

 Zhong yu shen ao ye ye yong ta si tiao tui de li liang

终于神鳌爷爷用他四条腿的力量

Finally the huge legendary turtle used it’ four legs

Chong xin cheng qi le tian he di

重新撑起了天和地

Support the sky and earth again

 Zai nan jie shu le

灾难结束了

The disaster finally ended

 Ren lei ye kai shi le man chang de yu shui xiang chu de guo cheng

人类开始了漫长的与水相处的过程

Humans has begun a long history to get along with the water

   KEYPOINTS

Shuǐ

水 water

 Huǒ

火 fire

 Shén

神 god

Shuǐ shén水神water god   ;huǒ shén火神fire god

 Huáng hé

黄河  The yellow river

 Huáng hé dài yǒu dà liàng huáng tǔ gāo yuán chōng jí xià lái de ní shā ,hé shuǐ chéng xiàn huáng sè ,yīn cǐ jiào huáng hé

黄河带有大量黄土高原冲积下来的泥沙，河水呈现黄色��因此叫黄河

 The Yellow River has a large amount of alluvial sediment from the Loess Plateau, and the river water is yellow, so it is called the Yellow River.

 Huáng hé liú jīng de zhōng bù píng yuán dì qū shì huá xià wén míng zhǔ yào fā yuán dì ,yīn cǐ huáng hé yòu bèi chēng wéi mǔ qīn hé

黄河流经的中部平原地区是华夏文明主要发源地，因此黄河又被称为母亲河

 The Yellow River flows through the central plain area, which is the main birthplace of Chinese civilization,so the Yellow River is also known as the Mother River

 Cháng jiāng

长江 the Yangtze River

 Zhè shì zhōng guó zuì cháng de hé liú ,yīn cǐ  jiào cháng jiāng

这是中国最长的河流，因此叫长江

Yangtze river is the longest river in China, so it is called the Chang jiang ( literally mean long river ).

 Zài cháng jiāng shàng jiàn yǒu sān xiá shuǐ lì gōng chéng

在长江上建有三峡水利工程

Three Gorges Project was on the Yangtze River

 Zhōng guó de dì xíng cóng xī wǎng dōng ,àn sān gè jiē tī cóng gāo dào dī

中国的地形从西往东，按三个阶梯从高到低

From west to east ,the topography of China is from high to low by three steps

 Yóu yú zhōng guó de dì xíng tè zhēng ,dà duō shù hé liú cóng xī xiàng dōng liú xiàng hǎi yáng

由于中国的地形特征, 大多数河流从西向东流向海洋

Due to topographical features, most rivers flow east or east into the ocean

 ér zhōng guó dà duō shù rén kǒu yě dōu jū zhù zài dōng bù bǐ jiào fù yù de píng yuán dì qū

而中国大多数人口也都居住在东部比较富裕的平原地区

Most of Chinese people also lives in the richer plains of the east

 .....

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[jaggedwolf]

Reading Update

Time for a rapid-fire round.

On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society by Dave Grossman

A study of the effects of killing on the human psyche and how armies override the instinctive resistance to killing. (Left to instincts, the author argues, fights end up involving more posturing than actual combat.) First chunk was a good overview of the factors that armies utilize to great effect, whether or not they know it: physical/mechanical/cultural distance from the enemy, moral superiority, a feeling of accountability to the buddy next to you. Last bit of the books gets very wild with the author more concerned about video games eroding civilians' instincts against killing than say, civilians getting desensitized via the actual violence the experience/see/commit. After that, the author's current job is distressingly unsurprising. Book's still worth reading.

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

On an Earth where corporations are nation-states, there's a war against the Martian rebels and Dietz has enlisted. But Dietz doesn't seem to be seeing missions the same way. Super fun timey-wimey stuff with military sci-fi trappings, a fitting overlap with the previous read. I enjoyed the temporary ambiguity of Dietz's gender. Unfortunately, I want more details on the timey-wimey stuff and Mars near the end, and instead I got a speech and unexplained power-ups.

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Whole-ass one thing instead of half-assing many things. I agree, but could have spent more time on how than why. Meh.

Bengali Harlem and the Lost Histories of South Asian America by Vivek Bald

A fascinating study of the many Muslim peddlers and seamen from British India (mostly Bengal) who came through the United States in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a small subset of whom stayed permanently. Silk peddlers peaked in 1880s-1910s, capitalizing on a new fever for the ~oriental aesthetic~. The seamen showed up in the early 1900s, ditching working conditions on British ships for (slightly) better ones on American ships or for new lives altogether. Many of the ones who stayed married and integrated into black neighborhoods - hence the title - and were thus easy to miss outside of records like ship manifests and census records.

Lion City by Ng Yi-Sheng

Fun speculative fiction short-story collection set in Singapore, or about it. My favorites were The Little Emperor, Garden (time-travel CYOA), and "The Boy, The Swordfish and The Bleeding Island". I had entirely forgotten about that swordfish story explanation for the red soil.

I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution by Emily Nussbaum

Collection of the author's TV criticism and profiles. Weirdly enjoyed reading about shows I've never seen - there's only so many hours I want to spend on TV. Favorites were probably the love letter to Jane The Virgin, and the profile of Ryan Murphy.

State of Emergency by Jeremy Tiang

Six sections, with six perspectives, cover decades of leftist movements and detentions without trail in Singapore and Malaysia, starting with the 1940s. Felt more informed while reading it, as opposed to being carried away with the story. Likely revealing of my biases that I was most invested in the last three POVs.

[theosondheim]

Shows I saw in 2019

The ferryman By Jez Butterworth (Broadway)

Mean Girls on Broadway

Fairview at TFANA

My fair lady with Laura Benanti! At LTC

Gary by Taylor Mac on Broadway

Supervision by Thomas Lim (Wild Rice)

Eat Duck by Zelda Tan (Checkpoint)

Emily of Emerald Hill by Stella Kon (Wild Rice)

Peter Pan in Serangoon Gardens (Wild Rice)

Sweeney Todd with Lea Salonga!

Urinetown (pangdemonium)

Desert Blooms by Ng Yi Sheng (c42)

Zee Wong’s play + others at Late Night Texting 2019

[experiencemica]

Georgette Chen(1906-1993) was an essential figure in the development of modern art in Singapore. She was born in Zhejiang, China, and studied in Paris and New York. Chen lived through local and global conflicts, including the Chinese Revolutions of 1911 and 1949, and World War I and II. She settled in Singapore in 1953 where she taught at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts for nearly three decades. Georgette Chen’s influence on pop culture. In 2007, playwright Ng Yi-Sheng's musical Georgette was staged by Musical Theatre Ltd. In 2014, National Gallery Singapore published Eisner-nominated comic artist Sonny Liew's graphic novel, Warm Nights Deathless Days: The Life of Georgette Chen. Commissioned by the National Gallery Singapore, Channel NewsAsia produced a three-part docudrama, The Worlds of Georgette Chen, starring actress Rui En as Georgette Chen. On 1 November 2021, Chen would be celebrated in a Singapore and Malaysia-specific Google Doodle coinciding with the 91st anniversary of her first exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in Paris. Sources: https://www.nationalgallery.sg/georgettechen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgette_Chen #experiencemica #postimpressionist #femalepainters (at Northampton, Massachusetts) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgZOPLZuV3A/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[treethymes]

A post shared by Ng Yi-Sheng (@yishkabob) on Jan 27, 2018 at 7:15pm PST

Here's a video of Malaysian-Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang singing Peach Blossom in Spring after the screening of his excruciatingly artistic films Autumn Days / 秋日 and No No Sleep / 不不眠. He says people ask him why he sings at public talks and he replies 因为麦克风在我的手上 (because the microphone is in my hand), which is of course a thoroughly fabulous answer which does not contain a grain of self-indulgence. 😑 #taiwaneseart#CuratorsAcademy #singaporeartweek

From: this blog entry

[yyybookspod]

Episode 9: Lion City

August 19, 2019

Rudi Dornemann talks to

Ng Yi-Sheng

about his short story collection Lion City.

Yi-Sheng is an award-winning poet, a playwright, a translator, and a writer and editor of nonfiction, and Lion City is his first collection of fiction.

Sharlene Teo said of the book, "Lion City is a wildly imaginative collection of stories centred around the past, present and future trajectories of Singaporean consciousness."

Epigram Books fiction editor Jason Erik Lundberg tells us how the collection came to be.

Our reader this time, Instagrammer and film blogger Varun, tells us about why he tracked down a copy of Lion City.

EXTRA LINKS:

If you're intrigued by the bits of Singaporean history Yi-Sheng mentions, you may want to follow him on Instagram or Facebook, where frequently shares extensive notes and images from lectures and performances he attends, many of which are on historical subjects.

As Jason mentioned, for several years he edited LONTAR, a magazine of Southeast Asian speculative fiction, and Yi-Sheng was among the writers published there.