An Interview with SingPoWriMo Editors
For many poets in Singapore, April is a month like no other. It is synonymous with adrenaline, inspiration and a community. It is Singapore Poetry Writing Month, or SingPoWriMo for short.
Every April, members of the SingPoWriMo Facebook group are challenged to write one poem a day for 30 days. Senior Moderators take turns crafting writing prompts that are released to #firststrike fingers at 10 pm each night. Bonus challenges such as “Do not use the word ‘love’”, “Make it a sonnet”, “Do not use end rhymes” provide levels of difficulty for the experienced. For the last six years, members have shared their poems and exchanged feedback in the comments section. Some have even published their poems in physical and online anthologies.
In 2019, after 5 physical anthologies, the SingPoWriMo team of editors moved to an online journal, singpowrimo.com, and looked at new ways of engaging the community. The physical anthologies are still used by teachers, aspiring writers and experienced poets as a repository of writing prompts and poetic form experiments.
The Editors
Natalie Wang (NW) — cat lover, author of poetry collection The Woman Who Turned into A Vending Machine (Math Paper Press)
Hidhir Razak (HR) — reader, writer, and researcher by training
Stephanie Dogfoot (SD) — spoken word poet, author of poetry collection Roadkill for Beginners (Math Paper Press)
What are some of the best parts of being a SingPoWriMo moderator/editor?
HR: Reading the poems that responded to the prompts I came up with…seeing people despairing or delighting in the themes and subjects in my prompts was what I found truly thrilling.
SD: Being constantly surprised with what people come up with in response to my prompts, and watching new poets gain confidence in themselves with every new poem.
NW: Seeing how the community has grown in the last few years, especially with the inclusion of junior moderators whose role is to comment on each and every post — that is some dedication right there. Seeing people realise that Singaporeans have talent, [and] are capable of writing is wonderful.
What have been some of the biggest challenges of your role?
HR: Trying to read and provide constructive criticism to the huge number of poems being submitted was, while rewarding, also very challenging.
NW: The burnout is very real! Especially when you are trying to read and give as many encouraging comments as you can, while still trying to write your own poem every 24 hours.
SD: Selecting poems for the anthologies and having to argue for my favourite poems to be included.
Which of the anthologies is your favourite?
NW: 2018’s anthology, which was a huge joy to flip through! The moderators had some very memorable prompts that year, and the editors had done a good job curating a diverse range of voices into a collection that was not unwieldy to bring around.
HR: My favourite is always the latest edition because not only does it feature the newest and most active voices in the current scene, it’s also the best way to gauge the how local poetry is developing; what form/style is trending, what’s the most in topic, that sort of thing.
SD: I’d say the 2017 anthology because it’s the most unique in how it’s organised and [it] took the most risks. It was the first anthology to be arranged by theme and we organised the poems based on the past, present & future.
What led to the SingPoWriMo anthologies moving online?
NW: Lack of funds and lack of [anthology] sales.
HR: It provoked us to think of a more cost-effective way of showcasing the best of SPWM, [and] reconsider and re-conceive the purpose of the anthology. An online journal format allows us to both show off some of the best works to come out of April and play around with what an anthology could be.
What excites you about the online journal?
HD: 1) the additional features [articles, essays] and 2) the themes we’re employing for each issue. But the real stars….are the poems being featured.
NW: The fact that the poems are released slowly in small batches, months after SPWM happens, means that people will be able to digest and appreciate each poem more. The behind-the-scenes feature [articles] will also shed light on different writing practitioners and how they operate.
SD: Being able to share our favourite pieces in a brand new and way more accessible (i.e. free & online) format, and to include interviews with writers.
Join the latest round of SingPoWriMo 2020 by visiting the SingPoWriMo Facebook group.
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Text by
Stephanie Dogfoot and Charlene Shepherdson
SingPoWriMo
Sing Lit Station
