To Philippines With Linebreaks

23 January 2021
8pm–9.30pm
The Substation’s Facebook & YouTube
Free admission

What does a Southeast Asian spoken word community look like, as online platforms break down the physical distance and geographical borders? The pandemic has changed the way live poetry is produced and performed in Singapore and all around the world. In the rubble and confusion of all this, online streaming platforms have created opportunities for the regional community of writers and performers to forge deeper connections. 

As part of Spoke & Bird, a regular spoken word series organised by Stephanie Dogfoot, To Philippines With Linebreaks is the second of a two-part series that brings together 6 poets from Singapore and Philippines. These poets will come together to premiere newly-created works that are a unique response to one another’s shared histories, shared borders and shared seas.

Featuring

Ralph Fonte (PH) x Tysha Khan (SG)

Ralph Fonte is a physician, poet, translator, and outdoorsman from Manila. His writing has appeared in various publications including LIRA 30, The Philippines Graphic, and Cha: An Asian Literary Journal. His poetry has also won several awards including the Maningning Miclat Poetry Awards and a Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature. In April 2019, he was crowned as the first Tanghal-Makata ng Taon (Performance Poet of the Year) at the Performatura Literary Festival. He has been invited to perform poetry at various literary festivals in the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. Ralph currently works as a physician and hosts Ang Sabi Nila, a monthly poetry night in Makati. He writes primarily in Tagalog.

Tysha Khan is a Singapore-based actor, writer, translator, and voice talent. Her artistic practice lies in distilling truth and presenting it in thought-provoking ways. Tysha is also the first Malay-Muslim woman to graduate from the Intercultural Theatre Institute.

Carla Nicoyo (PH) x Lune Loh (SG)

Carla Nicoyco is part of White Wall Poetry, a spoken word group formed in 2015. She has been teaching at Miriam College High School for 3 years. When she's not in the classroom or in an open mic event, she can be found on the streets because she is also part of Bahaghari, a militant and nationalist organization of LGBT+ that fights all forms of oppression. She is also a volunteer for Metro Manila Pride, an organization that has held the biggest pride march in Asia. Her poems have been printed on the first journal of Woman, Create. Her work was also part of the first Bukambibig anthology. She has been asked to speak at the University of Santo Tomas Junior High School, Poveda College, Miriam College, University of the Philippines Los Baños, and the University of the Philippines, Manila.

Lune Loh is a core member of /S@BER, a Singaporean writing collective, and is currently an Undergraduate at the National University of Singapore. Her works have appeared in Evergreen Review, SOFTBLOW, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Cordite Poetry Review, 聲韻詩刊 Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine, and various SingPoWriMo issues from 2017 – 2019. Find her waxing at lune.city.

Leandro Reyes (PH) x Karisa Poedjihardjo (SG)

Bearer of a storytelling family's lasting legacy, Leandro Reyes, the great-grandson of  Severino "Lola Basyang" Reyes, brings the craft of tale-telling into a new age; uses his training in theatre arts to paint performance poetry with elaborative gestures; His art is an assortment of different characters playing poet. He has been described to make “poetry with a surprise centre.” Leandro writes to tickle the kid your heart can still manage to beat as, along with pestering the grown-up your mind has thought itself ready for. As an actor, Lean participated in nine stage plays, playing characters from unnamed beggars to Jesus. As a poet, he has performed in the Nicanor Joaquin literary awards and has advocated anti-bullying in the globally broadcasted, World Speech Day. He was one of the Philippine representatives under the guidance of Vim Nadera during the 2018 Lit Up Asia, held in Singapore, soon after he competed in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Performatura slam and finished as a finalist. Leandro, an event producer and touring artist, has a track on the spoken word album Southversive and Bigkas Pilipinas vol. 2, has released the self-published graphic poetry book "Love, Smog, and All Things Warm" with co-creator Camcas Cervantes. You can catch him on Leandro&Mai: a spoken word podcast airing every Wednesday on YouTube.

Karisa Poedjirahardjo is an Indonesia-raised, Singapore-based writer and maker. She has performed poetry on platforms such as SPEAK, Singapore Unbound, The Writer’s Club, the Esplanade, Speakeasy, and Destination:INK. She is interested in telling personal stories through interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches.

Stephanie Dogfoot (Stephanie Chan)

Author of Roadkill for Beginners, Stephanie Dogfoot (also known as Stephanie Chan) is both a Singapore (2010) and UK Slam (2012) champion. Her work has been featured at the Melbourne Spoken Word Festival, the George Town Literary Festival, Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, Glastonbury Festival and many others. She has toured Germany, Australia, Southeast Asia and most recently, North America with her poetry. She currently curates and hosts a monthly poetry night called Spoke & Bird which features local and international poets. As a stand-up comedian, she has been performing and hosting regularly since 2015. She also runs a comedy and storytelling night called Siao Char Bors which aims to highlight female and LGBTQ comedians.