About Atelier of Healing
“When I stand before thee at the day’s end,
thou shalt see my scars and know that I had my wounds
and also my healing.”
—Rabindranath Tagore
We have all experienced pain of some kind—heartbreak, illness, distress, abuse, violence, disaster, loss, grief. What kind of personal suffering have you endured and weathered? If one were to navigate such trauma, what are some of the coping mechanisms? How, then, will you render your personal experience into lyric and narrative, to transform the pain into something of profound beauty?
Poetry has long been known to be one of the great traditional healing arts, alongside dance, music, painting, theatre. As a creative practice, poetry can become a remarkable way to enhance personal healing, wellness and change. It can be as mending as it is ameliorating, as renewing as it is restorative. In this anthology, more than 100 writers from across the world contribute their words, sharing their distinct insights on the matter of dealing and healing.
Our Editors
Eric F. Tinsay Valles
ERIC Francis Tinsay VALLES draws inspiration from all the places that he has called home. He has published the poetry collections A World in Transit and After the Fall: dirges among ruins as well as co-edited Get Lucky: An Anthology of Singapore and Philippine Writings, Sg Poems 2015-2016, Anima Methodi and The Nature of Poetry. His poetry has been featured in Southeast Asian Review of English, Routledge’s New Writing and other journals. He has won a Goh Sin Tub Creative Writing prize. He has been invited to read poetry or commentaries at Baylor, Melbourne and Oxford Universities as well as the Kistrech Poetry Festival. Eric received his PhD in English, with a specialisation in Creative Writing, from Nanyang Technological University. His dissertation focussed on mediating trauma through short and long poetic forms. Eric is a director of Poetry Festival (Singapore).
Desmond F. X. Kon ZC-MD
DESMOND Francis Xavier KON Zhicheng-Mingdé is the author of a novel, a quasi-memoir, two lyric essay monographs, four hybrid works, and nine poetry collections. A former journalist, he has edited over twenty-five titles. Recipient of grants from the National Arts Council and Singapore International Foundation, he has enjoyed literary appointments at the Notre Dame Poetry Fellowship, NAC Gardens by the Bay Writing Residency, and NTU-NAC Creative Writing Residency. Among other accolades, Desmond is the recipient of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, Independent Publisher Book Award, National Indie Excellence Book Award, Poetry World Cup, Singapore Literature Prize, and three Living Now Book Awards. He helms Squircle Line Press, and can be found at: desmondkon.com.
Poetry Festival Singapore: Anthology Launch
Featuring Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, D. R. James, Hedy Habra, Jason Eng Hun Lee,
Jendi Reiter, Jerrold Yam, Joseph Stanton, Lauren Camp, Lydia Kwa, Neil Shepard,
Noelle Q. de Jesus & Topaz Winters (Hosted by Eric Tinsay Valles & Desmond F. X. Kon)
Part 1
Part 2
Poetry Festival Singapore: Panel Discussion
Featuring Eric Tinsay Valles, Desmond F. X. Kon & Nicole Kay (Hosted by Genevieve Wong)
Asian Books Blog: A Q&A Interview
Theophilus Kwek speaks to editors Eric Tinsay Valles & Desmond F. X. Kon
Poetry On The Move Festival: Canberra Launch
Featuring Claire Betita de Guzman, Crispin Rodrigues, Esther Vincent Xueming,
Euginia Tan, Ho Kin Yunn, Kristie Ng, Migs Bravo Dutt, Ow Yeong Wai Kit,
Phan Ming Yen & Shilpa Dikshit Thapliyal (Hosted by Eric Tinsay Valles,
Desmond F. X. Kon & Kimberly K. Williams)
Creative Writing at NTU: Unmasked Reading
Featuring Bidhya Limbu, Eunice Chin, Lim Yi Tian, Luke Ow, Margaret Devadason,
Matthew C. Zhang, Hilman Rosli & Sarah Mak (Hosted by Eric Tinsay Valles,
Desmond F. X. Kon, Wan Khalisah Wan Kamaruddin & Jon Gresham)
Sing Lit Station: Mental Health Panel Discussion
Featuring Desmond F. X. Kon, Kum Suning & Xiangyun Lim (Hosted by Annika Mock)
