Thursday, February 21, 2008
WENA IN THE STAR NEWSPAPER (MALAYSIA)
Wena Poon talks to journalist Alex Wong about New Asian literature in The Sunday Star, November 25, 2007.
Wena Poon
“The exile returns to illuminate an intimate part of Singapore, and does so quite beautifully.” - TIME Magazine
WHERE CAN I BUY THE BOOK?
I AM IN THE US/UK/EUROPE - WHY CAN'T I FIND THE BOOK HERE?
Wena Poon is published by MPH
Founded in 1815, MPH has over 30 bookstores in Malaysia and Singapore
On The Familiar Made Exotic
What is Singapore? The author reviews a British POW's diary to find out, in the Quarterly Literary Review of Singapore
OTHER BOOKS FEATURING WENA POON
"Singapore", an Italian anthology by Milan press Il Saggiatore
"The Merlion & The Hibiscus", a Penguin anthology of regional writers
CURRENT PROJECTS
- "Mentoring" Raffles Institution kids on their writing projects (not so much mentoring as egging them on)
- Finish editing Proper Care of Foxes for publication deadline
- Finish editing Biophilia Omnibus in time for publication deadline
- Finish writing the 5th novel (Ars Musica) in the BIOPHILIA series!
- Launch Youtube viral marketing campaign films for The Proper Care of Foxes
- Create, exhibit, and tour my photograph collection "ON THE FAMILIAR MADE EXOTIC", photographs that challenge assumptions about Singapore
- Make, exhibit and sell "BIOPHILIA" book tie-in toys at the next Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco and at the Singapore Writers' Festival
- Get TV series based on one of my books greenlighted
MY FAVORITE AUTHORS
- J.D. Salinger (horrid man I know but I like his most famous work)
- Susan Cooper
- William Shakespeare (does he count?)
- C.S. Lewis
- Carolyn Keene (I know she isn't a real person!)
- Enid Blyton
- Virginia Woolf
- E.M. Forster
- Jack Kerouac
- Evelyn Waugh
WHAT AM I READING?
- The Lies That That Build A Marriage by Suchen Christine Lim
- Synaesthesia by Madeleine Lee
- Londoners' Larder: English Cuisine from Chaucer to Present by Annette Hope
- Miracles of Life by JG Ballard
- From Hell by Alan Moore
- Walking in Ice by Werner Herzog
- Tiny Deaths by Rob Shearman
- Instructions Manual for Swallowing by Adam Marek
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore
- Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction by Alison Macleod
- Missing Kissinger by Etgar Keret
- The Separate Heart by Simon Robson
- The Scent of Cinnamon by Charles Lambert
- Sawn-Off Tales by David Gaffney
- Let's Be Alone Together edited by Declan Mead
- Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
- Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
- Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan
- My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prudhomme
- New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
- My Favorite Wife by Tony Parsons
- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
- The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
- This Old House by Chuah Guat Eng
- The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng
- Oracle Night by Paul Auster
- Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gayle
BORING QUESTIONS I HAVE BEEN ASKED
- How do you find time to write?
- Are your stories in English?
- What do you do on weekends?
- When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
- Are your stories based on real life?
- Did your parents (complete question in any manner)?
- Since you're a lawyer, are your stories about the law?
- When are you going to be a full time writer?
- When are you coming back to Hong Kong?
- When are you coming back to Singapore?
INTERESTING QUESTIONS I WISHED I'D BEEN ASKED
- Do you believe in God?
- Who are your favorite poets?
- Love or Art?
- Beavis or Butthead?
- What is your current favorite opera?
- Who are your favorite composers?
- Which Hollywood actors do you hate the most?
- Where do stories come from?
- What's your next book about?
- Which is your favorite character in Arrested Development?
WENA'S 10 MOST FAVORITE SINGAPORE FOODS
- Prawn Mee Soup
- Soon Kway
- Kway Chap
- Charcoal Grilled Satay
- Duck Rice
- Mee Pok
- Or Luak
- Fried Carrot Cake
- Char Kway Teow
- Nonya Bak Chang
Reader question: "I want to be a writer. What do you recommend that I need in order to write?"