ABOUT
A creole/Indigenous speculative fiction author, scholar, linguist, philosopher, educator, composer, game designer and dreamshiner or Indigenous body performance artist, Kevin Martens Wong is the Tuan Raja Naga, 13th Kabesa or Cowboy of Heaven or singular non-hereditary leader of the Kristang people of Singapore and Southeast Asia, the Merlionsman and Dreamtiger of the Republic of Singapore, the Makaravedra Hierosa or Dragon Reborn of the Holocene in the Kristang cosmological cycle, the Roda Mundansa, and the only teacher, most major living writer and one of the very few remaining native speakers of the critically endangered Kristang language in Singapore.
His first novel, Altered Straits (2017), was longlisted for the inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize, and his short story 'Nus Nubu Sta Prendeh Sunyeskah / We Are Learning to Dreamfish Again' was one of four Top Prize winners of the 2024 Unearthodox Voices of Regeneration Awards. Kevin is also the first openly gay, non-binary, polyamorous, atheist and neurodivergent (AuDHD, HSP & SSS) Kabesa of the Kristang, and publishes most of his work in both English and Kristang independently; samples of his poetry, prose and plays in both languages can be found on his website zeekyang.com.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2024 – Dreamfishing: A Decolonial Guide (Singapore: Merlionsman Coaching & Consulting, 2024)
2024 – Katrakarnansa: Kristang Dreamfishing Cards (Singapore: Merlionsman Coaching & Consulting, 2024)
2024 – Katra Pakau Diseides: Kristang Hexadecimal Poker Cards (Singapore: Merlionsman Coaching & Consulting, 2024)
2024 – Korpu Hierosa / The Body Heroic (Singapore: Rainbow Lapis Press, 2024)
2024 – Kauboi di Seu (Singapore: Merlionsman Coaching & Consulting, 2024)
2024 – Liang, Prispi kung Matra / The Lion, the Prince & The Ocean (Australia: Michael Raymond Astle, 2024) (Kristang translation only)
2023 – Libru Lontra / The Otter Book: The Progenitor Kristang Dictionary (Singapore: Merlionsman Coaching & Consulting, 2023-present)
2023 – Bros Before Bros (Singapore: Merlionsman Coaching & Consulting, 2023)
2023 – Songs of a Young Star-Tiger (Singapore: Merlionsman Coaching & Consulting, 2023)
2023 – Glow-Glow Dancer (Singapore: Merlionsman Coaching & Consulting, 2023)
2023 – Relwe di Reinyang (Singapore: Merlionsman Coaching & Consulting, 2023)
2022 – Libru Laranja di Jenti Kristang / The Orange Book of the Kristang People (Singapore: Merlionsman Coaching & Consulting, 2022-present)
2017 – Ila-Ila di Sul / The Southern Islands (Singapore: Kodrah Kristang, 2017)
2017 – Altered Straits (Singapore: Epigram Books, 2017)
ACHIEVEMENTS
2024 - Unearthodox Voices of Regeneration Awards, Top Prize (one of four)
2015 – Epigram Books Fiction Prize, longlist
2014 - National University of Singapore Creative Writing Competition, Winner (Prose)
WORKSHOPS
THE CORES OF COMPELLING CHARACTERS
For: upper sec, junior college; 10–20 pax
Availability: 3 hours per session; single session
Description: The best stories are often led by characters with complex, compelling and believable personalities and motivations that would fit right in with some of the best heroes and villains in our lives. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to a systematic way of understanding, developing and giving life to these characters: the indigenous Kristang theory of how the human psyche is organised, called the Osura Pesuasang or Kristang Individuation Theory. Beyond character creation, participants will thus also come away from the workshop with a greater understanding of what compels and motivates those around them who are different from them, and (hopefully) with a greater sense of empathy and appreciation for those differences.
Learning Outcomes: Learn about the 8 cognitive functions; develop compelling characters and personalities with believable motivations, desires and ideals; recognise and appreciate spectrum of human personality
IMAGINED REALITIES
For: upper pri only; 10–20 pax
Availability: 2-3 hours per session; single session
Description: Speculative fiction is the gateway to new, exciting worlds full of thrilling and impossible possibilities, drawing on the limitless range of human imagination and creativity. In this workshop, participants will develop those skills by learning how to express their own visions of a perfect world, and immersing themselves in those of their peers to understand how to make their own visions even better. Through a series of structured short writing activities and tasks, participants will explore how writers build and tinker with fantastical and impossible worlds, and come away from the workshop with a range of strategies they can use to improve their own creative thinking and writing.
Learning Outcomes: Explore possibilities afforded by speculative fiction; learn how to provide constructive feedback; develop and sharpen imagination, creativity and idea generation.
KOMESAH KRISTANG / KRISTANG FOR BEGINNERS (INDOOR/OUTDOOR)
For: all students and teachers; 20–40 pax
Availability: 2 hours per session; single / multiple sessions
Description: Kristang is the critically endangered 500-year-old heritage language of the Portuguese-Eurasian community in Singapore, spoken fluently by less than 100 people in the country today. In this workshop, participants will develop their ability in conversational Kristang through a series of fun and engaging games and activities piloted and refined in the mainline Kodrah Kristang revitalization initiative for the Kristang language in Singapore. Learners will also be introduced to elements of the language's history, heritage and status today, and will come away with a broader understanding and appreciation of the Eurasian community in Singapore and our island home's diverse intangible cultural heritage.
*NEW* The experiential learning version of Komesah Kristang is conducted entirely outdoors around the school premises; learners will be introduced to the new internationally-recognised Kristang method known as na fora to learn Kristang by interacting with their built and natural environment of their school grounds, in a way that echoes how we once learnt language before the advent of industrialisation.
Learning Outcomes: Learn about Kristang and the Eurasian community in Singapore; acquire rudimentary conversational ability in Kristang; learn about heritage language diversity and maintenance in Singapore; immerse and become reacquainted with the natural world socioemotionally and creatively
THE JOURNEY HOME: ON NEGOTIATING TRAUMA THROUGH CREATIVE EXPRESSION
For: upper sec, junior college 10–20 pax
Availability: 2-3 hours per session; single session or multiple sessions
Description: In this workshop, participants will be introduced to a wide variety of both creole/indigenous and modern psychologically-informed approaches to trauma and its negotiation, understanding not only how it manifests in body, mind, heart and soul, but how it can be approached and negotiated through creative expression in story, poetry, drama, and any form of artistic work that allows for the conceptualisation and articulation of a narrative. Participants will be introduced to a range of age-appropriate practices and simple writing and creative exercises again derived from multiple different perspectives and approaches to the negotiation of trauma, which facilitate not only accessible and nuanced stress relief, but more free-form creativity, better exam technique management and an overall more balanced approach to school and study.
Learning Outcomes: Acquire an accessible, layperson-friendly understanding of trauma; practice comfortable and safe techniques for its negotiation through creative writing; understand broader principles about metacognition, (exam) stress and creativity and how to apply them to daily life
LINGGUSTAH LINGGU: AN INTRODUCTION TO TRANSLATION
For: all students, 20–30 pax
Availability: 2-3 hours per session; single session
Description: Have you seen the new, historic MRT map of MRT stations with formalised Kristang names, also to appear at the Singapore Heritage Festival 2023? In this workshop, participants will be introduced to not just the basic principles of translating from English to their own heritage language of their choice, whether Boyanese, Kristang, Malayalam or Hokkien, but to a broader understanding why a visualisation and representation of the linguistic landscape in multiple languages, and a diversity of names and toponyms in different languages, is not just helpful for developing a greater sense of belonging to Singapore, but in developing their own scientific and cognitive thinking abilities and processes as well. Participants will interact with material such as Dick Lee's Home and the Singapore MRT map translated into Kristang, and understand how etymology and translation, and our conceptualisation of and thinking about the world, are things that can evolve and transform over time in ways that are empathetic and appropriate to our space and time.
Learning Outcomes: Acquire a basic understanding of word origins / etymology and translation, and elementary principles involved in working with both; develop cross-cultural sensitivity and respect for diverse ways of viewing and experiencing the world; improve own relationship with the material and natural world of Singapore; appreciate the significance of names and toponyms
ABOUT OUR PROGRAMME / OUR WRITERS / OUR WORKSHOPS / OUR CAMP / F.A.Q.
Book A Writer is Sing Lit Station's workshop-for-schools programme, featuring a roster of Singapore's most important writers at work today. *Do you want to Book A Writer? For enquiries on Kevin Martens Wong's availability and workshop rates in Sing Lit Station's Book A Writer programme, do fill in the form below.