SINGAPORE: Dr Chee Soon Juan invited the public to two upcoming talks at the Rochester Mall branch of Orange & Teal, the restaurant he started in 2021.
This Saturday (Sept 30), there will be a talk on “Rediscovering the Joy of Reading and Writing,” with writers Ms Wong Sook Yee and Mr Sudhir Thomas Vakadeth, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.
Dr Chee, the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party, wrote on his Facebook page that Ms Wong and Mr Sudhir will be talking about the books they have written, their motivations for writing, and how they chose their ideas and content.
They will also discuss writing as a craft and answer audience members’ questions about how to write more effectively.
“Souk Yee is the author of two novels: the recently published ‘Gardens at Phoenix Park’ (which will be on sale at the event) and ‘Death of a Perm Sec’ which was shortlisted for the 2018 Singapore Literature Prize. She was also an adjunct lecturer at NUS where she taught academic writing.
Sudhir is a writer and editor of Jom, a weekly magazine in Singapore. He has written for publications like The Economist, Foreign Affairs, Nikkei Asian Review, among others. He is the author of Floating on a Malayan Breeze: Travels in Malaysia and Singapore and co-author of Hard Choices: Challenging the Singapore Consensus,” wrote Dr Chee.
On Saturday next week (Oct 7), the topic will be “Critical Thinking: What is it and how to get it,” with philanthropy consultant Mr Chew Keng Chuan, social worker Mr Jolovan Wham, and writer and activist Ms Kirsten Han, also from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.
Anyone interested in reserving a table for the talks may do so here.
For the second talk, the SDP chief turned restauranteur wrote the following about the guest speakers:
“Chew Keng Chuan is a consultant in philanthropy. He is an advocate of the arts in Singapore and a board member of the Intercultural Theatre Institute. He was chairman The Substation Ltd and co-chairman of the Harvard Alumni Interviewing Committee for Singapore.
Jolovan Wham is a social worker who works on migrant labour issues. He is also a member of the Transformative Justice Collective, a group that works to reform the criminal justice system in Singapore.
Kirsten Han is the Managing Editor of Mekong Review, a quarterly Asia-focused literary magazine. She also runs We, The Citizens, a newsletter covering Singapore from a rights-based perspective. Kirsten is also a member of the Transformative Justice Collective.” /TISG