Aaron Lee Soon Yong (born June 7, 1972) is a

Singaporean Singaporeans are the citizens and nationals of the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is home to a people of a variety of ethno-racial-religious origins, with the city-state itself being a multi-racial, multi-cultural, m ...

prize-winning poet who writes in English. He was born in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

but received his education in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and became a Singaporean in 1996.

Career

Early beginnings

Aaron began writing poetry during his days at

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both b ...

, a secondary school in Singapore where he befriended other students who would also eventually go on to become published Singaporean writers. By 1990, he had, along with other ex-school mates, Jonathan Kuan Wei Han, Tong Jo Tze, Alvin Pang and Jeffrey Lim, interested a Singapore publisher, VJ Times, in the publication of an anthology of poems contributed by the five writers. This collection, ''In Search of Words'', was published in 1991.

Publications

Lee's first collection of poems, ''A Visitation of Sunlight'', was named one of the best books of 1997 by ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' (also known informally by its abbreviation ''ST'') is a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. Established on 15 July 1845, it is the most-widely circulated newspaper in the country and ...

''. The collection was well received and played a part in a late 1990s resurgence of interest in Singapore poetry centred on a new generation of Singapore poets. In 1999, the title poem of his book was selected for the National Arts Council’s ''Poems on the Move'' programme, a national initiative to bring poetry to the masses on public transport. Lee’s work has been anthologised in such publications as ''Rhythms: a Millennial Anthology of Poetry'' (Singapore), the ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...

'' (Malaysia), ''Anglistik'' (Germany), and ''Fifty on 50'' (Singapore). Lee is the co-editor of ''No Other City: the Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry'' and ''Love Gathers All: the Philippines- Singapore Anthology of Love Poetry'' (for which the editors were given an award by the

Singapore International Foundation The Singapore International Foundation (SIF) is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at building trust and understanding with other nations through programmes and initiatives. History On 1 August 1991, the organisation was registered. The fou ...

). He has given talks and readings in Malaysia, Germany, the US, the Philippines and Australia. In 2007, Lee released his second poetry collection, ''Five Right Angles''. The book went on to become a finalist in the

Singapore Literature Prize The Singapore Literature Prize (abbreviation: SLP) is a biennial award in Singapore to recognise outstanding published works by Singaporean authors in any of the four official languages: Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. The competition is organis ...

awards of 2008. He is active in the literary scene in mentoring young poets and conducting school workshops and seminars on creative writing. He is married to an artist and educationist, Namiko Chan. He is a Christian, and his work displays a range of Christian themes and imagery. In 2014, Lee launched his third poetry collection, ''Coastlands'', at the

Singapore Writers Festival The Singapore Writers Festival is a literary event organised by the National Arts Council. Inaugurated in 1986, the festival serves a dual function of promoting new and emerging Singaporean and Asian writing to an international audience, as well ...

. ''Coastlands'' documents his life experience as a pilgrim still finding his place in the wider world.

Works

* ''A Visitation of Sunlight: Poems 1990-96'' (1997,

Ethos Books Ethos Books is an independent book publisher based in Singapore established in 1997. It is an imprint of Pagesetters Services Pte Ltd, a communications and design house. Ethos Books specialises in publishing literary works of fiction, non-ficti ...

) * ''Five Right Angles: Poems'' (2007,

) * ''Coastlands'' (2014,

)

Personal life

Born in 1972, Aaron used to reside in

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

before becoming a Singaporean in 1996. He studied at Woodlands Primary School before attending

after taking his PSLE. After graduating from Raffles Institution, Aaron then studied law at the

National University of Singapore Faculty of Law The National University of Singapore Faculty of Law (NUS Law) is Singapore's oldest law school. NUS Law was initially established in 1956 as the Department of Law in the University of Malaya, and subsequently, University of Singapore. After its ...

. He married Namiko Chan, a Singaporean painter on June 7, 2003.

References

External links

The Laniakea Culture Collective
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Aaron 1972 births Singaporean poets Living people Raffles Institution alumni Singaporean people of Chinese descent Malaysian emigrants to Singapore Writers Guild of America Award winners