Alfian Sa'at

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This is a Malay name; the name "Sa'at" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by his or her given name, "Alfian". The Arabic word bin (b.) or binti/binte (bt./bte.), if used, means "son of" or "daughter of" respectively.
Alfian bin Sa'at

Born Alfian bin Sa'at
July 18, 1977 (1977-07-18) (age 30)
Singapore
Occupation playwright
Nationality Singaporean
Official website

Alfian bin Sa'at (born July 18, 1977) is a Singaporean writer, poet and playwright. A Malay Muslim of Minangkabau, Javanese and Hakka descent, he is often referred to as his country's enfant terrible, known for his provocative works.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

An alumnus of Tampines Primary School, Raffles Institution, and Raffles Junior College, Alfian was the chairman of the drama societies in both RI and RJC. He also took part in the Creative Arts Programme twice - once at fifteen, and a second time at seventeen - both times under the mentorship of Haresh Sharma. He has since returned to the programme as an occasional mentor.[1][2] During his two years at RJC, Alfian received the Kripalani Award for Outstanding Contribution to Creative Arts.[3] Alfian attended medical classes at the National University of Singapore but did not graduate.

[edit] Career

In 1998, Alfian published his first collection of poetry, One Fierce Hour at the age of twenty-one. The book was acclaimed as "truly a landmark for poetry [in Singapore]" by The Straits Times, and Alfian himself was described by Malaysia's New Straits Times as "one of the most acclaimed poets in his country... a prankish provocateur, libertarian hipster".[4]

A year later, Alfian published his first collection of short stories, Corridor, which won the Singapore Literature Prize Commendation Award. Seven of the short stories from the collection have since been adapted for television. In 2001, he published his second collection of poetry, 'A History of Amnesia', which was hailed by The Straits Times as "one of the most powerful collections by a Singaporean" in addition to being shortlisted for a Kiriyama Asia-Pacific Book Prize. Alfian won both the inaugural National Arts Council-Singapore Press Holdings Golden Point Award for Poetry in the same year, as well as the National Arts Council's Young Artist Award for Literature.

Alfian's plays, written in both English and Malay, have received broad attention in both Singapore and Malaysia. His first play was produced when he was 19, and he has had a long association as a playwright with theatre group The Necessary Stage as well as with Teater Ekamatra, a Malay theatre group known for articulating minority concerns in Chinese-majority Singapore.

Alfian is currently the resident playwright of theatre group W!LD RICE.[5] He is currently enrolled for an undergraduate course at the School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University.[6]

[edit] Works

[edit] Plays

English
  • Fighting (1994)
  • Korban (1995)
  • Black Boards, White Walls (1997)
  • Yesterday My Classmate Died (1997)
  • sex.violence.blood.gore (co-written with Chong Tze Chien) (1999)
  • Asian Boys Vol. 1 (2000)
  • What's The Difference? (2001)
  • Don't Say I Say (2001)
  • poppy dot dream (2001)
  • The Corrected Poems of Minah Jambu (2001)
  • The Optic Trilogy (2001)
  • 7 Ten: Seven Original 10-minute Plays: Not In (2003)
  • Landmarks: Asian Boys Vol. 2 (2004)
  • Tekka Voices (2004)
  • Mengapa Isa? (2004)
  • The Importance of Being Kaypoh (2005)
  • Harmony Daze (2005)
  • Confessions of 300 Unmarried Men: Blush (2006)
  • Homesick (2006)
  • Happy Endings: Asian Boys Vol 3 (2007)
Malay
  • Deklamasi Malas (Declamation of Indolence) (1997)
  • Dongeng (Myth) (1997)
  • Anak Bulan di Kampung Wa' Hassan (The New Moon at Kampung Wa' Hassan) (1998)
  • Madu II (Polygamy) (1998)
  • Causeway (1998)
  • Peti Kayu Ibuku (My Mother's Wooden Chest) (translated into Malay from Kuo Pao Kun's translation of Ng Xin Yue's original Mandarin text) (1999)
  • The Miseducation of Minah Bukit (2001)
  • Tapak 7 (Seven Steps) (2001)
  • Selamat Malam Ibu (adapted from 'night Mother by Marsha Norman) (2003)
  • Keturunan Laksmana Tak Ada Anu (adapted from Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral by Kuo Pao Kun) (2003)
  • Minah & Monyet (Minah & Monkey) (2003)
Mandarin
  • Fugitives (失控)(co-written with Ng How Wee) (2002)

[edit] Prose

English
Malay
  • Bisik: Antologi Drama Melayu Singapura (Whisper: Anthology of Malay Singaporean Drama) (Pustaka Cipta, 2003)

[edit] Poetry

[edit] Awards

  • 1995 - Kripalani Award for Outstanding Contribution to Creative Arts
  • 1998 - Commendation Award by the Malay Language Council for Causeway
  • 1999 - Singapore Literature Prize Commendation Award for Corridor
  • 2001 - Golden Point Award for Poetry
  • 2001 - Young Artist Award for Literature
  • 2005 - Life! Theatre Awards for Best Script for Landmarks: Asian Boys Vol. 2
  • 2006 - FRONT Award

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dissecting Poetry. National University of Singapore (August 2001). Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
  2. ^ Lim, Audrey. Deny Thy Country, Young Man: An Interview with Alfian Sa'at. oddrummer's home page. Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
  3. ^ Gwee, Li Sui. Alfian Bin Sa'at: Biography and Brief Introduction. The Literature, Culture, and Society of Singapore. Postcolonial and Postimperial Literature in English. Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
  4. ^ Alfian Bin Sa’at. internationales literaturfestival berlin (2004). Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
  5. ^ W!LD RICE :: About : Contact Us. W!LD RICE. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
  6. ^ NUT. naif's journal (2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-19.

[edit] External links