About this Event
Synopsis
Deconstructing Race and Identity through Writing
Join us for a thought-provoking panel session featuring Jess Row, Max Pasakorn and Mysara Aljaru about how stories shape the way we think about race and identity. Moderated by Kristian-Marc Paul, the session will discuss how literature doesn't just reflect society, and explore how it can also challenge our assumptions and help us see things differently. The speakers will share how their works, from books, essays and plays, explore racial identity, and discuss how writers can both reinforce and break down stereotypes. The session invites the audience to reflect on what role storytelling plays in our own understanding of race and identity.
This programme is co-presented with the Asia Creative Writing Programme.
Programme Details:
Date: 12 June 2026, Friday
Time: 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Format: In-Person
Venue: Gallery (Level 5), *SCAPE
About the speakers:
Jess Row is the author of two novels, The New Earth and Your Face in Mine, an essay collection, White Flights: Race, Fiction, and the American Imagination, and three collections of short stories, most recently Storyknife. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, Paris Review, n+1, The New York Times, Kyoto Review, and many other publications in the US and overseas. He began his teaching career at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the 1990s and now teaches creative writing at New York University.
Max Pasakorn is an award-winning, published author of creative nonfiction chapbook A Study in Our Selves (Neon Hemlock Press, 2023) and a Thai cultural translator with an average of 2 million monthly views on TikTok and Instagram. Max’s writing and social content explores the multiplicity of his identities as a Thai-born queer person who grew up with English as his primary language in Singapore. From young, he’s been writing poetry and creative nonfiction about his identity. Recently, he’s started unleashing those thoughts via video content on social media. Max has previously spoken at the Singapore Writers’ Festival and the Singapore Book Council. He’s currently the NAC-NLB Writers’ Lab Writer-in-Residence, where he’s working on his full-length debut memoir about growing up as a Thai third-culture kid in Singapore.
Mysara Aljaru is a writer and artist with a background in journalism and documentary production. Her work, which has been showcased across Singapore and Indonesia, delves into state-constructed narratives that intersect race, gender, and class. She is also the co-editor of Brown Is Redacted (2022), an anthology exploring minority experiences in Singapore. Her projects include Objectifs: Women in Film - Remedy for Rage (2019), Taragak at the Singapore Writers Festival (2020), Brown is Haram at The Substation (2020 & 2021), and Dari Kesaharian Untuk Hal Lainnya in Jakarta (2023). Mysara has contributed to panels and programmes such as Reframe or Be Framed: Countering Dominant Narratives (2020), Doing & Being: The Intersections of Community Organising (2022), and Privileges and Burdens of Representation at the Singapore Writers Festival (2024). Her writings have been published in Growing Up Perempuan (2018), Budi Kritik (2018), and Why Not? Thinking About Singapore’s Tomorrow (2024).
About the Moderator:
Kristian (he/him) is an activist and writer. He is the co-editor of Brown is Redacted: Reflecting on Race in Singapore(2022), an anthology on minority race narratives in Singapore. He has written for Channel News Asia, Jom, and Mekong Review and was a contributing author to We Are Not The Enemy: The Practice of Advocacy in Singapore (2024). Kristian is also a Learning & Development professional, facilitating intergroup dialogues and partnering with various organisations to run community discussions on masculinity and male allyship.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Gallery (Level 5), *SCAPE, 2 Orchard Link, Singapore, Singapore
SGD 0.00
