About this Event
Forms in Motion: Cross‑Cultural Poetics with Joshua Ip & James Shea
Speakers: Joshua Ip and James Shea
Moderator: Dr. Huiwen Shi
Date: March 6, Fri
Time: 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Venue: Fringe Club - Fringe Dairy
Address: Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Rd, Central
Price: HKD168
Language: English
Format: Conversation
Description:
Joshua Ip and James Shea share a fascination with how form shapes thought, each engaging poetic structures not as constraints but as engines for invention. Both prize musicality—the rhythms, repetitions, and tonal shifts that make a poem feel alive—and they approach language with a translator’s sensitivity, attuned to how meaning moves across cultures and contexts. Their cross‑cultural influences further connect them, giving their poems a sense of mobility and openness, as if their work is in conversation with multiple literary traditions at once.
About the Speakers:
Joshua Ip
Dr Joshua Ip is a Singaporean poet, editor, and literary organiser. He won the Singapore Literature Prize for his debut, sonnets from the singlish (Math Paper Press, 2012), placed in three different categories of the Golden Point Award, and received Singapore’s Young Artist Award in 2017. His latest book, Ownself Say Ownself (Landmark Books, 2024) gathers new and selected poems from his six-ish collections of rude poetry. He has edited eleven literary anthologies, including the A Luxury and SingPoWriMo series. He is the Executive Director of Sing Lit Station, an overactive literary charity that runs initiatives including SingPoWriMo, and poetry.sg.
James Shea
James Shea is the author of Last Day of My Face, selected by Brenda Shaughnessy for the 2024 Iowa Poetry Prize. His previous collections include The Lost Novel and Star in the Eye. He is the translator of Applause for a Cloud, a collection of contemporary Japanese poetry by Sayumi Kamakura.
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• 3rd March (Tue): On Muscle: The Stuff that Moves Us and Why It Matters (7:00-8:30pm)
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ABOUT HKILF
The Hong Kong International Literary Festival (HKILF) inspires the joy of reading by bringing the world’s writers and stories to Hong Kong’s diverse communities. A dynamic year-round programme and an annual festival offer dialogue, entertainment and perspective, while the Young Readers Festival (YRF) motivates students to engage with all aspects of the written word, improving communication skills, while nurturing the art of writing and storytelling.
The annual festival features established and emerging writers from around the world, alongside local literary talents, in a programme that includes panel discussions, book talks, readings, workshops, walks, school programmes, performances, and more.
We are a registered charity non-profit organisation dedicated to bringing the best in the literary arts to Hong Kong. To find more, please visit our official website: https://www.festival.org.hk.
Please note that:
*We are unable to process refunds, please consider your ticket purchase a donation to the festival.
*Photos and videos of participants may be taken during the activities,which may be used by the organiser and the major sponsor for educational and promotional purposes in any way deemed appropriate, including disseminationthrough printed and online channels. Participation in the programme will constitute the participants’ consent to the above arrangement.
*The views and opinions expressed by the speakers do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Hong Kong International Literary Festival. HKILF disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information shared by the speakers.
*If the Black Rainstorm Warning or the Tropical Cyclone Signal No. 8 or above is in force 3 hours before the start time of an event, the event will be cancelled and participants will receive a refund. If the Red or Yellow Rainstorm Warning or the Tropical Cyclone Signal No. 3 is in effect, the event will be held as scheduled.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Fringe Club (Fringe Dairy), 2 Lower Albert Rd, Central, Hong Kong
HKD 142.80 to HKD 168.00
