Three: Assortment
A NUS Literary Society Publication
Masthead ________________________________________________________________ A philosophy and theatre studies major, Isaac founded Symbal in 2011, when he joined NUS Literary Society, in the hopes of promoting and encouraging budding Singaporean writers.
Isaac Tan, Editor-in-Chief
He’s an enthusiast for all things artsy as he can be seen hanging out in theatres, bookshops, museums and galleries. He hopes to be a professional actor someday and perhaps, in some possible world, a flamenco dancer and a writer as well. In his meagre spare time, he blogs at http://pre-lude.blogspot.sg
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Justin Tan, Executive Editor
Justin is a political science major and literature minor; he has served in the publications department of NUS Literary Society since 2011, and thoroughly enjoys reading every submission it receives. An orchestral film-score junkie and inveterate dreamer, he professes interest in any subject unclaimed by math and formulae. In such time as he has at hand, Justin hopes to be a writer, concept artist, amateur naturalist, and photographer. He finds aesthetic wonder in almost any environment, but is happiest amidst grand old architecture or boundless, pensive scenery.
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Suranjana Sengupta, Executive Editor
A Computer Engineering major, Suranjana joined the NUS Literary Society in 2012, hoping to unite her love for Literature with Science, along with meeting fellow students who share similar interests. As a reflective poet and a passionate writer, she enjoys reading everything from Early Medieval Literature to Contemporary Fiction. She loves Nature, Classical Music and just about anything to do with History. She also has an earnest interest in Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy. Although Suranjana aspires to follow a career in Computer Engineering, she also cherishes the goal of becoming a well-known author one day. During her tenure with NUS LitSoc, she hopes to participate actively in Literary Events in hope of encouraging innovative works of fiction, poetry and plays.
_______________________________________________________ Feel free to contact us and tell us your thoughts at symbalmagazine@gmail.com ! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Symbal-Magazine/149399518533621 Twitter: https://twitter.com/symbalmagazine
Special Thanks Cover art: Holding the Sun by Eleanor Leonne Bennett Eleanor Leonne Bennett is a 17-year-old international awardwinning photographer and artist who has won first places with National Geographic, The World Photography Organisation, Nature's Best Photography, Papworth Trust, Mencap, The Woodland trust, and Postal Heritage. Her photography has been published in the Telegraph , The Guardian, BBC News Website, and on the cover of books and magazines in the United states and Canada. Her art is globally exhibited, having been shown in London, Paris, Indonesia, Los Angeles, Florida, Washington, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Canada, Spain, Germany, Japan, Australia, and The Environmental Photographer of the year Exhibition (2011) – amongst many other locations. She was also the only person from the UK to have her work displayed in the National Geographic and Airbus run See The Bigger Picture global exhibition tour with the United Nations International Year Of Biodiversity 2010. eleanor.ellieonline@gmail.com www.eleanorleonnebennett.zenfolio.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eleanor-Leonne-BennettArt/182236515143617?sk=info#!/pages/Eleanor-LeonneBennett-Art/182236515143617
Three: Assortment The Editor Commends Crossroads Vera Li A Shining Light Lynnette Ng (And)gendered Yip Guan Hui
The Moth Mimic Tham Zhen Teng Undated Photography Tham Zhen Teng 25 September 2011 Denys Tan Heads Up Dominic Nah Lies Jeremy Chen Reminder to Self Jeremy Tan We Are Not Lost Leoson Hoay Announcements
Submission Guidelines
The Editor Commends This letter marks the first anniversary of Symbal! It is amazing how time flies as I can still remember how Joan (our first editor-in-chief) and I were wondering if Symbal would be successful when we had our first publications meeting last year. But judging from the casual feedback as well as the submissions that come in, I am happy to report that we are
doing well and I do hope that you are enjoying our issues thus far. Having taken over as Editor-in-chief, I would like to thank Joan for all her hard work and wish her all the best in her future endeavours. Additionally, I would like to welcome two executive editors on board, Justin and Sura, and do hope that they will find this journey exciting and fulfilling at the same time. Turning one, it is important that we grow and mature as a publication. As such, we have done a minor revamp to the magazine and will be implementing new sections and content in issues to come. More will be revealed in the announcements page towards the end of this issue So what is this issue about? Having planned a couple of issues with specific themes, there will be submissions which would inevitably have fallen through the cracks. They may have eluded clear categorisation, for example, or failed to reflect the theme enough. As such, I have decided to dust these works and present them to you.
Re-reading this assortment of works reminded me of the humbling
position I am in – the opportunity to read works that capture such a great spectrum of our daily experiences and imagination. It amazes me to think that all of them were achieved with just the basic building blocks of letters, punctuation and linguistic rules that form the English language. With much excitement and relief, I present to you our birthday cake – Issue Three: Assortment. In the same way I have, I hope that you too will find this issue a delicious one that reminds you of why you love literature so much. Happy Birthday Symbal! [blows out candles] Isaac Tan Editor-in-Chief 14th October 2012
Crossroads (facing page) ‘Many people walk the streets of Paris every day. In their aim to move forward, they forget to turn back, missing out on what could have been. Street signs are often overshadowed by the places that they point to. Yet we forget that they are points of intersection for many individuals who never had any reason to meet.’
Vera Li
A Shining Light
The thick book, filled with scribbles Angry squiggles, teary-marks, cheerful penmanship, Rustled and stopped at a blank page I stepped into the radiating light.
- Lynnette Ng
Lynnette is a first year undergraduate who is currently studying Computer Engineering in London. She chanced upon Symbal while bored and restless in her time at NUS High School. In her free time she day-dreams, takes lots of photos, and weaves whimsical stories. And no, she doesn't spend 400 hours a week coding because most of the time she’s playing Minecraft or Portal. Eventually, she hopes to build a device to be shot into space. Now, who says engineers are nerds? :P
(And)gendered My love, rest in my arms Sweet dove of peace, we lay down our arms And raise our hands at ease. The tangled vines of strife only serve to entwine our spines. Hermaphrodites split by the knife, split from waist, forth came two kinds
- Yip Guan Hui
Yip Guan Hui is a third-year English Literature undergraduate. He served as President of NUS Literary Society from 2011-2012. A self-confessed bibliophile, he enjoys browsing, hunting and collecting quality second-hand books.
The Moth Mimic
With no sound, the rough size of your two hands, like dust the moth alights – on filament feet, touchy, trembling up the distressed wall, another piece of wall – all at once detached from stone in frenzy, bats at the light, both a shadow and then a shot spasming back to camouflage, nursing its striped back. The lamp is snuffed; not daring to move it falls asleep and does not move again. And in the workshop day breaks as powdered ideas spurt from Michelangelo's chisel, suspended on barred dawnshine: fine-honed sift from the articulated man, repeated in the reaped purse of David's mouth. Blind stone studies tessellated stone as the eyes are deepdug in the milk marble, cold veins popping as the moth breathes beneath its spartan coat, 'Without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke.'
Tham Zhen Teng
Undated Photography
Half-petrified, The hatless shapes turn Faces away Hands fluffed birdlike Against the grain Lined up for powder, bottles, lint and tinder For the young men who bluster From green jungles, jingling The bullets in their pockets.
- Tham Zhen Teng
Tham Zhen Teng lives in a house full of dust bunnies and a closet that is secretly alive. When she was eight she had a dream in which her discipline mistress was eaten by a dinosaur. Tributes are acceptable if they come with cake. 'In real life, Zhen Teng is currently studying at the National Institute of Education, learning to teach children how to read and write.
25 September, 2011
Fl책m, Norway
From a distance, I watched a young man clamber his way up the muddy path leading to Brekkefossen. During his ascent he paused every now and then, ostensibly so that he could take in the scenery. (Secretly, he needed time to catch his breath, and also to decide which route promised the least amount of mud). The joy he felt upon seeing the waterfall come into view was evident; he started to move in confident strides, prior trepidation fading in light of promised glory.
But when he finally reached the peak of the hill, he seemed paralyzed, no doubt struck by the wonderful panorama of the town, yet unsure of how exactly he should mark the occasion. He snapped a few photos, but appeared to be unsatisfied with just that. He may have considered carving his name onto a nearby log, but it would have been just another name in a long list of epitaphs left behind by others: irrelevant.
Eventually, he sat himself down on a nearby rock, clearly frustrated by his inability to think up an appropriate act, one that would epitomize everything that he was feeling at that moment. He felt compelled to write something, anything, but he could not conjure up any words that he owned.
So he closed his eyes, listening intently for a song that resonated within. When he heard it, he stole two simple lines:
hallejulah every breath is a second chance
And they brought comfort to his needy heart.
- Denys Tan
Heads Up And when turning sixty between downing shots, will I become but a paltry thing: (not) one of those old men shaken from gold, baring limp chests left to sing or weary white singlets with belly at rest and badly misshapen steps when both line-dancing, ambling across the estate, arms akimbo, life in limbo?
And if so, will I bend over backwards befriending every twelve to twenty soul, wanting twilight stories told to me boy, what school you go to? boy, what you want to do when you grow up? boy, must take care of your parents ah a far from ending survey of lives the karoke lyrics roll over each line never knowing which one (if any) are lies.
And before my knees buckle
beneath the last aged pole, will I turn over the side scribbling my will, believing this boy here will share this silence facing the sky at this pier? When you're twenty you fear not going low, your back is straighter. I cannot last and you pass. Later when you hold me up one last song, the music fails.
And when I fall to kneel - my head spurts up I would just have overturned the empty glass cup.
- Dominic Nah
Dominic Nah is not going wait until his ORD in 2013 for his life to begin proper. Apart from contemplating to create a disciplined freedom for himself through literature, philosophy, art and parkour, he often wonders whether his sprouting Sengkang voice deserves a second listen. He fears lassitude and gore, believes in The Myth of Sisyphus and somehow knows he can touch lives in the next generation.
Lies Your hidden good will rot remain, If even true, it’s not enough As reason for our pointless pains We patient bear, cheated of our prayer.
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Jeremy Chen
Reminder To Self They say ideals golden are sought after by dreamy fools whose feet touch no earth, but live in heaven's mirth; that their helium heads rise, rise and rise all light, right and bright -till the ceilings crash upon our human flesh and all that recedes is no glitter nor gold; but instead a broken bow and quiver empty - arrow that scream distraught dreams of despair with nothing left, nothing left! And so you panic, looking down into the depths of vertigo -but you are already on your way down spiraling back to earth back to earth, where you collide with littered hearts that illuminates the truth behind bloody broken bones. So while we aim for the stars, remember that you are only Man; for a man's longing for heaven is to forget that he is still human. -Jeremy Tan Bewitched by all things dreamy and subtle, Jeremy admires the beauty of words as a rejuvenating form of creation, expression, escape, and self-discovery. He is also the founder of The HeartThrob Project, a local platform for creative individuals who believe in the empowerment of self-expression. He has been featured on Obscured, Popspoken, and Illuminating Dreams. He tries to write atdreamweaveme.tumblr.com/
‘We Are Not Lost’ Leoson Hoay
Announcements Calling all NUS students! From next semester, we will be organising frequent writing competitions for all of you! Simply follow us on Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/SymbalMagazine/149399518533621) Or Twitter: https://twitter.com/symbalmagazine ‌to find out the themes that we would like you to adhere to. Book vouchers are for the taking! Winners will be featured in this magazine and if all goes well, we plan to organise a reading of winning works after every three competitions. Watch this space!
At Symbal, we value your feedback and would like to maintain a section featuring your letters to the editor. In doing so, we hope to allow for our writers to receive honest feedback so that they may gain insights and refinements which could be used for future works. Of course, if you have comments on layout, aesthetics and how to make this magazine awesome, write us at symbalmagazine@gmail.com
Announcements Calling all writers! We are starting a new initiative in which writers who have contributed to Symbal will be able to band together to form a writing community (whether online or otherwise). This is in the hopes of encouraging an active writing culture for budding writers within NUS and outside of it as well. To that end, we have set up a closed Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/symbalwriters/. It will serve as a platform for our writers to ‘workshop’ each others’ work and exchange constructive feedback. As not all of our writers are from NUS, we surmised that an online group would be a great start to forming a community. Who knows? – When it becomes vibrant and active, members could always meet up in person. Joining the Group For writers who are already published on Symbal, drop us an email to request to join the group. Do attach a piece of work that you would like to be workshopped once you have become a member.
For writers who have not been published on Symbal, kindly drop us an email to express your interest (along with a submission for our next issue). Once we have published your work in one of our issues, you will then have to submit another piece that you would like to have workshopped once you have joined the group. Basic Rules
1. You must submit a minimum of two literary pieces a year for the community to workshop it with you. As workshopping of works is a vulnerable experience, it is only fair to all concerned that you allow your works to be read as well. 2. Basic etiquette applies. We will not hesitate to remove you from the group should we see any incivility displayed. Please be cordial and sensitive to all members.
Submission Guidelines Submission of Literary Works Symbal welcomes works from NUS undergraduate and graduate students, staff, students from other tertiary institutions (local junior colleges, polytechnics and other universities) and even those who are serving their national service. Unlike other publications, we welcome any kind of work that is of literary value regardless of whether it is poetry, prose, dramatic extract, commentaries or treatises. Due to space constraints, however, we would like the writers to observe the following guidelines: Poetry – Any form of poetry is welcomed but do keep it within a page of the word document. Prose – Any genre is acceptable but do keep the word limit between 500-2000 words. If you would like to submit a longer piece of work such as a novella, please provide us with a summary of your work (and the full text, if possible). Do bear in mind that it will be serialised when you are writing this piece. Dramatic Extract – It should consist of no more than 2 scenes. It is advisable that the scenes should for the most part be able to stand on their own (i.e. the reader should be able to make out what is generally going on as well as the relationship(s) between the characters). Of course, if you would like to submit a monologue, you are more than welcome to do so.
Submission Guidelines Commentaries/Treatises: Kindly keep to the word limit of not more than 2000 words. Do note that it must be relevant to the literary arts; expositions on a particular book/author, commentaries on the state of literature in the country/education system or even reflections on a particular literary event are accepted. As we aim to give budding writers a platform to showcase their works, we are fine with submissions that have already been published or entered in competitions as long as it does not contravene any guideline of the other party. Do note that it is your sole responsibility to ensure this. Should we come to the knowledge that you have contravened the guidelines of another publication or organisation, we will remove your work immediately. By the same token, we are fine with you submitting the same work to other publications or competitions as long as the other party is fine with it. Symbal reserves first serial and anthology rights. We may also consider publishing your work in other mediums, but will contact you in advance for approval. We will not publish or modify your work without informing you.
Submission Guidelines Submission of photographs/illustrations What is a magazine without some pictures or illustrations? If you would like an avenue to showcase your artistic skills, Symbal is a great place to do so! We welcome all forms of photos, drawings and paintings. Do bear in mind that at the moment, such submissions will be included in the publication only if it is relevant to the theme or fits a particular work, as there is no space set aside to curate such works. However, do check back on the submission guidelines from time to time as there might be a section calling for such works in the future. Similarly, your submission will be an indication of your agreement to allow us the rights to retain the pictures (which will still be credited to you) as well as to edit it to suit the publication. How to Submit Send all your works to symbalmagazine@gmail.com. Kindly preface the subject title with “Submissions: <followed by title of work>”. Please submit your works either in the body of the email or attach a word document. Do not attach a PDF file. Failure to abide by this guideline could result in your work not being read at all. Should you have further enquiries, kindly write to us via the same email address and preface the subject heading with “Enquiries: <area of concern>”. We seek your cooperation in following this template so as to allow us to sort the mail easily. Thank you.