Hi! I’m Jonathan.
I was born in New York to a Malaysian father and South Korean mother and raised in Singapore, where I am presently based.
I am active primarily as a writer and editor of poems and essays. My debut collection of poetry, going home, was published in 2022 with Landmark Books in Singapore. Some of my poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Hawker Prize for Southeast Asian Poetry.
I currently serve as Managing Editor at the poetry archive poetry.sg. I also edit poetry for the Journal of Practice, Research and Tangential Activities (PR&TA), read poetry for The Plentitudes, and contribute reviews to Quarterly Literary Review Singapore and Suspect Journal. In addition, I serve on the English Subcommittee of Poetry Festival Singapore. I previously served as Editorial Director at the Southeast Asian Movement at Yale.
This blog serves as an archive of various pieces of writing that have been published over the years, including poems, essays, and articles.
I previously read for an undergraduate degree in English Literature at Wolfson College, Cambridge, and a graduate degree in East Asian Studies at Yale University.
If you’re interested in getting in touch, please drop me an email at jonbcy@gmail.com or a message at @fivefoundings on Instagram. I am also available to conduct workshops at schools via Sing Lit Station’s Book A Writer programme.
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You have to imagine
a waiting that is not impatient
because it is timeless.
– R. S. Thomas
Jonathan Chan 