EXHALE: An Anthology Of Queer Singapore Voices◎BY NG YI-SHENG, STEPHANIE CHAN, ANDY ANG, ANG JIN YONG, TAN BOON HUI, ATIFA OTHMAN AND KOKILA ANNAMALAI

EXHALE: An Anthology of Queer Singapore Voices is a landmark literary project, gathering the best works of local LGBTQ writers who emerged in the 2010s. These writings reveal the dreams, struggles and indomitable spirit of our queer community in a time of turbulence and transformation—a decade of highly visible protests and controversies, new labels for gender and sexuality, and a more fearless brand of cultural politics.

This collection features texts written in English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil, by 79 different authors (including one collective) encompassing forms as diverse as spoken word, sci-fi, experimental poetry, creative non-fiction and even songs of worship.

There are poems exploring issues such as coming out, gender dysphoria, HIV, religion, institutional homophobia and transphobia, the Wear White movement, the PenguinGate controversy, sex and love. There are tales of attempted exorcism, a young gay man’s explorations of the Internet, a lesbian werewolf’s journey of fulfilment, a trans woman’s discovery of her magical gifts, fatphobia in Singapore, an activist case for aromanticism, and an alien encounter at Pink Dot.

Writers include Amanda Lee Koe, Neon Yang, Joel Tan, Topaz Winters, Marylyn Tan, Jeremy Tiang, Jerrold Yam, Jennifer Anne Champion, Lawrence Lacambra Ypil and Rodrigo Dela Peña, Jr.