ELANGOVAN, bilingual poet, playwright-director, screenwriter, literary
editor, transcreator, and pioneer of modern Tamil poetry and Tamil
experimental theatre in Singapore, obtained a BA (Western Australian Academy
of Performing Arts) and a MA (Middlesex University, UK) in Theatre
Directing. He has been a freelance-journalist, teacher, television
film-cameraman (then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation), Welfare Officer
(closed institution for delinquents), Probation Officer and Prison Welfare
Officer. He worked as an Arts Administrator with the National Arts Council
from 1987 to 2000, Lecturer (Drama) at the Division of Performing Arts,
LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts from 2001 to 2003, an Associate (Literary)
at The Centre for the Arts, National University of Singapore in 2004, a
Security Executive, from 2005 to 2006, a Drama Teacher at an international
school in 2007, and Administrative Manager in 2008. He is the Artistic
Director of Agni Kootthu (Theatre of Fire).

He has published three collections of poetry: Vizhichannalkalin
Pinnalirunthu (Behind Windows of Eyes), 1979, Mounavatham (Silent
Annihilation), 1984, and Transcreations (a bilingual collection), 1988, and
eleven collections of plays, DOGS and Other Plays, 1996, TALAQ (Divorce),
1999, BUANG SUAY and Other Plays, 2001, FLUSH - recipient of the Singapore
Internationale Award, 2002, MINES, 2003, OODAADI (Medium) - recipient of the
Singapore Internationale Award, 2003, O$P$ (OweMoneyPayMoney), 2004, 1915 -
recipient of the Singapore Internationale Award, 2005, SMEGMA, 2006, P
(Shit), 2007, and I, BOSE, 2009.

His works have been anthologized in The Poetry of Singapore (1985) and The
Fiction of Singapore (1990) in the Anthology of ASEAN Literatures series,
and ASEANO - An anthology of poems from Southeast Asia (1995), Philippines,
Voices of Singapore (1989), Words For The 25th (1990), Singapore: Places,
Poems, Paintings (1993), Journeys: Words, Home and Nation (1995), Rhythms-A
Singaporean Millennial Anthology of Poetry (2000), The S.E.A. Write
Anthology of ASEAN Short Stories & Poems (2008), and SAMPARK - Indian
edition on Singapore literature (2008).

He was one of the literary editors of: SINGA - the journal of literature
and the arts in Singapore, from 1990 to 1993 and 1997 to 1998, The Fiction
of Singapore, Words For The 25th and Voices 4 (1995).

He has represented Singapore in the 2nd Asian Poetry Festival, Dhaka,
Bangladesh, 1989, 3rd & 4th Southeast Asian Writers’ Conferences in
Singapore, 1987 and Philippines, 1990, 3rd World Poetry Reading, Malaysia,
1990, and 1st ASEAN Writers’ Conference / Workshop, Malaysia, 1992, and
was a member of the first multilingual literary delegation’s trip to China
in Apr 1999 organised by The Centre For The Arts & The Association of
Singapore Writers (Chinese). He represented Singapore in the Singapore
Writers Festivals in 1988, 1993 and 2005, and the Ubud International Writers
Festival, Bali, Indonesia in Oct 2005.

He has also conducted poetry and playwriting workshops and mentored for the
Creative Arts Programme (CAP) series from 1991-93/98/99/2004, organised by
the Gifted Education Unit of the Ministry of Education and The Centre for
The Arts, National University of Singapore. His bilingual poem Hairline was
displayed in the MRT: Poems on the Move series by the National Arts Council
in Jan 1999. He wrote the story, screenplay and dialogues for the 13-week
teledrama SOOR (High) based on true drug-abuse case-studies in Singapore and
it was telecasted on Vasantham Central of the Television Corporation of
Singapore (TCS) in 2003. DOGS was staged by the Hearts & Eyes Theatre at the
Standard Bank National Arts Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa, Jul 1996.
DOGS was given a staged reading in the Typhoon III Festival at the Soho
Theatre, London in Jun 2004, a rehearsed reading at the Birmingham Repertory
Theatre in Oct 2004 and staged in the doublebill ‘Typhoon Live’ at the
Oval House Theatre (Off West End), London from 9 to 13 Oct 2007 by the
Yellow Earth Theatre - UK’s flagship award-winning East Asian theatre
company based in London. P (SHIT) was staged by Teater Ekamatra, a leading
Malay theatre group in Singapore, Mar 2006.

Since 1991, he has written, adapted, transcreated and directed numerous
plays for Agni Kootthu (Theatre of Fire), a prominent bilingual exploratory
theatre group in Singapore. His major unpublished plays include Becak
(Trishaw) Puli (Tiger), Sangre (Blood), Mirugam II (Animal II), Buddha’s
Handgrenade, OH! and Alamak! His works have been staged in Australia, UK,
South Africa, Spain and India. He has also participated as a Dramaturg:
MOSAIC Youth Theatre of Detroit, USA, Dec 2000, UNESCO International Theatre
Festival, Sinaia, Romania, Jul 2001, and at the FIESTA! International
Experimental Theatre Festival, Dec 2001, Caracas, Venezuela.

Known to be controversial, irreverent and provocative, his works explore
the untouched realities in Singapore. He believes that art should
conscientise, confront and question accepted societal stereotypes of vision,
perception, feeling and judgement to examine reality as a historical and
social process.

Elangovan is listed on tamilnation.org as one of the renowned individuals
in their list of 100 Tamils of the 20th Century - Tamils who had made
significant contributions to the world. He is listed as No.8 on the language
and literature category among other prominent Tamil intellectuals.

He received the 1997 SEA (South-East Asia) Write Award, Southeast Asia’s
premier literary prize, in Bangkok, Thailand for his bilingual contribution
to literature (poetry) and theatre in Singapore.

Elangovan’s books are available at:
http://www.selectbooks.com.sg/ & http://www.earshot.com.sg