May 10, 2026
Jonathan Chan
Jonathan Chan is a writer, editor, and translator of poems and essays. His first collection of poems, going home (Landmark, 2022), was a finalist for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2024. His second collection is bright sorrow (Landmark, 2025). He serves as Managing Editor of the poetry archive poetry.sg.
Lorca, in this delicious, enveloping heat
i remembered the eternal summer
of a spotted mind.
One thing I remember was a suggestion, or even plea, from an older poet to not abandon or give up on poetry. Many writers falter in their journeys just from a lack of habit, or from abandoning their craft altogether in favour of other pursuits. I have often felt that writing is a way to honour a compulsion in me that has yet to leave me.