Paul Tan Kim Liang

Paul Tan Kim Liang (born 1970) is a Singaporean poet and current deputy chief executive of the National Arts Council (NAC) of Singapore.

Biography Tan only started writing poetry seriously during National Service. He attained his Bachelor of Arts (Second Upper Honours) in English Language and Literature from the National University of Singapore. During his undergraduate years, Tan won consecutive first prizes in the NUS Literary Society poetry competition in 1992 and 1993. He graduated with a Master of Arts in culture and communications from the University of East Anglia in 2004. handing the position over to poet Yeow Kai Chai. He was then appointed as the NAC's deputy chief executive, taking over from Yvonne Tham.

Literary career Tan's early work has been described as having "a unique disposition for observation and reflection, with the occasional cheekiness and lightly interrogative gesture." His first poetry collection, Curious Roads (1994), won the Commendation award at the Singapore Literature Prize 1993.

Tan's second poetry collection, Driving Into Rain (1998), won the Merit award at the Singapore Literature Prize 1997.

Works Poetry

TitleYearPublisherISBN Curious Roads 1994 EPB Publishers Driving Into Rain 1998 Raffles Editions First Meeting of Hands 2006 firstfruits Seasonal Disorders/Impractical Lessons 2014 firstfruits When the Lights Went Off 2018 Landmark Books

Short stories

TitleVenueYear Jasmine's FatherQuarterly Literary Review Singapore 2001 The Oriental Grocer Quarterly Literary Review Singapore 2006