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Hard to Get: Why write poems when no one understands them | Theophilus Kwek | TEDxBencoolen St Youth

Almost everyone has entertained this thought at some point, and among all other forms of writing, poetry has a good claim to be the least understood. Yet despite it being so baffling to so many, some writers still stubbornly choose to keep writing poetry. Theophilus Kwek has published four collections of poetry, two of which were shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize. In 2023, he was the youngest writer and first Singaporean to be awarded the Cikada Prize by the Swedish Institute, for poetry that “defends the inviolability of life”. He is also part of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2024. His next book, Commonwealth, will be published in May 2025. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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