Goh Poh Seng

Who was Goh Poh Seng?

Goh Poh Seng, Singaporean dramatist, novelist and poet, was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya in 1936. He received his medical degree from University College Dublin, and practised medicine in Singapore for twenty-five years. In his time living in Singapore, Dr Goh held many honorary positions including the Chairman of the National Theatre Trust Board between 1967 and 1972, and Vice-Chairman of the Arts Council from 1967 to 1973. He was committed to the development of Art and cultural policies of post-independent Singapore, as well as the development of cultural institutions such as the Singapore National Symphony, the Chinese Orchestra and the Singapore Dance Company.

He was a founder of the literary magazine Tumasek and formed Center 65 to promote the arts.

Goh's first novel, If We Dream Too Long won the National Book Development Council of Singapore's Fiction Award in 1976 and has been translated into Russian and Tagalog. His other books include the novels The Immolation and A Dance of Moths, and poetry collections Eyewitness, Lines from Batu Ferringhi and Bird With One Wing. His most recent works are his collections of Poems, As Though the Gods Love Us and The Girl from Ermita. His work also appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies around the world. Goh lived in Canada to which he emigrated in 1986. He died on 10 January 2010 in Vancouver, after suffering from Parkinson's Disease in his later years.