I Didn't Know Mani was a Conceptualist

by Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé

Co-winner of the Singapore Literature Prize 2016 for English Poetry

“This collection of poetry by interdisciplinary artist Desmond Kon is an invitation to ‘jump into the spray like raindance’—between musings on philosophy, speech acts and language play, the poet performs the role of conteur, archivist, marionette.... Kon offers eleven ways of looking at a square, a fable, and a republic. What does the world represent for you? he asks in earnest. These prose vignettes are clever and defy categories. They contain a wealth of references across time and cultures, its undercurrent of a tragicomedy so irresistible that it feels like the ‘tongue tasting brown sugar’.”
—Fiona Sze-Lorrain, author of Water the Moon

“Here is a book few of us think a Singaporean could write! For proof, pick it up and read almost any section/para.... and believe me, you will be astounded! Kon is a consummate artist here, weaving strands of knowledge, wisdom, humor so porously that as readers we are left baffled but wiser, perhaps even sadder. I don’t know how best to describe this book—perhaps the word *fable* might well do the trick! Like the wizards of old, he weaves magic into words seamlessly making us marvel and wonder. This is a book all educated men and women will find thoroughly rewarding and refreshing. A damn good read!”
— Kirpal Singh, author of Thinking Hats & Colored Turbans

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé is the author of an epistolary novel, a hybrid work, a neo-noir proem suite, and six poetry collections. Founding editor of Squircle Line Press, Desmond has edited over fifteen books and co-produced three audio books, several pro bono for non-profit organisations. Trained in publishing at Stanford, with a world religions Master’s from Harvard and creative writing Master’s from Notre Dame, his honours include the PEN American Center Shorts Prize, Poetry World Cup, Beverly Hills International Book Award, Living Now Book Award, Independent Publisher Book Award, National Indie Excellence Book Award, and USA Regional Excellence Book Award.

Reviews

[j · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book by my Literature teacher, so I was looking forward to read it. Unfortunately, I didn't understand a lot of the book. The parts I could grasp the meanings of were thoroughly enjoyable, though. Hopefully I'll be able to give this book another go later in the future, & that I'll be able to get more out of it.

[JC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Frost said that “Every poem is a momentary stay against the confusion of the world.” Sometimes I get the sense that this is because some poems are confusing enough as to preoccupy their readers away from the world’s own ever-impinging confusion. I can safely say this collection of poetry was very far over my head, most often impenetrable for me. I actually have been trying to get through this short book of poetry for more than a year, and I ended up googling every other word for many of these little prose poems. It sort of feels like browsing through a data dump of a very interesting person’s browser history or bookmark list. There are lots of references to Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as art, poetry, ceramics, architecture, and sculpture. Maybe my favourite thing I discovered from these poems was this fantastic character named Liu Ling a poet and one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. I desperately wish Zhicheng-Mingde could unpack and open up these poems for me. I have heard him talk in an interview before, and he is extremely insightful. I know there’s a lot packed into these poems that I’m just not capable of figuring out for myself at this point.

Zhicheng-Mingde studied theology and world religions and certainly knows a lot more about Manichaeism than I do. I know very little about the tradition, mainly learning about it after reading a biography Garry Wills wrote on Augustine who was a Manichaean for almost a decade. I do know Mani was influenced by Jewish apocalyptic writings, Jesus, the Buddha, Hinduism, and Zoroaster (the Magi in Matthew’s gospel are likely Zoroastrians). Manichaeism was influential for a number of Muslim intellectuals and historians later on as well. I am however not smart enough to have figured out how all those details connect in the dense poetry within this book. But hopefully I will return to it again someday when I am a little better prepared to. Even despite my lack of competence as a reader of this sort of poetry, there was still a lot to enjoy, and the humour of the poems still came through relatively easily. I do think the confluence of so many traditions in the legacy of Mani comes through in the confluence of so many subjects woven together by Zhicheng-Mingde. I think that sort of dynamic is very richly present in Singapore’s history, which is far more vibrant and diverse than the four colonial racial categories that persist today, and in fact include a far more fascinating array of cultures and traditions hiding not that far in the shadows if one takes the time to look.

[Melvin Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is hard to read. But only because I lack aptitude, being new to poetry. Steeped in symbolism, this collection is an eye-opener. It spans across history, science, philosophy and religion through prose vignettes that read like movie scripts at times. Like Dada, this collection questions my long-held beliefs. Assumptions about what poetry should be, and how it should be written.

A book worth re-reading and re-reading in the years to come.

[mm · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful romp through Dadaism, science fiction, and more, by Kon, whom I first read in an anthology.
Not quite poetry but snippets of prose, connected, unconnected.
Clever, yes. Too clever, I didn't think so though that has been levelled against Kon.