Theophilus Kwek (b. 1994)

1. BIOGRAPHY

2. CRITICAL INTRODUCTION

3. SELECTED POEMS

• “Departures”

• “Coast”

• “On History”

• “HO 213/926”, “My Grandfather Visits Pyongyang” and “Pulse” from Moving House (2020)

• “Corridor”

• “The Seer”

4. SELECTED VIDEOS

5. TRACK CHANGES: “MORNING AT DACHAU”

SELECTED POEMS

The Seer

Lorong Ah Soo Market

There he knelt,
laying out his implements
on a sheet—a knife,
paper, some lemons—

as the circle
tightened around him,
sleeve-to-sleeve
under the thin awning.

The first, who
asked about his daughter
went away believing,
holding his answer

like a charm
and soon the change
began to appear, a miracle
in the borrowed bowl.

Of all the wonders
done that morning, in the lie
of the makeshift shade,
it seemed only

the most ordinary
thing for the planets,
not far above, to draw close,
leaving their orbits,

stand still, and for
a vanishing hour, crane
their necks over an old
faithful star.

by Theophilus Kwek
from Commonwealth (2025)

SELECTED VIDEOS >