Joseph Tan

MA Creative Writing

2024

Joseph is a practising screenwriter and director who has worked steadily in the Singapore film and television industry for the last two decades, participating in the creation of over a hundred hours of content. An experienced educator who runs courses throughout the year on writing and storytelling, he has taught at several tertiary institutions, including LASALLE College of the Arts. His short story Effigies won second prize at the Golden Point Award 2023.

josephtanst79@gmail.com

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Thesis work

This Must Be the Place is a suite of four semi-autobiographical short stories exploring themes of loss, grief and death through the unique lens of masculinity in crisis.

These narratives, rooted in personal experiences, use the intersection of fact and fiction and the deliberate interplay of structure, narrative voice and genre tropes to create a collection that unravels, revealing the male self in ways that are hopefully fresh, surprising – and just slightly odd.

In tandem with the creative component, this thesis’ exegesis reflects on this writer’s craft by analysing the strategic use of doubles, labyrinths and the literary technique of erasure to navigate the intricate interplay of memory, nostalgia and imagination in semi-autobiographical narratives. This is done through a dialogue with photography, philosophy and literature that explores the complex commonalities within visual and written representation and integrates philosophical personal experiences with universal themes.

Published work and readings

Published works

Tan, Joseph (2023). A Map of the Territory. SAMPAN: The LASALLE Anthology of Creative Writing, LASALLE College of the Arts, pp. 80-87

Conferences and events

Dec 2023. Second Prize, Short Story at Golden Point Award 2023. https://artshouselimited.sg/gpa
Nov 2023. Read at Singapore Writers Festival 2023.
Nov 2022. Read at Singapore Writers Festival 2022.

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