Thursday, March 19, 2009

Party @ 8.00 PM (SST)




Welcome to the Party! I'm very happy to see you here. The time now is 8 PM (Singapore Standard Time). Click on the box to hear me read from Sections I and II of the book. I am online from 8-9 PM, and would love to respond to any comments you may have.

After the 25-minute reading, stick around or come back later to hear me read from Section III at 8 PM (Greenwich Mean Time). The final bash will take place at 8 PM (Eastern Standard Time) when I will read from the last two sections of the book.

If you like what you hear, you can buy my book. Details are in the blog sidebar. Thanks for celebrating my birthday with me. All my love, Jee



38 comments:

Harry said...

Happy birthday! Nice to hear you read your poems - always interesting to put a voice to a person, as it were.

I was just about to order your book; are you sure you don't want any extra for sending it over the Atlantic?

Jee Leong said...

Thanks, Harry, for the wishes, and for the order. No extra needed. BTW, I thank you, bates, and Lola II in GMT party, for the apprentice thing. Cheers.

Harry said...

Fab. I'm going to be in a bar in the West End when it's time for the next instalment and then heading off to a karaoke bar (eep) so I'll have to catch up with it later. Have a nice day!

Larry said...

Loved the biographical poems you read, Now love poems coming up - what more can one ask?

Happy Birthday!

I can't decide if your controlled, eclectically-accented voice makes you more real or even more mysterious and ethereal.

Jee Leong said...

Harry,
Drinking and singing...is that a wise combo? Catch up with you later. We must go drinking in London sometime.

Jee Leong said...

Thanks, Lai Meng, for celebrating my birthday with me. Not as good as in the flesh, but this is something.

vmh said...

Happy birthday Jee! I'm listening along right now!

Jee Leong said...

Larry, what a kind way of describing my mishmash, wobble of an accent. I never thought of myself as ethereal. I shall from now on.

Jee Leong said...

Good to see you here, vmh. Have a manhattan!

vmh said...

Thank you! ::takes drink:: It's only 8:15 am here but I think I can manage it! ::sips::

Vicky

Jee Leong said...

Vicky, it's never too early, in my book, to drink!

Jee Leong said...

I am also blogging about the party simultaneously: http://jeeleong.blogspot.com. And yes, you are all quoted there.

Rob said...

Not here at the right time, Jee, but nice to tune in nevertheless. I'll miss the GMT party because I'm at the StAnza Poetry festival. I travel to St Andrews in just over 2 hours time.

Anyway, just wanted to say I enjoyed the launch recording. All the best for the book.

Jee Leong said...

Good of you to drop in, Rob, in the midst of a day of travel. Thanks for getting the book.

Unknown said...

Great poems! Happy birthday!

Jee Leong said...

Thanks, Paul, I'm glad you like the poems.

Hedgie said...

Congratulations and Happy Birthday!

I would have been here sooner but PFFA's been down for several hours due to a database glitch and Bela just got it back up and running a short time ago.

Patricia Markert said...

Jee Leong,
Happy Birthday! How wonderful to see that great new photo of you, and to hear your voice today. I am looking forward to reading the whole book.

Congratulations.

Love,

Patty

Jee Leong said...

Never too late, Howard. So glad to see you here.

Jee Leong said...

Patty! Big hug! Thanks for coming.

A.H. said...

Happy birthday, Jee. I have just listened to the poetry, sometimes with text, sometime without, just listening to the relationship of voice, to word, to line. I had the good fortune to read the text of ETTE before hearing them, but you know, the voice I hear now is the voice I heard in my inner ear. The opening of Hungry Ghosts is a marvellous first poem!

Jee Leong said...

Andrew,
the voice in the inner ear is what matters after all. The spoken voice, especially my untrained one, is so uncertain, so varying, so error-ridden, so much a matter of machine, it cannot be but a bad reproduction of the voice I hear in my own ear. Each reading will have to stand on its own as an imperfect copy. I'm glad you like Hungry Ghosts.

A.H. said...

I don't think the "untrained" voice is a problem, Jee. (I find opera unbearable because of the "trained" voice). The voice is a hybrid voice, a meeting of many cultures and histories, which is as it should be...for these poems.

Jee Leong said...

You put it wonderfully, Andrew. I must remember what you say whenever I am inclined to feel embarrassed for the way I speak. Thank you.

Emilio said...

Hey Jee! I'm still trying to get this thing working over here. Happy Birthday!

Emilio

Jee Leong said...

Hey Emilio, so good to see you here. Welcome. Thanks for your wishes.

Patricia Lockwood said...

Child I am here is it too late to DANCE?

Emilio said...

O.K. Jee, I just got back from dropping a money order at the post office. It should get there sometime next week. I look forward to seeing the book. Have a great rest of your evening!

All the best,
Emilio

Jee Leong said...

Tricia, too late? Why the party is only warming up. The climax, the crescendo, is coming up at 8 PM (EST).

Jee Leong said...

Emilio,
Thanks for taking all the trouble. I am glad you like the reading enough to do this.

Kate said...

Jee, Happy Birthday, and many congratulations on your beautiful voice
x,k.

Jee Leong said...

You're going? So soon? Have a beautiful weekend.

Jane McKinley said...

What a wonderful way to celebrate your birthday with friends around the world! I began with the GMT party, then moved on to EST, but for some reason I'm not able to listen to the SST reading, which contains some of my favorites. Congratulations again on the book!

Jee Leong said...

Thanks, Jane, for celebrating it with me. I'm glad you are able to make it.

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday!- A virtual party can go on and on - I was out but feel I can catch up with it by listening to some beautiful poems. xx Valerie and JF

Jee Leong said...

Valerie and JF,
You're never too late for a virtual party. So glad you could make it. I hope you enjoy being here!

Darrick Sampson said...

Wow, impressive medium to promote the book and very well done! I'm impressed Jee. I am enjoying the poetry. But I have one observation: now that I've heard you read the book, do I really need to buy it!? (ha, ha?)

Jee Leong said...

Glad to see you here, Darrick! Your question could be rephrased: now that you have heard the poetry, how could you not buy it?