Layl Ash-Shayr Open Mic 5 (2025)

About the Programme

Layl Ash-Shayr, which loosely translates from Arabic to “Poetry Night”, is an open-mic and spoken word event for Muslim writers in Singapore to share their work and engage with fellow creatives.

For our fifth open mic of 2025, we’re excited to have Yohanna Abdullah and Kaif. We will also open up the stage for 5 open-mic slots for emerging voices in the SG Muslim literary and arts scene to perform, gain experience and network with other fellow writers. Ultimately, we hope to build a network of Muslim writers who can support one another in their literary journeys.

Event Details

In-person Only
Day/Date: Saturday, 31st May 2025
Time: 8.15pm - 9.35pm
Venue: Wardah Books, Reading Loft (Level 2)

Ticketed event, registration is compulsory.
General Ticket: $10
LAS Supporter Ticket: $10
Purchase tickets here: http://tinyurl.com/LASMAY25

About the Open-Mic

We are welcoming Muslim poets of any experience level, whether you’ve attended classes, published poems or have never let your poetry leave your notebook/smart phone, we want you!Here are some guidelines for you to follow:

1. You will have 5 mins to perform any number of pieces.
2. There is no set theme. Pick any topic for your piece!
3. Please ensure religious sensitivity and tactfulness when addressing sensitive topics, and generally avoid using crude language in your poems. We may request poems to be swapped or partially edited to ensure they are suitable for our audience.
4. Your poems can take any shape and form - be experimental about it! Just let us know in advance should you need tech/equipment support.
5. Non-English poems or poems with snippets of other languages can be performed, but we do request you provide an English translation.
6. ⁠Your poems can be previously published, living rent-free in your head, or written mere minutes prior!

About the Speakers

Yohanna Abdullah is an author, poet, scriptwriter and playwright who launched her career as a Straits Times journalist. She loves sky-gazing, befriending and forest-bathing. The mental health advocate recently released her eighth book, Karma Hotel: Poetic Stops in My Universe, an illustrated anthology of poems.

Freshly eighteen and new to the scene, Kaif challenges the mundane with vivid imagery infused with proud peculiarity. Infusing Islamic philosophies with her own through art, Kaif projects her soul onto the page. When she isn’t on side quests, Kaif is a Communications and Media Management student at Temasek Polytechnic.