Clara Chow is a writer working across fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, whose artistic practice spans conventional publishing, experimental writing, and performance art. Since 2018, she has been developing a poetry project using joss paper, which has grown into a full-length book manuscript and a series of public workshops. During her fellowship in Japan, she will travel to various regions to experience and document traditional fire festivals, exploring the cultural and psychological meanings of fire and how these beliefs and practices have evolved over time. As part of her ongoing project of creating a book of poetry and fiction intended to be burned after reading, she will engage with local communities and the craftspeople involved in these festivals, including paper-makers, ink-makers, and paper sculptors. She will also explore burning traditions from her Singaporean-Chinese cultural perspective through poetry and exchanges with local people.

Profile　Clara Chow 
A writer working across fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, Chow also runs Hermit Press, a space for experimental texts and artist books. She worked as an arts and literary critic/reviewer for The Straits Times from 2000 to 2007. Her first book, Dream Storeys, was published by Ethos Books in 2016. She has been shortlisted four times for the Singapore Literature Prize and has received support from the National Arts Council of Singapore. Her international writing residencies and programs include the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program (2019), Rimbun Dahan in Malaysia (2018), the Shanghai Writing Program (2023), and the National Centre for Writing in Norwich, UK, where she was a writer-in-residence in 2025. She holds B.A. and M.A. in Literary Studies from the National University of Singapore.