Christina Sng

Poet, Writer, Editor, Artist

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A Collection of Dreamscapes
By Christina Sng
ISBN: 978-1-947879-17-1
Raw Dog Screaming Press, April 2020
Preorder from Raw Dog Screaming Press

A Collection of Dreamscapes by Christina SngA Collection of Dreamscapes by Christina Sng is an exploration of the darkness inside us, the shadow-self that screams and begs, forever fighting to claw itself out. It's a siren song of transformation, an uncovered diary that bleeds fairy tales and dystopias, and it reads like a grimoire full of spells and curses that bring monsters and madmen to life.

Between these pages, readers will meet women who hide behind the taste of poison apples, who set themselves on fire, who weep at riverbanks, the taste of freedom too much to swallow, too heavy to bear. They will be whisked away to faraway lands and unimaginable worlds, the drip of fog-soaked dreams a steady flow down their throats while they choke on betrayal and bathe in the waters of tears twice cried.

Sng's poems are a blend of dark fantasy and science fiction, both a changeling's whisper and an ogre's cry. They are both subtle and violent, and they weave themes of empowerment and strength through stars and earthquakes, forcing us to push away the rubble and look at what we've had to do to survive. They are the sacrifice in the forest and the haunting in the house, every gasp and ancient fear a reflection of the violence we've had to bury deep inside ourselves, all those battle cries and reimagined dreams we desperately try to forget. Here, Sng marries blood and magic, forever walking hand-in-hand with scar and ash, their imprints both a nightmare and a blessing, a dream and the truth.

Swallow them carefully. Once they're inside you, there's no getting them out.

Reviews:

"Christina Sng is one of the most prolific and gifted speculative poets working today. A Collection of Nightmares won the prestigious Bram Stroker award. Her new work, A Collection of Dreamscapes is equally worthy of your attention."
-- Scott T. Barnes, Winner of the Writers of the Future Award and founder of New Myths
Full review: A Collection of Dreamscapes by Christina Sng, reviewed by Scott T. Barnes

"I was really moved by some of the poems in this section, as they kept me thinking about them long after I read them...While there are definitely themes of war, destruction, death and dystopia, throughout the whole collection is an undercurrent of hope. There is a striving to make a better life for themselves, their loved ones and even for all people. Fans of mythology, folk horror, sci-fi and apocalyptic tales will likely find some poems to love in this book."
-- Kimberly Wolkens, Author, Poet, and Reviewer for The Ginger Nuts of Horror
Full review: A Collection of Dreamscapes by Christina Sng

"Hot off the Raw Dog Screaming Press, this collection is going to turn what we learned as children upside down by empowering those who've been victims in fairy tales and mythology. By fixing our near gospel stories into positive tales, Sng is opening a new chapter in a brand-new world."
-- Damaged Skull Writer
Full review: A COLLECTION OF DREAMSCAPES IS A THING OF BEAUTY AND POWER THAT’S AVAILABLE NOW FROM RAW DOG SCREAMING PRESS!

"One of the things Christina has become known for is her ability to craft entrancing stories full of depth and meaning within her poems. She has this knack for giving the reader just enough on the page to build the images and plot in their head, while leaving enough unsaid that it is not dictated for the reader. A Collection of Dreamscapes is exactly what I have come to expect from Christina: full of heart, personal, and powerful while opening up her view of the world to include a variety of different lenses and angles of approach."
-- Anton Cancre, Author and Reviewer
Full review: https://pustuleoozings.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-collection-of-dreamscapes-by.html

"Three words that describe this book: immersive, creepy, accessible. What I love about Sng's horror poetry is how easily you slip into the world she is creating...this is a poetry collection that is about using the format to tell an amazing and united horror story of the terror, dread, and unease within our collective human folk lore, fairy tales, and mythology. It is a collection that unites us as a species and pays homage to our historical desire to tell horror stories. If you like the short stories of Carmen Maria Machado, you also need to try Sng. A COLLECTION OF DREAMSCAPES by Christina Sng is a poetry collection every public library should own."
-- Becky Spratford, Readers' Advisor, MLIS
Full Review: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2020/04/closing-out-national-poetry-month-with.html

"This book reads like a dream, dark and fantastic. Danger in a sort of soft packaging. Multiple subtle brushes of the knife, no less deadly than the full on stab. Sng writes with more of a structured, stanza feel. The poems...came off as almost this perfect melding of what I love about poetry and what I love about prose. The poems held to the brevity, the only getting a bit of the full picture - yet managed to encompass this feel of a more fully told story experience."
-- Well Read Beard, Reviewer
View the full YouTube review at: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N51-5lbiMG4
Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/27748422-well-read-beard

"Another absolutely beautifully put together collection of dark poetry from Sng. Her words are haunting, entrancing, and beg for your absorption. At the conclusion of each poem I read, I found myself just sitting in silence letting the words ruminate in my mind as I prepared to submerge myself into the next otherworldly dreamscape. If you've never read poetry before, this would be a perfect place to start. The words on these pages are beautiful beyond measure, but they will also haunt you long after your close the cover. If you are already a lover of dark poetry, this collection will sit in your heart and solidify that adoration. "
-- Amanda Turner, Reviewer
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31983763-amanda-readlingoctopus714-turner

"Christina Sng has done it again with beautifully haunting poetry that will immerse you in a waking dream. These dreamscapes are centered around various myths: ancient, fairy tale, monstrous, violent, and futuristic. It's amazing how she can link such a wide range of topics and have them come full circle. Rebirth and death, destruction and creation, yin and yang, are one and the same."
-- Jackie Cowgill, Reviewer
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3285028816

"One of the many things that draws me into Sng's poetry is how expertly she shapes each piece. This is a poet who takes her craft seriously, who understands the work that goes into revising, editing, and revising a piece again until it is perfect, until each word of the poem lures you deep into its lullaby and in this collection of magic and light, of darkness and blood, you'll find yourself held captured by those lullabies until they turn into screams. This is truly an enchanting collection that you do not want to miss this year."
-- Sara Tantlinger, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Devil's Dreamland: Poetry Inspired by H.H. Holmes
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5177382-sara-tantlinger

"The amazing poems spilled inside the pages of this collection are violent, wondrous and even grotesque. There are a lot of dark issues and nightmarish imagery in this wickedly beautiful collection. This is a fantastic book of poetry that doesn't shy away from true monsters or the many found in myths. The imagery touches the wonderment of fairy tales, the intrigue of myth and our interest in future worlds. Even within all the darkness, these soul-stirring words managed to find the smallest glimmer of hope in every scenario. I loved this and it's going straight to my Keeper Shelf."
-- Yolanda Sfetsos, Reviewer
Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4724592-yolanda-sfetsos

"Beautifully written poems reaching into the depths of darkness and pulling out the fleshy beating heart of our souls... this book drowns you within tales of humanity rooted in evil. This collection is unlike anything I had read before having a few different sections within. I loved the rewritten fairy tales that were raw and ripped open... they satisfied my dark thoughts of what if..."
-- Intellectual Magpie, Reviewer
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9975951-intellectual-magpie

"I feel very confident saying that this collection has something for everyone. I enjoyed every section on its own merits, and if I asked to pull 10 favorite poems from the finished product, I have no doubt that each section would be represented at least once. I highly recommend this book and I'll be moving Sng's other collection, A Collection of Nightmares, a bit up my list."
-- Brennan Lefaro, Reviewer
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/99707044-brennan-lafaro

"These poems are haunting, stunning, and poignant. I highly recommend this dark and enchanting collection of work from Christina Sng. You will really be moved by the way she puts these poems and stories together. From myths of death and rebirth to monsters and fairy tales, this is a solid collection!"
-- Alex findingmontauk1, Reviewer
Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/11318464-alex-findingmontauk1

Advanced Review:

"I love the nightmarish but beautiful ambience of the cover because it illustrates the amazing words found within so well.

The book is split into five separate sections, and the overall narrative in each of these parts fit together perfectly.

The Love Song of Allegra tells the violent, sad and amazing story of the warrior Mephala and the war she takes part in. There's so much action, blooshed and vivid imagery with a backdrop so visceral the events played out inside my mind like an awesome feminist fantasy tale.

Fairy Tales is a wickedly delicious assortment of poems full of familiar characters who also surprised me. The situations they found themselves in are warped into surreal and brutal portions to satisfy the monster hidden within.

All the Monsters in the World took me on a roller-coaster ride where the monsters rule. Some are human, others are fictional, but all of them managed to creep under my skin to create nightmares, and a variety of apocalyptic situations where there is no hope left.

Although, sometimes even the loss of hope is the true salvation.

The Capacity of Violence starts with a jolt of violent revenge that then catapulted me from one poem about the capacity and true strength of victims to an even deeper one. Just because predators so openly use mental, emotional and physical force to oppress their prey, it doesn't mean these tortured souls are weak.

It takes greater strength to accept outwardly and resist inwardly, slowly building a resistance that topples the most vile of abusers.

Myths and Dreamscapes sends us on a shadowy journey beyond the stars. Where the ancient world and the distant future collide, and we embark on trips that range from the intergalactic to the afterlife, and so much more.

While I enjoyed every single poem because they're all captivating in their own way, there were some that resonated on a much deeper level with me and will remain in my mind for a long time.

A Collection of Dreamscapes is the first book I've read by Christina Sng, but it definitely won't be the last. The amazing poems spilled inside the pages of this collection are violent, wondrous and even grotesque. There are a lot of dark issues and nightmarish imagery in this wickedly beautiful collection.

The awful abuse against girls and women is captured in such vivid and real ways that it caught me off-guard and caused a wave of familiar sadness to sweep inside me. But even then, all of that hopelessness is often turned into empowerment.

This is a fantastic book of poetry that doesn't shy away from true monsters or the many found in myths. The imagery touches the wonderment of fairy tales, the intrigue of myth and our interest in future worlds.

Even within all the darkness, these soul-stirring words managed to find the smallest glimmer of hope in every scenario.

I loved this and it's going straight to my Keeper Shelf."
-- Yolanda Sfetsos

Advance Praise

"I loved this collection of poems that flow in a story cycle; tendrils of images from one flavoring the next. New and old myths, reborn in Sng's brilliant imagination into unique, grownup versions where empowerment rules and old-fashioned revenge is very satisfying."
-- Linda D. Addison, award-winning author of How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend and HWA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

"Outrage howls against human cruelty from verse after verse throughout Christina Sng's sophomore poetry collection from Raw Dog Screaming Press. A Collection of Dreamscapes is the follow-up to her Bram Stoker Award-winning showstopper A Collection of Nightmares -- but don't let the shift in title fool you. This new book overflows with nightmare fodder. Just as importantly, it burns white hot with catharsis. Warriors rage against oppressors, women and girls purge their abusers, and the innocent make necessary transformations into monsters to bring about 'Wrongs made right for once / In this unjust world.' Even as you shudder, you'll smile in empathy and 'enjoy the bloodbath.'"
-- Mike Allen, World Fantasy Award-nominated author of Unseaming and Aftermath of an Industrial Accident

"I hadn't thought it possible for Sng to improve on A Collection of Nightmares. I was wrong. In Dreamscapes, Sng shatters traditional storytelling and showcases her versatility as a master poet. Tackling odysseys, fairy tales, myths, monsters, and unspeakable violence, she wields words like 'a scythe making graceful strokes', paring her verse to sinew and bone. Not a word is out of place in this ground-breaking collection."
-- Lee Murray, author of Into the Mist

"A Collection of Dreamscapes is another knock-out hit for Christina Sng. Like a lullaby distorted into a scream, Sng's evocative language sets up beautiful scenes that soon lead the reader deeper and deeper into darkness. Between dreams, myths, fairy tales, and more, readers will find themselves spun into a mystical web of stories that unfold through each finely crafted poem. Sng offers up such a rich world through the different sections, yet the storytelling and vibrancy in each blend seamlessly together. A captivating collection that is not to be missed!"
-- Sara Tantlinger, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Devil's Dreamland

"To be escorted by Christina Sng through A Collection of Dreamscapes is to become the warrior queen of a forgotten land, a tech-savvy fairy tale maiden, a girl made of electricity with the power to short-circuit the world. It is a journey of monstrous possibilities, surreal surroundings, and entrancing mythologies, and one that--though we all must wake up eventually--I did not want to end." --Christa Carmen, author of Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked

"Don't be surprised if these works begin to haunt your own dreams. This is poetry at its best."
-- David Lee Summers, author of The Astronomer's Crypt and Owl Dance

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A Collection of Nightmares
By Christina Sng
ISBN-10: 1935738984
ISBN-13: 978-1935738985
Raw Dog Screaming Press, July 2017
92 pages

Paperback and Kindle from Amazon
Paperback from Raw Dog Screaming Press, Barnes & Noble, booktopia, BooksActually, and Kinokuniya

A Collection of Nightmares by Christina SngBram Stoker Award® Winner, Elgin Award nominee, and one of LitReactor's Best Books of 2017, A Collection of Nightmares takes us through a surreal dreamscape of seasonal creatures, bone carvers, listless gods, vengeful angels, and post-apocalyptic survivors, to the end of all things good and evil.

**********

"A Collection of Nightmares is a starkly beautiful assemblage of fantastical verse. This is a short collection, only 88 pages, but the mastery of style and substance makes for a satisfying read. Indeed, Christina Sng's experience in writing verse gives the feeling that each poem was carved by a sculptor, using language as one would a cutting, to reveal only the elegant, necessary flow of lines that suggest and imprint her gorgeous imagery.

"To be sure, the word "exquisite" has been used by many to describe Sng's poetry, and by happenstance this is the title of the first poem in the collection. "Exquisite" is well chosen to open the book: Sng eloquently describes a statue, a once live person frozen in time by the gaze of Medusa. The last line "And then you take a step" is the perfect invitation to step into the remaining pages, to wander about this garden of verse that Sng has so carefully tended."
-- Spectral Realms

"I know horror poetry is not something you expected to find here, but this is amazing. It's horror poetry...and science fiction poetry and funny poetry and weird poetry and alien invasion poetry and body horror madness poetry and everything in between. More than that, it is also short stories in poetry form. Very satisfying short stories. It deserves a spot on a lot of lists."
-- LitReactor's Best Books of 2017

**********

Hold your screams and enter a world of seasonal creatures, dreams of bones, and confessions modeled from open eyes and endless insomnia. Christina Sng's A Collection of Nightmares is a poetic feast of sleeplessness and shadows, an exquisite exhibition of fear and things better left unsaid. Here are ramblings at the end of the world and a path that leads to a thousand paper cuts at the hands of a skin carver. There are crawlspace whispers, and fresh sheets gently washed with sacrifice and poison, and if you're careful in this ghost month, these poems will call upon the succubus to tend to your flesh wounds and scars.

These nightmares are sweeping fantasies that electrocute the senses as much as they dull the ache of loneliness by showing you what's hiding under your bed, in the back of your closet, and inside your head. Sng's poems dissect and flower, her autopsies are delicate blooms dressed with blood and syntax. Her words are charcoal and cotton, safe yet dressed in an executioner's garb.

Dream carefully. You've already made your bed. The nightmares you have now will not be kind. And you have no one to blame but yourself.

**********


On the collection:

"The poetry is lovely -- written in a variety of styles, and covering a variety of horror-related topics -- these two things combined keeps every page feeling fresh and fascinating. This is a great read by a massively talented poet."
-- Angie at Mediadrome
Full review: National Poetry Month review of A COLLECTION OF NIGHTMARES

"This collection of poetry by Christina Sng is meant to be read by candlelight in a dark, creepy room. While some poetry collections follow a theme or message, this collection captures the essence of the title perfectly, "A Collection of Nightmares". Any of these bite-sized terrors could find themselves slipping into your memory; making a return appearance while you sleep...a nugget of nightmare fuel. If you haven't yet experienced the allure of dark poetry such as this, let Christina Sng’s smartly spoken words work their magic on you. I promise, once you start collecting poetry like this, you'll never want to stop enjoying it."
-- Sadie Hartmann Mother Horror, Reviewer
Full review at Goodreads

"A Collection of Nightmares is poignant and disturbing, beautifully written and wildly ranging in subject matter and execution, horrific and wonderfully atmospheric. If a large chunk of contemporary poetry pushes me back into the comforting arms of novels, this collection violently pushed me to seek out more of Sng's work, and that's one hell of an achievement."
-- Gabino Iglesias, HorrorTalk
Full review at HorrorTalk

"A splendid collection of dark fantasy/horror and dark science fiction poetry. Many outstanding items among the 47 poems."
-- Jim Lee, reviewer
Full review at Jim Lee's Review Site

"This poetry collection is beautiful. The poems are dark and creepy. Just the way I like it...(They) drip with life and death. They are brutal and frightfully beautiful. Some will make you tear up, while others will give you chills...If you haven't read any horror poetry lately, then I suggest you remedy that immediately. This collection is a great place to start."
-- Cedar Hollow Horror Reviews
Full review at Cedar Hollow Horror Reviews

"Christina Sng writes beautifully, and she has put her heart into these poems...They had depth and emotion, and they were so descriptive. Many of the narrators of the poems seemed to be women, and it was easy to find things to relate to in this collection...there's such an intriguing variety in Christina's poetry that it was all enjoyable...A Collection of Nightmares would be a great introduction to someone who wants to try out horror poetry, but maybe doesn't want to get into super gory material yet. This book is definitely dark, but it's not as bleak as some others I have read. There's still some hope in these poems even though they are focused on nightmares."
-- Emily at book.happy
Full review at Goodreads

"With A Collection of Nightmares: Even the Most Exquisite Dreams Turn Dark, Sng spends much more time in longer-form poetry, but the twists of both theme and execution are even stronger than those of Astropoetry...A Collection of Nightmares spends more time exploring people trapped with their darkness...Sng's sense of humor is still present in A Collection of Nightmares, but here it takes the form of gallows humor of the darkest stylings...how these darkest ironies hold the strongest kernels of truth within them. A Collection of Nightmares demonstrates...Sng's thematic concerns of human agency. Our ability to succeed, our capacity to fail, and the bounds on both. And within that framework, Sng both places the reader as a human in a vast universe of space and of fear, and reminds us that even when surrounded by this vastness, being human matters."
-- Luke Forney, Star*Line Reviews

"...just in case you haven't read her poetry collection yet, I highly recommend the amazing Christina Sng's A Collection of Nightmares. It's beautiful, it's unsettling, it's absolutely perfect reading for February or any other month."
-- Gwendolyn Kiste, author of Rust Maidens and Bram Stoker Award nominee And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe

"Every poem is a gem!"
-- Debby Feo, author of Dark and Bloody Ground

"If you like your poetry dark--but also like it with a heart and soul--this is a great collection. I love how Christina Sng blends creepiness with human interaction. So many of the stories involve the links between family members, especially mothers and children. It captures, with remarkable emotional effect, the desire to protect in terrifying moments and the fear that only loving someone can bring to us."
-- Jennifer Crow, poet

"Christina Sng's Bram Stoker Award-winning collection could therefore not be more aptly named. Sng's work elicits the same hypnagogic surreality you've felt infusing your prone and vulnerable sleeping form during a particularly terrifying omnibus of nightmares."
-- Christa Carmen, poet
Full review at Goodreads

"Beautiful, dark, and lyrical. Sng paints each poem with detailed brushstrokes, creating evocative images that drip together to create a wonderfully, wicked story. Many pieces reminded me of an anti-fairytale, where we are given the opportunity to glance into the not so happy-ever-after endings. A stunning collection overall."
-- Sara Tantlinger, poet

"A Collection of Nightmares is a book that left me bloodthirsty for more."
-- John Reinhart, poet
Full review at Goodreads

"This collection is a magical mirror, showing us surprising, surreal images of some unique and common issues of terminal illness, etc.

From The Marvel of Flight: ...she poises / To plunge / Her cancer-stricken body / Into the air. / And soon, / She is flying.

Sng creates her own brand of myth, complete with carnivorous plants and creatures created when Sleep Takes a Vacation: We've become a city of wide-eyed / Shell-shocked zombies, wandering / Lost when night's curtain falls.

...a magic quilt of surreal and unique portraits turning the stuff of nightmares and pain into beautiful, even when bloody, images of release and redemption."
-- Linda D. Addison, award-winning author of How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend

"Participating in a Grand Guignol tradition that traces back to Shelley and Poe... there's a simultaneously more poignant and more disturbing undertow moving just beneath these spiny surfaces: the notion that, against terrifying events beyond our control, the compassion we carry with us will be our only line of defence, our last light shining through the kindness we show, all the more precious for how briefly it flashes."
-- Mike Allen, author of Hungry Constellations

"This is a book of breathtaking artistry. In verse that ranges widely in subject matter and metrical form, Christina Sng invariably focuses on just those words and images that evoke terror, otherworldliness, and fantasy. But deep emotional resonance is not absent, and Sng can evoke poignancy and melancholy as effortlessly as she can evoke fear and dread."
-- S. T. Joshi

"Christina Sng's poetry gives me the same feeling as observing a Kandinsky painting or hearing a Nine Inch Nails song: something immediate, deeply complex and intensely profound. It is, in short, a wonder."
-- Jason Erik Lundberg, author of Strange Mammals

"As I read this collection, I found myself exclaiming aloud, for there were so many I could relate to, and that is rare for me. Herein are poems that bite you by surprise, delight you with the weave of fresh fabric... A goodly number are dark SF story capsules, from alien interventions to surviving on a world ruined by mankind. I could not pick a single favorite. I loved them all."
-- Marge Simon, Bram Stoker Award-winning poet

"Each of these fifty or so potent poems are actually stunning little stories about terrifying transformations. Each of the tales she tells are chilling, but her poetic and playful approach spins you around in a vortex of exquisite language and a swirling miasma of wildly terrifying imagination until you yourself are transformed... left dizzy and eager for the next time around. A brilliantly twisted collection, sure to turn a number of heads."
-- Michael Arnzen, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Freakcidents and The Gorelets Omnibus

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Astropoetry
By Christina Sng
Alban Lake Publishing, February 2017
45 pages

Astropoetry by Christina Sng2018 Elgin Chapbook Award runner-up, Astropoetry celebrates the wonders and mysteries of space in scifaiku and lyrical prose.

Available in print US$6 and digital US$1.99 from Alban Lake Publishing.

Introduction:

"Reading this collection of short poetry by Christina is much like a night during the survey. We glimpse a wonder, ponder it for a time, then move on to another. The experience doesn't diminish with time. Instead, it builds, layer upon layer--or stripe upon stripe as we call it during the survey--to create a glimpse of this wondrous universe we inhabit. Turn the page, and start your own journey."
-- David Lee Summers, Astronomer and Author

On the collection:

"One could argue that the very nature of haiku, senryu, and other short poetic forms is to capture an essence and then deliver a twist. In Astropoetry: Poems Celebrating the Wonders and Mysteries of Space, Christina Sng exceeds and surpasses this, frequently starting with a twist and then delivering another. Even more essential to Astropoetry's success, beyond its technical acumen and deeply thought-out premises, is Sng's sense of humor, particularly around Halloween. This sense of joy mixes with the mystery and awe of humanity moving beyond Earth. Astropoetry captures the enormous scope of astronomical travel by layering its poems in the order of distance from the sun, out. We watch as humans take their first stab at colonization, and we see the beauty of the enormous astronomical bodies that ravage distant space. Astropoetry demonstrates...Sng's thematic concerns of human agency. Our ability to succeed, our capacity to fail, and the bounds on both. And within that framework, Sng both places the reader as a human in a vast universe of space and of fear, and reminds us that even when surrounded by this vastness, being human matters."
-- Luke Forney, Star*Line Reviews

"I have always enjoyed Christina's poetry, but I didn't know what a delightful trip I'd be taking when I started reading this collection! Many of her poems are tiny SF story capsules, just begging your imagination to take flight."
-- Marge Simon, SFPA Grand Master, 2015

"Christina Sng's poetry is concise, poignant, profound, and colorful. She takes scientific jargon and turns it into poetic beauty and, sometimes, sad commentary. I have been truly honored to feature her work so often in Scifaikuest. Astropoetry is a brilliant collection of her poetic gems."
-- Teri Santitoro, Editor, Scifaikuest, 2016

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An Assortment of Sky Things
By Christina Sng
ISBN: 978-981-11-1481-6
Allegra Press, October 2016

An Assortment of Sky Things by Christina SngNominated for an Elgin Chapbook Award in 2017, An Assortment of Sky Things is a poetic tour of the solar system and beyond in haiku and short poetry, including "Life on Titan", which earned an Honourable Mention in the 2015 Global Astronomy Month AstroPoetry Contest.

This limited print version of An Assortment of Sky Things is 18 pages, wallet-sized, printed on FSC-certified carbon neutral paper, saddle-stapled, hand-bound and cut.

Out of print.

On the collection:

"A fantastically fresh and marvellous collection!"
-- Marge Simon, SFPA Grand Master, 2015

"Sng's deftness in dealing with the chosen forms is matched only by the breadth of her imagination. In reading, I feel a great affinity for this poet, whose mind travels so widely and agilely across our solar system and beyond, and brings the stars into clear view, near enough almost to touch."
-- Shelly Bryant, writer, researcher, translator, and author of Pine the Passing, and Unnatural Selection

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A Constellation of Songs
By Christina Sng
ISBN: 978-981-11-1480-9
Allegra Press, October 2016 - Print
Origami Poems Project, October 2016 - PDF

A Constellation of Songs by Christina SngA Constellation of Songs by Christina Sng


Christina's first haiku collection, A Constellation of Songs, part of the Origami Poems Project, is available online as a free printable PDF micro chapbook.

A Constellation of Songs spans birth to death, illuminating the wonder and beauty of life in between. This 18 haiku collection includes two sumi-e from the poet and her daughter.

The print version of the chapbook is 16 pages, wallet-sized, printed on FSC-certified carbon neutral paper, saddle-stapled, hand-bound and cut.

Currently out of print - second printing slated for late 2018.

On the collection:

"If only life was as organized and accessible as this refined collection of haiku. Engaging surprises on every page explore life's richness and variety."
-- Michael Dylan Welch, founder of National Haiku Writing Month

"In A Constellation of Songs, Christina Sng brings us through the stages of life -- from the wonders of childhood to the agony of loss, culminating in the serendipity of acceptance. Each haiku is a song which strikes a bright note, punctuating our journey with moments that finally yield an illuminating melody."
-- Dr. Lynette Tan Yuen Ling, author of the Pittodrie Pirates series and lecturer at the National University of Singapore

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Catku
By Christina Sng
ISBN: 978-981-11-1483-0
Allegra Press, October 2016

CATKU by Christina SngCatku takes us on a whimsical life journey between a cat and its human, a tale woven with 21 haiku and senryu based on the poet's life with beloved cats. A must-have collection for all cat lovers.

The print version of Catku is 16 pages, wallet-sized, printed on FSC-certified carbon neutral paper, saddle-stapled, hand-bound and cut.

Currently out of print - second printing slated for late 2018.

Introduction:

The poet is both a participant and an observer of the world they inhabit. If you are a cat owner, it is easy then to see your feline friends as fellow poets. No fame, no publishing credits, but just the persistent purr of poetry for those who respect their characters and their musing as they share our lives. Christina Sng has found her muse, and her fellow poets in Kit and Boy, and merged their poems with hers. I am an unabashed cat lover myself, but for anyone who loves the short forms of haiku or senryu this volume will bring a purr to your ears as well. It is a most enjoyable read, from a poet who understands both the form and her felines well.
-- Michael Rehling, editor of Failed Haiku -- A Journal of English Senryu

On the collection:

"Poignant, witty and bittersweet at times, her beautiful compositions distill experiences for the reader and offer novel perspectives. Reading Catku affords a rich array of emotions, not least a rare empathy for living things."
-- Dr. Lynette Tan Yuen Ling, author of the Pittodrie Pirates series and lecturer at the National University of Singapore

"When I read Christina Sng's haiku/senryu, I think of fireflies -- her poems are tiny pulses of light briefly illuminating moments of joy, awe, surprise, sorrow. I am always glad of an opportunity to watch fireflies, just as I am always glad of an opportunity to experience Christina's haiku!"
-- JM Reinbold, editor, The Cicada's Cry: A Micro Zine of Haiku Poetry

"Though they say there are dog people and cat people, I believe that all of us see something special in cats: their individuality, their mysterious behavior, their love (given on their own accord), and much more.

Catku by Christina Sng is a celebration of and exposition into the lives we share with cats, and the inner lives of these felines through a mixture of light, meditative, and poignant haiku. There are standout haiku on every page, but the following are my favorite three from the book:

a world
of possibilities
kitten in a box

This points to several things: the possibilities of the power of innocence, the possibilities of the kitty tearing things up, and also imagining how the kitty will look in its future. Also, this haiku could be saying that our world is like a kitten in a box. It gives a lot for the reader to imagine and to ponder over. Notice also the great sense of sound with the use of "o" which gives the reader a strong sense of wonder.

meandering stream
our cat languorously
grooms herself

I love how the connection between the two parts of the haiku make one think if the stream is actually grooming its surroundings through its relaxed pace. People step on, spit on, and do whatever they like to Mother Earth, and the stream is in a sense cleaning and soothing the land. But on the other end, maybe it can be seen as the stream constantly purifying itself through its own movement. The sense of sound in this haiku is also intriguing, with a focus on "ea" in the first line, and "o" in the last two lines. The sound in the first line calls attention to the stream itself, and the sound in the last two lines lend to the slow pace of the stream.

white lilies
the empty pet bed
in the corner

Maybe the poet was sitting in her living room, and saw white lilies in her garden, and then turned to the white, empty pet bed in the room. White lilies commonly symbolize innocence and purity, and the empty pet bed gives a sharp contrast. This haiku implies that one of the poet's pets died not long ago, and seeing the white lilies maybe brought back memories of her pet, in all its sweetness and emotional fullness. The haiku could also be a reflection of where the pet has gone in the afterlife, and that maybe there is a sense of hope in seeing the white lilies. Whatever the haiku brings to the mind of the reader, it has a clear mood that can be felt palpably.

My recommendation would be to read this book alone with your cat, sipping some tea. The haiku are quite striking, comedic, and at times rather emotional, so it is good to give yourself space to read it."
-- Nicholas Klacsanzky, editor, Haiku Commentary

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Dark Dreams
By Christina Sng
Naked Snake Press, 2006; Smashwords, 2011

eBook available at Smashwords, iTunes, and Barnes & Noble

Dark Dreams Dark dreams linger at the fringes of our existence, spilling into poetry and art and music. In some, it is a quiet melancholy which seeps into our daily consciousness. For others, it manifests into a dark new reality. In her third collection, Christina Sng conjures 13 images of beauty and darkness in this abridged edition of Dark Dreams, which includes the Rhysling nominated poem "Medusa in LA".

There are the stories we never tell anyone. The ones we keep deep in the recesses of our minds. Dreams we create out of the darkness in which we live in. Sometimes the dreams can be so profound, so powerful, they manifest into reality. Sometimes we survive to tell the tale.

Take a deep breath, and dive into these 13 fables, etched in verse. Maybe you will find your own dark dreams in there.

This abridged version of Dark Dreams features the cover art of comic book artist Brian Hurtt and 11 of the 19 original poems published in 2006 by Naked Snake Press. 2 new poems "Sleep Takes a Vacation" and "Just as Papa Said" have been included to this revised edition.

Dark Dreams contains 13 of Christina Sng's best work from 2002-2006, including "Crimes of Our Youth" and "The Bone Carver", which received Honourable Mentions in the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, 16th and 17th Annual Editions in 2003 and 2004 respectively, as well as "Medusa in LA" which received a 2006 Rhysling Poetry Award nomination in the short poem category.

On the collection:

"Despite the dark content, Sng's poetry remains pleasant to read. There is a detachedness to her poetry, which allows the reader to experience the unpleasantness of the horror without being blindsided by grotesque or repulsive images or language. As the title indicates there is often a dreamlike quality of observation of the weirdness of our psyches."
-- Diane Severson Mori, reviewer for Amazing Stories

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The Darkside of Eden
By Christina Sng
ISBN 981-04-5750-2
Allegra Press, 2002

eBook available at SmashwordsiTunes, and Barnes & Noble

The Darkside of EdenChristina Sng's first collection takes you on a poetic journey into the dark and macabre underworld of nature where humanity's true face will be unpeeled before you, exposing its deepest buried fears and unspoken propensities.

This collection brings together the best of her poems published in 2001 and early 2002 from various North American magazines and anthologies.

On the collection:

"A highly recommended chapbook from an extraordinary poet of dark verse."
-- Jon Hodges, writer, poet, founder of Project Pulp

"The images in Pumpkin Girl were startling and perfect for Halloween, and Postwar -- very poignant."
-- Linda Addison, poet and editor of Space & Time

"There is a nice darkness and edge to her poems. Very gritty and sharp."
-- Frank Wu, award-winning SF/F artist

"Outstanding break-up poetry, with just the right amount of pride, bitterness and turn of the knife. Brilliant."
-- Megan J Bulloch, reviewer for The Swamp

"This is a superb collection. I've got mine; get yours."
-- Tyree Campbell, editor of Aoife's Kiss

"Wonderful collection!"
-- Sarah Guidry, editor of Crux

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