I make art
that defies complacency
& celebrates
messy miracles
“In the beginning, science tells us, the four fundamental forces of the universe were one—a single force encompassing all possible energies. Reading Topaz Winters’ poems, I am reminded of this fact, as her work, heritage and politics, intelligence and ardor fuse in an intensity both incandescent and compelling. Sparks fly, while a human hand reaches for another. Winters’ work is dazzling and deeply moving.”
Monica Youn
“The unflinchingly brilliant and reflective words of Topaz Winters will leave you breathless and profoundly understood.” — Blythe Baird
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“The unflinchingly brilliant and reflective words of Topaz Winters will leave you breathless and profoundly understood.” — Blythe Baird |
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I am a Singaporean-American writer, editor, & teaching artist. My latest book is So, Stranger (Button Poetry 2022), which won the Button Poetry Short Form Contest & was a 2025 Sealey Challenge Pick & LitBowl Best Poetry Book of 2022. My debut poetry collection, Portrait of My Body as a Crime I’m Still Committing (Button Poetry 2019 & 2024), was a finalist in the Lit Fox, Gaudy Boy, & Broken River Poetry Prizes. I’m the founder & editor-in-chief of Half Mystic Press, an independent, international, & interdisciplinary publishing project.
My poetry, fiction, & nonfiction have been published by Poetry Northwest, Foglifter, & Passages North, profiled in Vogue, Time Out, & Poets & Writers, & performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Centre for Fiction, & the Singapore Writers Festival. I am the recipient of fellowships from Lambda Literary, the Studios at MASS MoCA, & the Sundress Academy for the Arts. From 2015 to 2022 I wrote the annual column Silver-Tipped Swallow for Half Mystic Journal.
I hold a B.A. in English with certificates in Creative Writing, Visual Art, & Italian from Princeton University. I live between New York & Singapore. I have a black cat named Volta, & in my spare time I’m an amateur boxer, baker, & beekeeper.
