Kagan Goh
In residence at Historic Joy Kogawa House from November 2014 to February 2015
Kagan Goh was born in Singapore in 1969. After years of travelling, he emigrated with his family to Canada in 1986 and now resides in Vancouver. He is a spoken word poet, playwright, actor, mental health advocate, and activist.
Kagan has been published in several anthologies, including Strike the Wok: An Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Canadian Fiction (TSAR Publications), Henry Chow and Other Stories from the Asian Canadian Writer’s Workshop (Tradewinds Books), Solamente en San Miguel: A Literary Celebration, Volume III (San Miguel Literary Sala) and Alive at the Center (Ooligan Press).
He has also been published in periodicals and magazines such as Ricepaper, Misfit Lit, SARE: Southeast Asian Review of English, and Open Minds Quarterly. In 2012, Select Books of Singapore published his debut book, Who Let in the Sky?
Goh is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker with a number of releases, including Mind Fuck (1996) and Stolen Memories (2012). His films have been broadcast on national television and screened at respected film festivals across Canada.
Kagan Goh’s debut memoir, Surviving Samsara, recounts his struggles with manic depression, breaking the silence around mental illness. Surviving Samsara was also a multimedia multidisciplinary live theatrical production of the same name that incorporated dramatic performances, spoken word, music, and audiovisuals.