Cha contributor Lee Herrick is reading at Sacramento Poetry Centre this week. See more details here.
Monday, 23 November 2009
Sunday, 22 November 2009
ASIAN CHA Issue#9 Editorial
Better Housekeeping
Anniversaries are, of course, a traditional time to take stock, find your bearings, make predictions about future directions. On the occasion of our second anniversary issue, I felt this would be a good opportunity to do the same for Cha. What can I say about the last two years working on the journal? Well, in a lot of ways, really rather domestic and every day. Editing an online journal with your partner from your home does not always allow for the surprises of travel writing or the glitz of New York trade publishing. It becomes more a part of the quotidian, and the more practical aspects of the journal have a tendency to slip into the household routine: Have you uploaded the poems, yet? No, you just told me to make dinner, dear.
I do not wish, however, to characterize the management of the journal as just another task which could be described in Better Housekeeping. This would be a great disservice to the talented writers and artists who have allowed us to publish them, to our generous editors, to our criminally underappreciated webmaster and particularly to my co-editor, whose passion and tireless energy are the real driving force behind this publication. Without her, Cha does not publish every three months, does not exist. She runs the journal. I just make the salad.
And the truth is that through all of them—the writers, the editors, the webmaster, my co-editor—I have had a chance to experience much of Asia and the rest of the world. The written word and the Internet are perhaps the two best ways to travel, to experience new things without ever leaving the comfort of your house. And for me, they have come together in Cha. My role at the journal is as much tea cup traveller as it is editor. The trips are taken, as they should be with literature, on the page; a sojourn in a new exotic location, or a surprisingly exotic moment spent in a familiar one. And the wonderful thing is that every morning, there is a new bunch of pieces to read in my inbox.
The submissions we receive reveal not only the great depth of Asian experience, but also a consistently deep pool of talent and vision. Sure not everything that comes over the wires is a masterwork (some of it, frankly, is a trip in another way), but a lot of it is very good indeed. When we started Cha two years ago, we were sure that there was a lot of great writing from and about Asia out there, and all we had to do was start a home page and it would come flooding into our email boxes. We had no idea. In the first issue of the journal, we wrote: "Yes, it is true that there are a limited number of English writers in Asia, but certainly not nearly as few as the more cynical commentators suggest." It turns out that I was also one of those cynics—there were far more than I thought too.
I also had no sense of the diversity of the Asian writing community. When we began, I assumed that Asian writers were those found on the continent, locals, maybe a handful of expats. I have come to realise that this definition was far too narrow—that in a globalised world the idea of Asian writing must be more inclusive and fluid, must encompass the perspectives of writers from the diasporas, travellers to the region, even people with an interest in the continent. Asia it turns out is everywhere. All you have to do is open your doors. How else can one run a Hong-Kong based journal from a house in London?
I feel myself very lucky that through Cha I have been able to connect to this community, to be even a small part of the Asian writing. Of course, in most cases it has been a wireless connection, made through my computer from my kitchen table. This may strike some as tenuous, virtual. And perhaps in some ways it is. But for all its detachment and anonymity, the Internet is also remarkably intimate, surprisingly authentic. It has the ability to bring the foreign right to your screen, to make the remote immediate. I am amazed that we have fans in Argentina, thrilled that we receive submissions from Mongolia, honoured that people who I have never met in person would be our guest editors. But I am happy to say, that while this is all very exotic and exciting, it is also rather domestic and every day, too. It has been immensely rewarding to have your stories in my email and to have strangers help with the chores in our little teahouse.
I couldn't imagine a better bit of housekeeping.
Jeff Zroback / Co-editor
Cha
22 November, 2009
CHA Issue#9 Goes Live
Second Anniversary Issue of Cha: An Asian Literary Journal
We are pleased to announce that the second anniversary issue of Cha has now been launched. It features a new editorial reflecting on the journal's first two years written by co-editor Jeff Zroback. The following writers/artists have generously allowed us to showcase their work: Ankur Agarwal, Viona Au Yeung, Steve Ausherman, Iain S. Baird, Bob Bradshaw, Caroline Bird, Drew Calvert, Kevin Chan, Stuart Christie, Melody S. Gee, Bernard Henrie, Arlene Kim, Lillian Kwok, Mark Malby, Edgar Y.B. Mao, Reid Mitchell, Moira Moody, Aryanil Mukherjee, Kristine Ong Muslim, Priyadarshi Patnaik, Craig Santos Perez, Donna Pucciani, Kate Rogers, Vera Schwarcz, Kirpal Singh, Lee Minh Sloca, C. P. Stewart, Ira Sukrungruang, Phoebe Tsang, Alice Tsay, Anna Yin and Yong Shu Hoong.
We would like to thank our guest editors Reid Mitchell (poetry) and Jonathan Mendelsohn (prose) who read the submissions with us. They were the perfect readers: opinionated, patient and insightful. We would also like to point out that our Reviews section, under the strong leadership of our Reviews Editor Eddie Tay, continues to grow. If you have a book you would like reviewed or you would like to review a book, please contact Eddie at eddie@asiancha.com.
We would also like to officially welcome two former contributors and guest editors to our regular staff. Reid Mitchell has agreed to be Cha’s Consulting Editor; he has been helping us with the journal since its inception and is instrumental in the running of Cha. Bob Bradshaw is now our valued Tea Taster for our A Cup of Fine Tea critique column. Bob consistently provides us with his insightful comments on the work we select to discuss. Cha is run entirely on a voluntary basis and we are really grateful to have Reid and Bob on board to help make the journal better.
Finally, our tenth issue is due out in February 2010. We are very happy to say that we have our first female guest editor! Poet and three-time Cha contributor Gillian Sze will lend us her expertise to select work for the next issue. The deadline for submissions is January 10th. If you have a piece you think would be right for Cha, please do not hesitate to submit.
We hope that you enjoy the new issue.
Tammy Ho & Jeff Zroback
Cha
Ashok Niyogi in Quay
Ashok Niyogi's poems "Best of Burden" and "Himalayan Stream at Dawn" are published in the Spring 2009 issue (Vol. 3.1) of Quay: A Journal of the Arts.
Ten books to be launched by Association of Stories in Macau
ASM’s2009 Publications
Ten books to be launched at Fantasia Galleries on Saturday 5th December, 2009 3pm – 5 pm.
Macao's most prominent community publisher, ASM (Association of Stories in Macao) is to launch ten new poetry (and related) titles this year. The launch is to be at Fantasia Galleries in the Tap Seac District and to take place on Saturday 5th December at 3 pm.
ASM is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of writing and other artistic expression from and about Macao. Established in 2005, ASM has so far published twenty five books, works of fiction, poetry and pedagogy. Following last year’s six book launch which featured the poetry anthologies I Roll the Dice and Pluck a Lotus for Pleasure several new large scale poetry anthologies will be appearing this year.
In the classical poetry series:
Fragrance of Damask – Women Poets of the Tang Dynasty
– bilingual Chinese/English edition
translated by Christopher Kelen, Amy Wong, Hilda Tam, Iris Fan and Song Zijiang
Companion to ASM’s anthology of Song Women Poets Pluck a Lotus for Pleasure, published in 2008, Fragrance of Damask provides the English reader with a comprehensive collection of works of more than thirty women poets of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E). Along with little known authors of the period, some of the most famous are represented here by works previously untranslated. Included are Li Re, Yu Xuan Ji, She Tao. These collaborative translations are from the University of Macau’s 1958group. (around 442pp)
***
Published in 2008, I Roll the Dice (420pp) was the first serious English language anthology of Macao poetry. Sampling poetry written in three languages (Chinese, Portuguese and English) that collection featured the work of more than one hundred poets and sixteen translators. This year ASM is launching a companion volume
Portuguese Poets of Macao – bilingual Portuguese/English editionOrganised on historical principles, this anthology is the first comprehensive collection of Portuguese-language Macao poetry for the English-language reader. Including Alves, Oliveira, Dias, Arrimar, Marreiros and many more. (around 400pp)
The other major anthology to be launched this year is Fires Rumoured about the City – Anthology of Contemporary Australian Poets
This volume will bring together selections from the poetry of fourteen Australian poets, these poems published for the first time in Chinese. Includes translations of the poetry of Thomas Shapcott, Alan Jefferies, Jane Gibian, Judy Johnson and Rae Desmond Jones. These collaborative translations are from the University of Macau’s 1958group. (around 400pp)
***
Apart from the anthologies, six first books of poems will be launched. These are:
Lost in the Afternoon – Iris Fan – bilingual Chinese/English edition
This experimental conversation across languages offers the reader poetic responses to many experiences and cultural phenomena, including especially the poetry of indigenous women. The book is organized in a bilingual parallel text format but the Chinese and English texts presented are not translations; rather they represent a personal interaction across cultures. (around 160pp)
Macao Temple Poems – Petra Seak – bilingual Chinese/English
Employing the haibun style of Basho’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North, this prose-and-verse tour of Macao’s temples takes us to some of the best known of Macao’s spiritual landmarks and as well in to some of the less frequented alleys of the city. A book which aids in understanding the soul of Macao (around 90pp).
Everybody has a Pet – Debby Sou Vai Keng
Around Macao and around the world, the challenging and often quirky poetry of Macao painter, Debby Sou, takes us to unexpected but familiar places. These poems are about various aspects of spiritual attachment. (around 80pp)
***
Three of these first books of poetry are the beginning of ASM’s bilingual poetry chapbook series. These are:
Winter Story – Lili Han – 54pp
The Green here was Pink – Hilda Tam Hio Man – 32pp
Wiping the Dim Sky – Chris Song Zijiang – 36pp
***
A new series of Culture and Theory volumes is also being commenced this year.
City of Poets, first volume in the Culture and Theory series, is a critical companion to last year’s I Roll the Dice anthology. Through interdisciplinary means it deals with persistent themes in contemporary Macao poetry (around 200pp).
Luisa Igloria in No Tell Motel
Luisa Igloria will be the featured poet in No Tell Motel in the week of November 23. Do check out the website then!
Luisa A Igloria's poetry has been published in issue #2 and issue #8 Cha.
Prashani Rambukwella's Mythil's Secret Reviewed
Prashani Rambukwella's Mythil's Secret is reviewed in Sunday Observer, a Sri Lanka's English newspaper. Congratulations, Prashani! You can read the review here and an excerpt from the book here.
CHA contributors in Mascara Literary Review 6
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Two new books by Vera Schwarcz
Please click the covers below for the press releases for two new books by Vera Schwarcz: Brief Rest in the Garden of Flourishing Grace: Poems of Remembrance and Loss bythe Manchu Prince Yihuan: (Renditions from the Chinese by Vera), published by Red Heifer Press and Chisel of Remembrance, published by Antrim House Books.
Vera Schwarcz's poetry will be published in issue #9 of Cha.
Sushma Joshi and the Ubud Festival in the media
There has been some newspaper coverage on the Ubud Festival 2009, of which Cha contributor Sushma Joshi is one of the speakers/participants. Read the following articles to learn more:
- An Affair to Remember, Janet O'Neefe, Garuda Indonesia 11/2009
- Carnival Lights up Ubud Fest, Jakarta Post 10/11/2009
- Words Amidst Beauty, Lee Su kim, Malaysia Star 10/18/2009
Monday, 16 November 2009
CHA contributors in 13th Biennial Symposium on Literatures and Cultures of the Asia-Pacific Region
Cha contributors Agnes Lam, Mark Malby and Christopher (Kit) Kelen will be speaking at the 13th Biennial Symposium on Literatures and Cultures of the Asia-Pacific Region. Read more about the event here.
- Mark Malby's photography has previously been published in issue #2 of Cha. Some new works will be appearing in issue #9 of the journal as well.
Arlene Ang in ouroboros review
Arlene Ang's poem "Strewn Cellophane Noodles" is now published in the fourth issue of Ouroboros Review. Read the issue here.
Arlene Ang's poetry has been published inissue #1 of Cha.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Reid Mitchell in ZONE
Reid Mitchell has three new poems published in ZONE: International Journal of Poetry and Prose: "FELISBERTO HERNANDEZ", "No Trumpets" and "You Don't Get One Thing Without The Other". Read the poems here.Reid Mitchell is consulting editor of Cha.
Ivy Alvarez in The Best Australian Poems 2009
Ivy Alvarez's poem "Curing the animal" appears in The Best Australian Poems 2009 (Black Inc Books). See more here.
Monday, 9 November 2009
Reid Mitchell in The Furnace Review
Reid Mitchell's new poem "Tiny Pyramids" is now published in the Fall 2009 issue of The Furnace Review.
Reid Mitchell is consulting editor of Cha.
Alistair Noon in L I t T e R
Alistair Noon's essay "November Notes (the Fall of the Berlin Wall)" is aptly published in November in L I t T e R. Read it here.
Alistair Noon's poetry and creative non-fiction have been published in issue #2 of Cha. His poem "The Expat Partner: An Email" is analysed here.
Bob Bradshaw in Poetry Friends
Bob Bradshaw's poetry has been published in issue #1 of Cha and he serves as the guest editor (issue #7 May 2009) of the journal. He is also a Tea Taster for Cha's critique column, A Cup of Fine Tea.
Friday, 6 November 2009
Arlene Ang in Diagram
Read Arlene Ang's new work "UNIDENTIFIED DARK OBJECT (WITH SHOELACE)" in the new issue (issue #9.5) of DIAGRAM.
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