Bundles of Letters, Including A, V and Epsilon by Arlene Ang and Valerie Fox

Bundles of Letters, Including A, V and Epsilon, co-authored by Arlene Ang and Valerie Fox, and published by texture press, is now available for purchase here.


Arlene Ang's poetry has been published in issue #1 of Cha.

Tin Dragons by John Biggs

John Biggs's new novel Tin Dragons has recently been published. You can read some excerpts from the book here.

Description: Jack Yang, orphaned in a horrific incident during the Tai Ping Revolution in China, seeks a new life far away in the tin mines at Emu Flat in Tasmania, as do many of his fellow Chinese. Emu Flat is also a magnet for misfits and fortune-hunters, including a crooked mine manager, his muscle-bound minder, the evil Wu Ying, and Terry and Lizzie, two working girls in the guise of English teachers. A dangerous swindle by Wu Ying throws them all together. Terry falls in love with Jack but he, recognising Wu Ying as the one who destroyed his family, is too obsessed with exacting a savage revenge …

John Biggs's poem "His Old Man Suit" was published in Issue #2 of Cha.

Asia Literary Review (September 2008)

Reid Mitchell, Mani Rao, and Eddie Tay have new works published in the latest issue of Asia Literary Review (September 2008).

• Read Reid Mitchell's Cha profile. 
• Mani Rao's poetry was published in issue #1 of Cha.
• Read Eddie Tay's Cha profile. 

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Bob Bradshaw's Poem in Halfway Down the Stairs

Bob Bradshaw's new poem "A Passion for French" is now published in the new issue of Halfway Down the Stairs.

Read Bob Bradshaw's Cha profile.

Yuan Yang: Call for Submissions

Yuan Yang: A Journal of Hong Kong and International Writing (Co-editor: Marina Ma) is now accepting submissions of poems, short stories, short plays and creative non-fiction in English. Yuan Yang is also accepting submissions for the cover. Only images in portrait orientation can be accepted. All images submitted should be in jpeg format and 100dpi resolution (a file of higher resolution will be required upon selection for publication). Submission guidelines can be found here. Deadline: 30 September 2008.

Marina Ma's poetry was published in issue #3 of Cha.

Bob Bradshaw's Poem in Poetry Friends

Bob Bradshaw's poem "Desperate, I'm Learning to Skate" has been published in Poetry Friends recently.

Read Bob Bradshaw's Cha profile.

Across the Water by Alistair Noon

Across the Water, a new e-chapbook by Alistair Noon (published by Mimesis Poetry) is available here.


























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Alistair Noon's poetry and creative non-fiction were published in issue #2 of Cha. His poem "The Expat Partner: An Email" is analysed here.

New Nepal, New Voices Co-edited by Sushma Joshi

New Nepal, New Voices, co-edited by Sushma Joshi and published by Rupa Publications, has recently been launched.

Some reviews of the book:
1) "To Cut a Long Story Short"
2) "Anglicized Portraits" (see below)

Editors Sushma Joshi and Ajit Baral explain in their note that because they had decided to take stories written in English (and not accept translations) for this anthology, they had difficulty in finding works by Janjati and Dalit women of Nepal. This immediately places the writers in the category of English-literate Nepalese and Nepal-dwelling westerners, not quite befitting the title New Nepal New Voices (Rupa).

The choice of the first story 'The Face Of Carolyn Flint' is jarring. And reading it would be reason enough to put the book aside. But the second story, 'Scorpion's Sting' prompts you to carry on. It is followed by 'Love And Lust In The Maoist Hinterland', 'Old Iron Trunks', 'Law and Order', 'Regiment Training In An Open Ground', each of which captures the basic essence of the Himalayan nation. And among these stories, Greta Rana's 'The Hill' is outstanding. Facets of Nepalese society, mostly Kathmandu based, are neatly packaged in stories like 'Dark Kathmandu Sideways' and 'The Interview'. The language is easy and evolved, despite the occasional use of American slangs. Manjushree Thapa's 'Walk Fast' is one of the most concisely written in the collection. And while it does not actually tell a tale, it engenders a larger story which builds itself up in the reader's mind.

Despite the initial hiccups, the anthology is an impressive collection of stories from Nepal — a country with no dearth of ideas or talent. It is a promising sign of things to come. —Jyoti Thapa Mani

Sushma Joshi's fiction has been published in issue #3 of Cha.

The Kingsbury Tales by Ouyang Yu

The Kingsbury Tales is a collection of poetry by Ouyang Yu and published by Brandl & Schlesinger. In this book, Kingsbury is where the poet has been based since he came from the People's Republic of China in 1991, the first time he came into extensive contact, and conflict with a very different culture and multi-culture.

Covering a period of about 160 years from the First Opium War (1840) to the beginnings of the 21st century, The Kingsbury Tales serves up a poetic plate of multi-taste choice foods with choice tales, each tale represented by a poem, not longer than one A-4 page, told by people from all walks of life, including wives, concubines, lawyers, diplomats, students, professors, factory workers, mental patients and visitors, from a colonial and postcolonial point of view.

The book explores and depicts poetic characters in a similar way that Geoffrey Chaucer did many hundreds years ago in The Canterbury Tales. The stories in The Kingsbury Tales are also arranged in sections, such as 'Historical Tales', 'Women's Tales', 'Men's Tales', 'Professors' Tales', and 'The Empire Tales'. Some of the poems have already been published in literary journals such as Eureka Street, Griffith Review, Cordite, Westerly, Island and Southerly.

"Ouyang Yu's poetry—acerbic, funny, wickedly political—is unremittingly concerned with the strangeness, multiplicity and horror of the real. The Kingsbury Tales is a major new work that shows Yu’s brilliance and range. The tales make up a rich and sprawling account of the complex interactions between China and Australia , between selves and the world. Filled with stories from history, memory and everyday conversation, The Kingsbury Tales is both a profoundly shocking and deeply entertaining work of poetry." --David McCooey

Ouyang Yu's poem "Bad English" was published in Issue 4 of Cha and discussed in A Cup of Fine Tea.

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Bob Bradshaw and Nicholas Y.B. Wong are Poetry Reviewers for Sotto Voce Magazine

Bob Bradshaw and Nicholas Y.B. Wong are now poetry reviewers for Sotto Voce Magazine.

• Read Bob Bradshaw's Cha profile.
• Read Nicholas Y.B. Wong's Cha profile.

Nutley Pond by Lyn Lifshin

Nutley Pond, a new poetry collection by Lyn Lifshin, published by Goose River Press, is now available. In the book, Lifshin takes us through shifting seasons at the water's edge. She moves from winter in the ebony cove to spring when geese honk the sun back into summer with its wind of white rose petals and white clouds of doves into fall with its ruby oaks and the coming blue sack of cold. Her introduction talks of the beauties and terrors of living so close to the pond and of the thrill of finding one of the original geese in the magnificent Operation Migration that taught motherless geese to follow a an ultra-lite air craft. You will feel the late November wind, be with her feeding black ducks and listen, too, to goose music at midnight. You can learn more about the book here.

Lyn Lifshin's poems were published in issue 4 and issue 10 of Cha

Cha: An Asian Literary Journal in 34th Parallel

Cha appears on pp. 62-63 of the latest issue of 34th Parallel (September 2008). Thank you, 34th Parallel!

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Reality Dreams by Ouyang Yu

Reality Dreams by Ouyang Yu and published by Picaro Press is now available. What is reality? What are dreams? What are reality dreams or dream realities? The poems collected in Reality Dreams are a profound exploration into the borderlands of dream and reality where the two become one and death re-dies, only to live again. To learn more about the book, see here.

Ouyang Yu's poem "Bad English" was published in Issue 4 of Cha and discussed in A Cup of Fine Tea.

Cha: An Asian Literary Journal Mentioned in South China Morning Post

Click to enlarge.

Hong Kong Poet Shines

As mentioned earlier, Hong Kong poet Arthur Leung won third prize (£500) in the inaugural Edwin Morgan International Poetry Competition for his poem "What the Pig Mama Says". Leung is the only Asian who took home a prize from the competition. He attended the award ceremony held at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on 17 August.

Arthur's success has been widely reported by the Hong Kong media over the past few days, showing that there is a strong interest in poetry and writing in the city. Cha congratulates Arthur on his inspiring success.

Read Arthur Leung's Cha profile here.

Lost in the Fog by Lyn Lifshin

Lyn Lifshin's poetry collection Lost in the Fog, to be published by Finishing Line Press, is now available for pre-order.

The poems in Lost in the Fog are about the blue collar $13,000 weanling and $18,000 yearling that got his name the day his owner literally lost him in the fog; they will take you back to the fall of 2006 when The Fog and Barbaro were held in so many hearts. The dark mahogany horse with that striking splash of white won ten straight races and he was favored at every start. But how amazing a warrior he was was still unfolding. As one of the fastest horses in the world, he had beaten track records at races all over the country. He was in wild demand as a stallion. In the summer of 2006, the fairy tale turned upside down and The Fog spent his last days pampered and surrounded by everything those who adored him could do to make him comfortable and happy.

Lost in the Fog can be pre-ordered here.

Lyn Lifshin's poems were published in issue 4 and issue 10 of Cha
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Reid Mitchell's Poems in Softblow

Reid Mitchell's poems "When She Asks Me Which One I Love The Best", "Fox Spirits", and "Spring Cannot Be Locked In A Garden" are now published in Softblow, a poetry ezine based in Singapore.

Reid Mitchell's poetry has been published in issue #1 and issue #4 of Cha. He will serve as the guest editor for issue#5 of the journal.

Bias: Offensively Chinese/Australian by Ouyang Yu

Bias: offensively Chinese/Australian (Otherland publication) is a collection of essays by Ouyang Yu. The book is divided into eight sections, with critical articles on Australian and Chinese poetry, Australian literature, writings in the Chinese diaspora, cultural and linguistic identities, literary translations, Australian/Chinese reciprocal representations, one interview and selected reviews of Ouyang Yu and his works, as well as an extensive Selected Bibliography on works by and on Ouyang Yu. The title of the book is based on Joseph Furphy' well-known remark: 'Temper: Democratic. Bias: Offensively Australian'.

Among these articles originally published in Australia and overseas, there is the earliest piece on Alex Miller and Brian Castro that Ouyang wrote in English in 1992 after he first arrived in 1991 and other provocative pieces such as 'Absence Asia: What's Wrong with Australian Poetry?' and 'Let's Eat Chinese'.

To order a copy and for more information, please visit here.

Ouyang Yu's poem "Bad English" was published in Issue 4 of Cha and discussed in A Cup of Fine Tea.

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The Girl in the Black Sweater by J. A. Tyler

J. A. Tyler's new prose/poetry chapbook The Girl in the Black Sweater, published by Trainwreck Press, is now out. The Girl in the Black Sweater is a story of a man who imagines a perfect woman, an affair, all to avoid his pretending sickly wife and a daugther who never should have been. The chapbook is available for purchase here. Tyler is also currently running a deal on this, throwing in a separate title for free with chapbook orders from him directly. Here is the link to that deal.

Two other books by J. A. Tyler are coming out in 2009: a novella from Ghost Road Press and a multi-author chapbook collective from Paperhero Press. More details to follow.

J. A. Tyler's fiction was published in issue #1 of Cha.

John Biggs has a New Website

John Biggs has a new Tasmanian website which provides information about his writings, travelogues, photography, and more.

John Biggs's poem "His Old Man Suit" was published in Issue #2 of Cha.
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Anindita Sengupta's Poem in Quay Journal

Anindita Sengupta's poem "Older" is now published in Quay: A Journal of the Arts (July-December 2008).

Anindita Sengupta's poetry was published in issue #3 of Cha.

Concelebratory Shoehorn Review 21

Issue #21 of Concelebratory Shoehorn Review (editor: Maurice Oliver) is now online. Read poetry by Joseph Harrington, A. E. Stallings, Adam Clay, John Tranter, Leonard J. Cirino, Paul Guest, Rachel Custer, and Victoria Chang. Also included in this issue is photography of Kees Terberg and art of Trinity Rivard.



Maurice Oliver's poetry has been published in issue #3 of Cha.

Press 1 (Volume 2, Number 2)

The 5th issue of Press 1 (Co-editor: Arlene Ang) is now live. It features visual artistry of Héctor Pineda García; poetry by Jillian Bledsoe, Allan Peterson, Karin Randolph, Paul Siegell, Rina Terry, David Michael Wolach, and Changming Yuan; fiction by John Bruce, Kate Evans, and Nathan Leslie; plus an exclusive interview with Jayne Pupek.

Arlene Ang's poetry has been published in issue #1 of Cha.

Arthur Leung Wins Third Prize in Major International Competition

Arthur Leung's poem, "What the Pig Mama Says", wins the third prize of £500 in the inaugural Edwin Morgan International Poetry Competition.

Read Arthur Leung's Cha profile here.
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Mani Rao's Poem in Tinfish 18

Mani Rao's long poem "Sol" (a set of 5 poems) is published in the The Long Poem Issue of Tinfish (Issue 18).

About Tinfish 18: Tinfish 18 offers an issue devoted to the Long Poem. Contributors include Mani Rao, Alysha Wood, Lynn Xu, David Perry, Stephen Collis, Endi Bogue Hartigan, and Norman Fischer, engaging issues of translation, form (including collage, the sonnet sequence, and the elegy), contemporary politics, and more.

Mani Rao's poetry was published in issue #1 of Cha.

Sridala Swami's Poems in Pratilipi

Sridala Swami has three poems published in Pratilipi, a bi-lingual literary journal in English and Hindi. The three poems are "Red Chillies", "Chimera", and "Songlines: Six".

Sridala Swami's poetry was published in issue #3 of Cha.
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Robert Abel Reviewed Beijing Coma

Robert Abel's review of Ma Jian's Beijing Coma is now published in Asian Review of Books (2 August 2008).

Robert also has a story forthcoming in the 50th anniversary of Massachusetts Review in October 2008.

Robert Abel's fiction has been published in issue #2 of Cha.

Seaway: New and Selected Poems by Todd Swift

Todd Swift's awaited European debut collection is out from the Irish press Salmon Publishing, this November. Drawing on over two decades of published poetry, Seaway: New and Selected Poems, includes 80 poems, written between 1988 and 2008.

Todd Swift's poetry has been published in issue #2 and issue #3 of Cha.

South China Morning Post - Young Post

Literature and art find online home

Hong Kong

Jeff Zroback and Tammy Ho came up with the idea of an online journal two years ago. They noticed that, despite anabundance of English online journals around the world, there were none in Hong Kong.

Zroback, an editor, and Ho, a writer with editorial experience,s et up the city's first online literary journal which focuses on Asia, Cha.

Cha publishes poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, drama, reviews, photography and art.

"Our only requirements are the pieces be about Asian topics or by writers who are living in or are from Asia," they said.

"We are interested in writing on a wide variety of subjects as long as it's well-written and expresses something engaging."

Many of the contributors are recognised and published authors, but Cha's amateur writers have found more work as a result of publicising their work on the journal.

"We are interested insupporting young writers and new voices. We're certain there are many talented young authors, photographers, and artists in the region. And we hope Cha can provide themwith a platform."

Go to www.asiancha.com to read the journal

By Young Post Beatrix Chau

HK Magazine

Cha: An Asian Literary Journal is mentioned in HK Magazine article "Writer's Block" (25 July 2008).