Videopoem for Kenji C. Liu’s “A Son Writes Back”

LR contributor Kenji C. Liu sent us a link to this awesome video he created for his poem “A Son Writes Back” (the most recent version of which appeared in Issue 2). The video combines an audio performance of Kenji’s poem with musical accompaniment by Jason Jong.  According to its caption on Vimeo, the visuals in the piece are footage from “a US Air Force propaganda film portraying aerial attacks on Imperial Japan during World War II.”  Watch the embedded version below, or follow the links beneath it to watch on Vimeo.

(A Son Writes Back – Poetry by Kenji C. Liu – Kou Xiang by Jason Jong from Kenji Liu on Vimeo).

W. Todd Kaneko Featured by the Los Angeles Review

Not only does Issue 3 contributor W. Todd Kaneko’s work appear in the 10th issue of the Los Angeles Review, but the magazine recently featured his poem “Remembering Minidoka” online as one of the issue’s “highlights”!  To read the piece, click here.  Many congrats to Todd on this honor.

Bao Phi’s Sông I Sing Reviewed in the New York Times

The heading says it all: Bao Phi’s collection, which Greg Choy reviewed for us last week, has been reviewed (and highly praised), by The New York Times.  Our congratulations to Bao on these well-deserved accolades.

Melissa R. Sipin responds to Kimiko Hahn

Issue 3 contributor Melissa R. Sipin was inspired enough by Wendy’s interview with Kimiko Hahn (and by the APR interview that Wendy references) that she wrote a poem in response!  She’s shared it on her blog.  Thanks, Melissa, for your thoughtful engagement with Kimiko’s words!

Sulu DC's 2nd Anniversary Show

Our friends at Sulu DC (whom we profiled in LR Issue 2 and had the privilege of featuring on the blog last year through Simone Jacobson’s “Sulu Spotlight” column) are celebrating their second birthday this Saturday night (Nov 19th) with a special Anniversary and Awards show.  The event, which will be held at 6:30 pm at Artisphere in Arlington, VA (at 1101 Wilson Blvd), will be hosted by Regie Cabico and will feature a screening of “Wedding Night” by deaf filmmaker Sabina England, as well as performances by Keva I. Lee, Chip Han, J Pharaoh & the Manhattan Project, and DJ Boo. The following awards will also be presented: Artist of the Year, Community Contribution, Community Partner, and the Sulu DC Audience, Star, and House Awards. Tickets are available online for $20.

Congratulations to Sulu DC on two fabulous years of art, community-building, curation, and performance! If you live in Virginia or the DC Metro area, please do consider helping to support their work by checking out their show.

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Marc Vincenz’s The Propaganda Factory (Argotist EBooks 2011)

Marc Vincenz's THE PROPAGANDA FACTORY

Contributor Marc Vincenz’s new e-book The Propaganda Factory was released by Argotist EBooks this past August.  In this short collection (which includes “Taishan Mountain,” a poem that first appeared in LR issue 2), Marc weaves together layers of history and geography through an ever-shifting range of lenses that take us from the level of the microscopic to the realm of the galactic at a moment’s notice.  It is available for download here.

Kim Koga’s ligature strain (TinFish Press 2011)

Kim Koga's LIGATURE STRAIN

Issue 3 contributor Kim Koga now has a chapbook (ligature strain) out with TinFish.  In this linked sequence, which was published as #6 in TinFish’s current retro chap series, Kim floods the page and the mind’s eye with feverish, liquidly intense imagery that involves birth, echolocation, pink and white flesh, and lots of fetal beavers (yes, the actual animal).  Be on the lookout for more about ligature strain later this month.

Official Launch of How Do I Begin?: A Hmong American Literary Anthology

HOW DO I BEGIN?

The Hmong American Writers’ Circle, whom we featured in Issue 3, officially launched its anthology, How Do I Begin? (Heyday Books 2011), in late October. The book is now available for purchase via Heyday’s web site.  We’re absolutely thrilled that this landmark anthology is finally in print, and are incredibly excited to see the HWAC’s hard work on it come to fruition. 

Kartika Review Issue 10

KARTIKA REVIEW - Issue 10

Kartika Review‘s beautiful tenth issue has just hit the web (and Lulu, too—as it is now also available in either black-and-white or full-color hard copy!), and we were especially elated to see the poetry section, which is edited by Kenji C. Liu (of LR issue 2) and includes work by two of our other past contributors: Kathleen Hellen (Issue 2) and Melissa R. Sipin (Issue 3)!  The issue also includes one of Timothy Yu’s fantastically irreverent “Chinese Silence” poems (a series that began as a response to Orientalist tropes in Billy Collins’ work), and poems and an interview with Ed Bok Lee.

TAYO Literary Magazine Issue 3

TAYO - Issue 3

TAYO, the extraordinarily-designed Filipino literary magazine for whom Melissa Sipin (of LR Issue 3) serves as Creative Director, has just put out its gorgeous third issue. The issue, which includes poetry by LR Issue 2 contributor Aimee Suzara and an interview with LR  Issue 1 contributor Barbara Jane Reyes, is available both in print and in a special, new online edition.

Cura: A Literary Magazine of Art and Action

CURA: A Literary Magazine of Art & Action

Kundiman founder Sarah Gambito recently announced the release of the first issue of CURA, a literary project that is produced out of the Creative Writing program at Fordham University.  Edited by Sarah and designed by LR Issue 3 contributor Monica Ong, each issue is curated according to a prompt that draws its inspiration from a central theme (this year, the theme is “home”).  Issue 1 features work by Bushra Rehman (LR Issue 1) and our very own staff writer (and Issue 1 contributor) Henry W. Leung alongside poems by the likes of  Robert Bly and Evie Shockley.  CURA is accepting submissions through Thursday for its second issue, whose prompt is “the body as home”—so please consider sending something their way!

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Many congratulations to Oliver, Marc, Kim, HWAC, Kenji, Kathleen, Melissa, Aimee, Barbara, Bushra, Henry, Monica, and to the editors of Kartika, Tayo, and CURA.  To read their contributions to LR, please visit any of our past issues (you can navigate to any of their work through the issues’ respective Tables of Contents:  [Issue 1], [Issue 2], and [Issue 3]). Happy Monday!

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Kuwento for Lost Things [ed. Rachelle Cruz and Melissa Sipin]
is accepting submissions

KUWENTO FOR LOST THINGS Anthology

LR Contributors Melissa Sipin (whose work is forthcoming in Issue 3) and Rachelle Cruz (whose work appeared in Issue 1 and who has a postcard poem forthcoming in Issue 3), are co-editing an anthology of phillipine mythology called Kuwento for Lost Things, and are accepting submissions of poetry, prose, and visual art through January 15, 2012.  Submissions guidelines are available here. Please help their project get off the ground by liking or following them on Facebook or Twitter, respectively, and by sending some work their way! Visit their web site here: http://kuwentoforlostthings.wordpress.com/

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Angela Veronica Wong wins a Poetry Society of America NY Chapbook Fellowship

Many congratulations to Issue 1 contributor Angela Veronica Wong, whose chapbook Dear Johnny, In Your Last Letter, was selected by Bob Hicok for a 2011 PSA New York Chapbook Fellowship! A short writeup about Veronica and the other Kundiman fellow who won this year (Alison Roh Park) that appeared on Poets & Writers ‘ contest blog  last week featured a short video clip of Veronica reading at LR‘s joint AWP reading with Boxcar Poetry Review this past February. (Read the article here).

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Craig Santos Perez’s poetry CD, Undercurrent, now available on iTunes

UNDERCURRENT (Craig Santos Perez & Brandy Nalani McDougall)

Issue 1 contributor Craig Santos Perez and Brandy Nalani McDougall have released a poetry CD called Undercurrent that features audio recordings of both artists reading their own poems.  Craig’s contributions are taken from his two collections, from unincorporated territory [hacha] (2008) and [saina] (2010).  Undercurrent is available for download on iTunes, or for purchase through Amazon.  An electronic version of the liner notes can be found on Craig’s blog.

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Jai Arun Ravine’s first book available for order

Jai Arun Ravine's แล้ว AND THEN ENTWINE (Tinfish 2011)

Congratulations to Issue 1 contributor Jai Arun Ravine, whose first poetry collection, แล้ว and then entwine has been published by Tinfish! Doveglion has printed Jai’s reflections on the process of writing the book and its guest editor, Craig Santos Perez, has written about editing it on his own blog.  More information about ordering แ ล้ ว and then entwine can be found on Tinfish’s web site.

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Cha releases “The China Issue”

Cover Art Detail from CHA's China Issue

Our friends at Cha have released their long-awaited China Issue, which features poetry, creative and nonfiction prose, translations, reviews, an interview, art, and art criticism that explore questions about China in the contemporary era.  The editors and contributors share a strong concern for both aesthetic and social issues (such as freedom of expression and human rights violations)—but the purpose of the issue is not so much to engage in protest as it is to delve into curative exploration: a grappling with the complexities of China’s national condition through a collection of voices from both inside and outside its borders. Writes Tammy Ho-Lai Ming in her editorial introduction:

“I still have hope for a freer, more democratic, more just China, one that if it does not quite embody the totality of the ‘could be,’ at least manages to be better than it currently is. And I hope it gets there soon. I want to see it, breathe it, live it, be proud of it. In the meantime, China is what it is or perhaps more accurately it is a near infinity of realities and possibilities. This issue of Cha is devoted to capturing a sense of this complexity, to provide a view of what a few people, both Chinese and non-Chinese, think of this remarkable country at this fascinating juncture in history. In these works, you will see a handful of microscope slides, cross-sections of the contemporary Middle Kingdom, which when read together will hopefully provide a glimpse of the whole.”

The issue is populated with the voices of contemporary Chinese who are living in China,  Chinese expatriots who are studying or teaching abroad, members of the Chinese diaspora in the West, and a sprinkling of Westerners.  Names of particular interest to LR readers include internationally-known artist and dissident Ai Wei Wei and respected Asian American poet and literary scholar Russell C. Leong.  Read the issue here.

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AALR gears up for release of a special issue about 9-11.

AALR's 9-11 Issue

The editors of the Asian American Literary Review have announced that they will be releasing a special issue in response to the 10th anniversary of 9-11. Write the editors:

“On the ten-year anniversary of September 11th, experts of every camp and affiliation will compete to dictate its legacies for our collective memory. The danger isn’t simply that the loudest voices will dominate—it’s that only a limited range of voices will make it into the conversation at all. So many of our communities have borne witness to so much over the past 10 years; it behooves us to critically consider the moment and its aftermath—the various political, legal, and civil rights repercussions, particularly for the communities most directly affected, South Asian, Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim American. But how can we do so, when so many of the voices of affected communities remain unheard? How do we remember and reflect on this moment as Asian Americans when the public conversation is so circumscribed?

In the interest of broadening that conversation, The Asian American Literary Review (AALR) is publishing a special commemorative issue.”

The issue will feature prose, poetry, dialogue, photography, and video by and about South Asian American activists, students, scholars, and community members, and is now available for pre-order on the AALR web site.

AALR is also currently accepting submissions for its regular magazine through September 1st.  (Guidelines here).

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Kundiman introduces “Together We Are New York” in remembrance of 9-11

Also in response to the anniversary of 9-11, Kundiman is preparing “Together We Are New York: Asian Americans Remember and Re-envision 9-11,” a remembrance arts project that seeks to bring “the poet’s ear and vision” to the conversation surrounding the event, in order to “ensure that this historic anniversary includes public remembrances and the vital voices of a key marginalized community fundamentally transformed by the tragedy.”  The opening performance and dialogue of this series will be held on September 13, 2011 from 7-9 PM in Fordham University Lincoln Center, and will feature poets Hossannah Asuncion, Tamiko Beyer, Marlon Esguerra, April Heck, Eugenia Leigh, Bushra Rehman, Zohra Saed, Purvi Shah, and R.A. Villanueva.  More information about “Together We Are New York” is available on Kundiman’s web site.

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Drunken Boat accepting submissions for its Open the City folio
(in collaboration with the AAWW)

Drunken Boat is now accepting submissions for a special folio in collaboration with the AAWW “that respond[s] to the question of Asian and Middle Eastern-American populations in urban spaces.”  The theme is flexible and can be interpreted in many different ways. Write the editors, “These can take a particular city as point of departure, can verge to cities around the world, engaging with the notion of how the forces of displacement and accretion intersect to create identity in a particular environment. We envision Chinatown, Little India, mosques in metropolitan areas, ethnic groceries, foreign film theaters, etc. all as possible sites for investigation.”  Submit via the Drunken Boat submissions manager by October 1st.

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That’s all for now, but please be on the lookout for our own Issue 3, which is set to launch bright and early tomorrow!

W. Todd Kaneko's "Northwest Poem" on "As It Ought to Be"

We’ve received word that W. Todd Kaneko’s “Northwest Poem,” which opens our second issue, was honored as last week’s Saturday featured poem on the blog “As It Ought to Be.”

Here’s an excerpt that showcases the poem’s masterful imagery—which is razor-sharp, tender, and resonant, yet just a touch fleeting and strange:

“Extinction begins as absence, ends gaping
like a surgery, a hole in my chest
marking that mythology we call home.
Mount Rainier does not drift phantomlike
in this poem, but here is that old woman,
crooked under the weight of a century.
She waves off that flock of dark birds
thronging overhead, threatening to pluck
eyes from sockets, tongues from mouths,
until all we can discern is the tide washing
over bare feet, the sound of wings.”

We love this poem (clearly) and are elated to see that others are enjoying it as much as we do.  The “As It Ought to Be” editor writes of this poem, “Here’s to W. Todd Kaneko’s muse . . .  She is a creature to be awed and honored.”  We heartily agree.

Click here to read the full post at “As It Ought to Be.”

Congrats, Todd!

- The Editors

“Northwest Poem” by W. Todd Kaneko was first published in Issue 2 of Lantern Review.

Click to read CHICKEN SKIN AND IMPOSSIBLE TREES

We’ve just received word that Chicken Skin and Impossible Trees, the Kearny Street Workshop/Intersection for the Arts’ 2011 Intergenerational Writers Lab Online Anthology—featuring the work of LR Issue 1 contributor Maria T. Allocco and twelve other writers—is now available online.  Click here to read Maria’s contributions, or on the image below to check out this beautiful annual publication (it’s also worth noting that Issue 2 contributor Kenji C. Liu’s work appeared in the 2009 edition).  Congrats, Maria!

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Maria T. Allocco’s poem “Downstairs” appeared in Issue 1 of Lantern Review.

Kenji C. Liu hosts an APIA Month Series at The Best American Poetry Blog.

We usually don’t post on the weekend, but I’m posting today because we wanted to let you know about an awesome series that LR Contributor and Kartika Review poetry editor Kenji C. Liu is curating this week at The Best American Poetry Blog, in honor of APIA Heritage Month.  Kenji has invited me (Iris), along with 3 other editors and self-identified writers of Asian American poetry—Patricia Ikeda, Gerald Maa of AALR, and Barbara Jane Reyes—to contribute posts to the series, and it’s been both an honor and a pleasure to be able to work with him.

Kenji kicked off the series today with this awesome introductory post, in which he discusses both the difficulty and the utility of curating poetry through the lens of the “Asian American” label, and describes his thoughts about the importance of the conversation that will take place throughout the week. (He plans to spotlight the work of several Asian American poets who have come to their vocations through alternative/non-standard/non-MFA routes).

He is clear to note that the purpose of these posts is not to engage in a debate about the worth of the MFA (indeed, he acknowledges that the MFA is a valuable resource), but to “bring . . .  greater attention” to APIA poets who have not gone that route, in “recogniz[ing] that a formal graduate education in creative writing often provides resources and networking opportunities that may not be as easily accessible for others.”

I’ll post to the LR blog again when my contribution, which will focus on dual-discipline LR contributors Aryanil Mukherjee (who’s an engineering mathematician) and Kimberly Alidio (whose graduate training is in History) goes live, but in the meantime, we invite you to continue checking back with the Best American Poetry Blog throughout the week to watch our discussion unfold.

Congratulations to Kenji, and many thanks to him for allowing us to be a part of this important conversation.

To follow the series, “A Week of Asian Pacific Islander American Poetry,” please visit The Best American Poetry Blog.

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Kenji C. Liu’s poem “A Son Writes Back” appeared in Issue 2 of Lantern Review.

—

Travel & Risk is rubbly on the tongue and lovely in the ear; a long poem that is almost surgically aligned into neat single columns on the page, and yet whose imagery—at times playfully, and at times ominously—shimmers wickedly in the corner of the mind’s eye, slides languidly out of the field of one’s vision, returns winking to adopt its most serious instructive guise, when all the while you know that it is running joyously, inexorably amuck behind the scenes.  A read that we highly recommend.

Monica’s work also recently appeared in the Boston Review, and her manuscript Kala Pani was just accepted for publication by 1913 Press, to be released next year.

Congrats, Monica!

Joy Kogawa
R. Zamora Linmark
Rishi Reddi
Kip Fulbeck
Reese Okyong Kwon
Hiromi Itō and translator Jeffrey Angles
Ray Hsu
Viet Nguyen
Brian Ascalon Roley

AALR is trying to raise $4000 by April 19th in order to help cover the cost of offering this unique literary experience.  As with all Kickstarter projects, the organizers need to be able to raise the full amount in pledges in order to be funded, so we encourage you to consider contributing to 8+1 sooner rather than later. (Not to mention that, if the satisfaction of being a literary patron is not enough, there are some great thank-you rewards being offered to backers at various levels of sponsorship, ranging from event posters to autographed book copies, to AALR subscriptions, professional SAT tutoring, original artwork, documentary film copies, personal editorial consultations—even the chance to attend a private dinner with the Symposium participants).

As we know from putting together even our little off-site AWP reading this winter, literary events (especially those of this scale) are not easily organized, let alone funded. AALR has been doing excellent curative work in its first year or so of existence, and we would love to see them have the opportunity to continue that work through events like 8+1.  If you have even a dollar or two to spare, please do consider donating to this very worthwhile cause.

We are a little behind on our news updates, but in case you have not already heard of this amazing project,  here’s a little plug for “The 500 Project,” which is being co-sponsored by Bryan Thao Worra and our friends at Kartika Review.

From their web page:

“Can’t we find, among all of those thousands, 10 individuals who are passionate about Asian American literature, writer activists who will express without equivocation that Asian American literature matters?

For each of the 50 states, there must be at least 10 Asian / Pacific Islander Americans that answer yes. And thus Thao Worra, joined by Kartika Review seek out those 500. Why should it be so hard to identify them and build a vibrant, amazing network of readers and writers? How can a canon of contemporary Asian American literature be built if we cannot even find these 500?”

The 500 Project, accordingly, “seeks to profile 10 APIA individuals from each of the 50 States who answer YES.”

To submit your profile, respond to the items in their short questionnaire, and email your answers to 500project [at] kartikareview (dot) com.  Include the name of your state, and your own name, in the subject line.

We at LR, of course, heartily encourage you to submit a profile.  Take a stand for the importance of APIA lit, and represent your state!

More on the  history and inspiration behind The 500 Project can be found here, at Kartika Review‘s web site.