Dear readers,
The year is moving very quickly. Over where I live, the days are warm, humid and oddly dry. That's the joy and tribulation of living in an Southeast Asian island state right next to the equator. Gorgeous bright sunshine, clear weather - and suddenly, tumultuous thunderstorms and torrential rains. Confusing, isn't it?
Southeast Asia is complex, complicated, diverse and vast. An archipelago. A peninsula. Islands. Ring of fire. Exoticism. Touristy destinations. Officially, Southeast Asia is a conglomeration of countries and states with their own regional organization, promoting unity and community. Maritime trade. Part of ancient trade routes. Southeast Asia is a place, a product of trade, colonizations, migrations, occupations and settlements. There is diaspora, there is change, there are people settling down, there are livelihoods linked to land and sea. For many, Southeast Asia is home. Where the heart is.
The very structure of an umbel is one of support. Supporting, uplifting individuals and communities. Yet, for many too, Southeast Asia reminds us of conflict within. Where do we belong? What is home? Where is the support? Where is our community (or communities)? Who are our clusters of family and friends? Where do we truly belong? Our poems explore such themes.
Evocatively written, Sara Lau's "first sail" draws in motifs of maritime trade and sailing where exploring the idea of rootedness and home. What is rootedness? What is home? By sailing, by crossing seas and oceans, do we eventually settle down? The poem also reminds us of diaspora, of migration, of finding a home across that sea, that ocean.
Kaya Ortiz's "unbound" and "s/kinship" are poignant stories of looking for that home. The fierce yearning in the blood, the speaking of languages and tongues tied to family and he land. "unbound" speaks of returning home and the powerful (re)connection with family. "s/kinship" needs to read as a whole and individually to savor its intensity. The concept of skin color. Kinship. The pain of straddling both worlds. Looking for kin, for someone sharing your skin color and your language. Effects of colonization.
Indeed, diaspora has many forms and branches... like an umbel. Many are drawn from the same source, linked to blood and family. Linked together by communities, by lineages.
Southeast Asia is complex. Southeast Asians are complex.
We like it that way.
Joyce, Editor-in-Chief
The year is moving very quickly. Over where I live, the days are warm, humid and oddly dry. That's the joy and tribulation of living in an Southeast Asian island state right next to the equator. Gorgeous bright sunshine, clear weather - and suddenly, tumultuous thunderstorms and torrential rains. Confusing, isn't it?
Southeast Asia is complex, complicated, diverse and vast. An archipelago. A peninsula. Islands. Ring of fire. Exoticism. Touristy destinations. Officially, Southeast Asia is a conglomeration of countries and states with their own regional organization, promoting unity and community. Maritime trade. Part of ancient trade routes. Southeast Asia is a place, a product of trade, colonizations, migrations, occupations and settlements. There is diaspora, there is change, there are people settling down, there are livelihoods linked to land and sea. For many, Southeast Asia is home. Where the heart is.
The very structure of an umbel is one of support. Supporting, uplifting individuals and communities. Yet, for many too, Southeast Asia reminds us of conflict within. Where do we belong? What is home? Where is the support? Where is our community (or communities)? Who are our clusters of family and friends? Where do we truly belong? Our poems explore such themes.
Evocatively written, Sara Lau's "first sail" draws in motifs of maritime trade and sailing where exploring the idea of rootedness and home. What is rootedness? What is home? By sailing, by crossing seas and oceans, do we eventually settle down? The poem also reminds us of diaspora, of migration, of finding a home across that sea, that ocean.
Kaya Ortiz's "unbound" and "s/kinship" are poignant stories of looking for that home. The fierce yearning in the blood, the speaking of languages and tongues tied to family and he land. "unbound" speaks of returning home and the powerful (re)connection with family. "s/kinship" needs to read as a whole and individually to savor its intensity. The concept of skin color. Kinship. The pain of straddling both worlds. Looking for kin, for someone sharing your skin color and your language. Effects of colonization.
Indeed, diaspora has many forms and branches... like an umbel. Many are drawn from the same source, linked to blood and family. Linked together by communities, by lineages.
Southeast Asia is complex. Southeast Asians are complex.
We like it that way.
Joyce, Editor-in-Chief