ANGELINE KEK WRITES — A dwelling, a city, a country — a space synonymous with belonging. Wherever you go, you can relish in the comfort of a home to return to. What happens when that is no longer true? Solmaz Sharif is an Iranian American poet, whose family immigrated to…
Tag: poetry
BOOK REVIEW: LIKE A SOLID TO A SHADOW (2022) BY JANICE LOBO SAPIGAO — GETTING TO KNOW THE DEAD
ANGELINE KEK WRITES — One of the scariest moments of a child’s life takes shape with the realization that our parents are mortal beings no further from death than a wilting flower or a gray-whiskered cat. They have no friendly contract with the grim reaper. With the fleeting time, we…
BOOK REVIEW: TIME IS A MOTHER (2022) BY OCEAN VUONG – LEARNING TO LIVE WITH DEATH AND ONESELF
ANGELINE KEK WRITES — Within Time is a Mother (2022), Ocean Vuong fashions a world so rich with polarities. No stone is left unturned. Vuong explores relationships in all their capacities: a person and their chosen loves, a person and society, and loving oneself. Following the successes of Night Sky with Exit Wounds (2016) and On Earth…
BOOK REVIEW: LIES WE BURY (2021) BY ELLE MARR
ANGELINE KEK WRITES — There is a truth about the human experience that helps those of us who have embraced its lessons to walk around with an easier spring in our steps — the understanding that we are products of our pasts. Every thought, every choice, every path chosen big…
BOOK REVIEW: THE SUNFLOWER CAST A SPELL TO SAVE US FROM THE VOID (2021) BY JACKIE WANG
ANGELINE KEK WRITES — To read The Sunflower Cast A Spell To Save Us From The Void by Jackie Wang is to return to familiarity delivered through mystifying means. Within the surreal landscapes that are conjured up by the speaker, we are shown a world largely fabricated by an unhinged…
CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: POETRY FOR THE PANDEMIC AND BEYOND
KEZIA LAKSMONO WRITES — I was reminded of “Pantun,” an oral literary form of expression traditionally used amongst Indonesians, during this pandemic. In its most basic form, it consists of even-numbered lines which are recited according to a fixed rhythm. For example: “Kalau ada sumur di ladang, bolehlah kita menumpang…