Our friends at Cha: An Asian Literary Journal and Kartika Review both put up their newest issues last week. Please head on over to check them out. Here’s quick rundown of the goods in store:
Cha: An Asian Literary Journal celebrates its second anniversary with a stunning 9th Issue, guest edited by Reid Mitchell (poetry) and Jonathan Mendelsohn (prose). I especially admired the cinematic textures of “Mope,” the second of two poems by Caroline Bird, the earthy resonances of Arlene Kim’s “The Tiger-Brother,” and the deft syntactical footwork of Kate Rogers’ “Sai Ying Pun Sestina.” Also worth checking out is their Lost Teas section, which features reprinted work that has been “lost” due to the folding of its original place of publication.
Kartika Review‘s Issue 6 is also fantastic, featuring poetry, fiction, and non-fiction by a number of rising Asian American artists. One of my own poems was selected for this issue, and I am both thrilled and honored that they’ve chosen to include my work in such an exciting lineup. My personal favorites from Issue 6’s poetry section are Mary Chi-Whi Kim’s “Pyongyang Phantom Feeling, 1952,” for its sharply visceral, arresting imagery, and Lee Minh Sloca’s conversational, but incisive examination of Asian American masculinity in “Just[ice] Please.” Kartika also just announced its Pushcart nominations. In poetry, they selected Kenji Liu’s beautifully spare “Letter to Myself as a Newborn” and Ocean Vuong’s intimate elegy, “Dear Vietnam,” both from Issue 5. Congrats to both poets on this honor!
Many congratulations to both Cha and Kartika on the launch of these new issues. We admire the work that you’re doing, and look forward to reading what’s next!