(Note: see our nominated short stories here.)
Asia Writes started out as a resource site on January 22, 2010 and first featured a literary work three weeks later. Our "Featured Works" section began as by-invitation only but was opened to unsolicited submissions in March. Out of almost 500 poetry submissions (as of June), we have featured 62 exemplary poems (excluding reprints) by emerging and established writers from Asia or of Asian descent.
Nominations for Best of the Net Anthology have opened last July 1st and they will accept submissions until September 30th. Since we want the nomination to be an achievement in itself, we asked award-winning poet Lee Upton to help us in selecting six works. Professor Upton was generous enough to accept the role (our heartfelt gratitude!).
About our esteemed judge: Lee Upton is the author of several books of poetry and literary criticism and is currently the Writer-in-Residence at Lafayette College. Her work has appeared in The Best American Poetry 2008, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, American Poetry Review, Harvard Review, among others. She was awarded the Georgia Contemporary Poetry Series Award, Pushcart Prize, Lyric Poetry Award, Emily Dickinson Award, and National Poetry Series for No Mercy in 1988. At Lafayette, she has been the recipient of the Mary Louise Van Artsdalen Award for Scholarship, the Jones Faculty Lecturer Award, and the Marquis Teaching Award. Upton holds a PhD in English from the State University of New York-Binghamton and her most recent book of poetry, Undid in the Land of Undone, was published by New Issues Press/Western Michigan University. Read more about her at http://sites.lafayette.edu/uptonlee/
The six works she has chosen (in no particular order) are:
Note that this was a blind selection. We sent Professor Upton a pdf compilation of our featured poems without the authors' names/profiles. Click on the title to read the poem.
1. House and Man by Nicholas YH Wong, Malaysia/Singapore
Nicholas YH Wong is a recipient of the Academy of American Poets Award in 2008 and 2010. He studies Comparative Literature & Society at Columbia University and is working on his first poetry collection, Extinction Suite. His poems have appeared in The Rialto, Southeast Asian Review of English, and The Columbia Review, among others. He is currently a fellow at the beautiful La Muse (Languedoc, France).
2. I am Mark Joseph by Nicholas Y.B. Wong, Hong Kong
Winner of the Oblongata Poetry Award, Nicholas Y.B. Wong lectures film studies and contemporary literatures in English at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. His poems and short stories are featured in Cha, Yuan Yang, Asian Pacific Writers’ Network, The Other Voice Poetry Project, Poetry Sky and Fifty-fifty: New Hong Kong Writing, edited by Xu Xi (2007, Haven Books).
3. Paradise by Luisa A. Igloria, Philippines
Award-winning poet Luisa A. Igloria currently directs Old Dominion University's MFA Creative Writing Program. Originally from Baguio City, she is the author of JUAN LUNA'S REVOLVER (2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize in Poetry, University of Notre Dame Press), TRILL & MORDENT (WordTech Editions 2005), and 8 other books.
4. Before by Leon Wing, Malaysia
Leon Wing is the editor/chief chronicler of The Malaysian Poetic Chronicles. He maintains a book review blog. He takes apart poems to find out how they work and put them back together, in Puisi-Poesy.
5. Media-Shy by Anand Vishwanadha, India
Anand Vishwanadha works as a corporate communications consultant. His debut poetry collection, "Moving On," was published by Coucal Books in December 2009. His work has appeared in Pratilipi, nth position, among others.
6. on being far away, in january by Iris Law, USA/China (whose poem Circumnavigation published in Asian Cha was selected for Best of the Net 2009)
Iris A. Law holds an MFA in Poetry from the University of Notre Dame. Her works have appeared in Stanford Journal of Asian American Studies, The Bend, Writers Connect, and Cha: An Asian Literary Journal. Iris is the Editor of Lantern Review: A Journal of Asian American Poetry.
Professor Upton described these poems as "remarkable for their resonance and ambition." She was "impressed by the wealth of intelligence and the haunting imagery of these poems—and by their capacity to enlarge our experience of language on multiple fronts."
Four other poems made it to our judge's honorable list:
1. Personal History by Ching-in Chen, USA/China
2. Camera 1 by Oliver de la Paz, USA/Philippines (whose poem The Surgical Theater as Spirit Cabinet published in Diode Poetry Journal was selected for Best of the Net 2009)
3. Writing History by Song Zijiang, Macau
4. Scratch by Sharanya Manivannan, India/Sri Lanka
The nominated short stories will be announced soon. We will also be submitting our selections for Best of the Web (Dzanc Books). The cut-off for this anthology is October 31st and the poems/ stories that we will feature until that date will be eligible for nomination. We'd like to ask you to submit your works (short story, poetry, and even articles!) to asiawrites [at] gmail [dot] com. Please read the submission guidelines here.
We would like to thank Professor Lee Upton and all our contributors who have made our first six months a wonderful literary journey. Congratulations to our nominated writers and we hope you make it to the Best of the Net shortlist. We will keep you informed.
Asia Writes started out as a resource site on January 22, 2010 and first featured a literary work three weeks later. Our "Featured Works" section began as by-invitation only but was opened to unsolicited submissions in March. Out of almost 500 poetry submissions (as of June), we have featured 62 exemplary poems (excluding reprints) by emerging and established writers from Asia or of Asian descent.
Nominations for Best of the Net Anthology have opened last July 1st and they will accept submissions until September 30th. Since we want the nomination to be an achievement in itself, we asked award-winning poet Lee Upton to help us in selecting six works. Professor Upton was generous enough to accept the role (our heartfelt gratitude!).
About our esteemed judge: Lee Upton is the author of several books of poetry and literary criticism and is currently the Writer-in-Residence at Lafayette College. Her work has appeared in The Best American Poetry 2008, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, American Poetry Review, Harvard Review, among others. She was awarded the Georgia Contemporary Poetry Series Award, Pushcart Prize, Lyric Poetry Award, Emily Dickinson Award, and National Poetry Series for No Mercy in 1988. At Lafayette, she has been the recipient of the Mary Louise Van Artsdalen Award for Scholarship, the Jones Faculty Lecturer Award, and the Marquis Teaching Award. Upton holds a PhD in English from the State University of New York-Binghamton and her most recent book of poetry, Undid in the Land of Undone, was published by New Issues Press/Western Michigan University. Read more about her at http://sites.lafayette.edu/uptonlee/The six works she has chosen (in no particular order) are:
Note that this was a blind selection. We sent Professor Upton a pdf compilation of our featured poems without the authors' names/profiles. Click on the title to read the poem.
1. House and Man by Nicholas YH Wong, Malaysia/Singapore
Nicholas YH Wong is a recipient of the Academy of American Poets Award in 2008 and 2010. He studies Comparative Literature & Society at Columbia University and is working on his first poetry collection, Extinction Suite. His poems have appeared in The Rialto, Southeast Asian Review of English, and The Columbia Review, among others. He is currently a fellow at the beautiful La Muse (Languedoc, France).2. I am Mark Joseph by Nicholas Y.B. Wong, Hong Kong
Winner of the Oblongata Poetry Award, Nicholas Y.B. Wong lectures film studies and contemporary literatures in English at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. His poems and short stories are featured in Cha, Yuan Yang, Asian Pacific Writers’ Network, The Other Voice Poetry Project, Poetry Sky and Fifty-fifty: New Hong Kong Writing, edited by Xu Xi (2007, Haven Books).3. Paradise by Luisa A. Igloria, Philippines
Award-winning poet Luisa A. Igloria currently directs Old Dominion University's MFA Creative Writing Program. Originally from Baguio City, she is the author of JUAN LUNA'S REVOLVER (2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize in Poetry, University of Notre Dame Press), TRILL & MORDENT (WordTech Editions 2005), and 8 other books.4. Before by Leon Wing, Malaysia
Leon Wing is the editor/chief chronicler of The Malaysian Poetic Chronicles. He maintains a book review blog. He takes apart poems to find out how they work and put them back together, in Puisi-Poesy.5. Media-Shy by Anand Vishwanadha, India
Anand Vishwanadha works as a corporate communications consultant. His debut poetry collection, "Moving On," was published by Coucal Books in December 2009. His work has appeared in Pratilipi, nth position, among others.6. on being far away, in january by Iris Law, USA/China (whose poem Circumnavigation published in Asian Cha was selected for Best of the Net 2009)
Iris A. Law holds an MFA in Poetry from the University of Notre Dame. Her works have appeared in Stanford Journal of Asian American Studies, The Bend, Writers Connect, and Cha: An Asian Literary Journal. Iris is the Editor of Lantern Review: A Journal of Asian American Poetry.Professor Upton described these poems as "remarkable for their resonance and ambition." She was "impressed by the wealth of intelligence and the haunting imagery of these poems—and by their capacity to enlarge our experience of language on multiple fronts."
Four other poems made it to our judge's honorable list:
1. Personal History by Ching-in Chen, USA/China
2. Camera 1 by Oliver de la Paz, USA/Philippines (whose poem The Surgical Theater as Spirit Cabinet published in Diode Poetry Journal was selected for Best of the Net 2009)
3. Writing History by Song Zijiang, Macau
4. Scratch by Sharanya Manivannan, India/Sri Lanka
The nominated short stories will be announced soon. We will also be submitting our selections for Best of the Web (Dzanc Books). The cut-off for this anthology is October 31st and the poems/ stories that we will feature until that date will be eligible for nomination. We'd like to ask you to submit your works (short story, poetry, and even articles!) to asiawrites [at] gmail [dot] com. Please read the submission guidelines here.
We would like to thank Professor Lee Upton and all our contributors who have made our first six months a wonderful literary journey. Congratulations to our nominated writers and we hope you make it to the Best of the Net shortlist. We will keep you informed.
