The ink that never dries
Alfian Sa’at
By writing poetry from death row, Pannir Selvam Pranthaman sets out to prove that he’s more than just a condemned prisoner.
Category: Fiction & Poetry
Thank You (Dedicated to Those Who Care)
Pannir Selvam Pranthaman
A poem by Pannir Selvam Pranthaman.
Black chicken soup
Justina Lim
A short story by Justina Lim.
Flight Plan
Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray
A comic by Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray, reflecting on her shifting relationship with hope.
Black cat
Domar Batucan Recopelacion
A poem from Domar Batucan Recopelacion
After the war, The river remembers, Letters from the diaspora
Aisha Khalid
Poetry by Aisha Khalid.
In her grey and silent world
Lia Tjokro
A short story by Lia Tjokro.
Angel
Julienne Maui Castelo Mangawang
A poem from Julienne Maui Castelo Mangawang
Personal ghost stories
Jennifer Luangphonh
Some ghosts aren’t vengeful spectres waiting to shock or scare in the night. Even so, it might still be unbearable to think of them.
Arranged marriage
Areej Kiani
Gossip spreads in a Pakistani neighbourhood after a couple’s daughter elopes with a man late at night.
On the streets
Leigh Doughty
A poem by Leigh Doughty
Thirst for love
Alvin Larida
A poem by Alvin Larida, translated from Kinaray-a.
Elsewhere than Here
Brandon K. Liew and Daryl Lim Wei Jie 林伟杰
Poetry from Brandon K. Liew and Daryl Lim Wei Jie 林伟杰
Irises
Eileen Chong
A poem from Eileen Chong
The Word Museum
Damhuri Muhammad
What if politicians had to be confronted with all the words they’d threaded into false promises?
Headlines
Cassiopeia Gatmaitan
A poem by Cassiopeia Gatmaitan.
Jade, Pine, Orchid, Kidney
Robert Wood
Eileen Chong’s poetry defies national categories, making its way into cracks and crevices like an orchid in cement, grown beautiful and a little wild.
Who telegraphed the UN that our country is in good hands?
Maung Htike Aung
A poem by Maung Htike Aung.
Lantern ghost
Ayesha Khan
A short story by Ayesha Khan
The sea within
Mahen Bala and Gerhard Hoffstaedter
When rising sea levels threaten to submerge the gravesite of his father, a young man is forced to return to his hometown and confront the dilemma between honouring his father’s dying wishes or to give in to nature.
The third dog / Space bound
Peta Murray and Maggie Tiojakin
“Einstein saw space and time as an intrinsically linked existence: how the passing of time is relative to the space we inhabit, which is to say, how we find meaning in our lives depends greatly on where we stand.”
The Dawn of Independence (August ‘47)
Faiz Ahmad Faiz
A poem from Faiz Ahmad Faiz
Delphi
Alyza Taguilaso
A poem by Alyza Taguilaso
Dear Archie
Peixuan Xie
A letter to a friend, on thoughts of ‘home’ prompted by the Thai dream-pop duo, HYBS.
Child of Heaven
Lý Văn Sâm
A short story by Lý Văn Sâm, translated from Vietnamese by Ryan Nelson and Khanh Hoa Le.
By the canal
Linda Collins and Noelle Q. de Jesus
A piece of flash fiction by Linda Collins and Noelle Q. de Jesus. Commissioned as part of a collaboration between RMIT’s nonfiction/lab and Mekong Review.
Silos / Renga
Mariyam Haider and Emilie Collyer
A renga by Mariyam Haider and Emilie Collyer. Commissioned as part of a collaboration between RMIT’s nonfiction/lab and Mekong Review.
Friend
John Brixter Tino
Poetry from John Brixter Tino
The two gumamelas
Marbin Gesher Jay S. Deniega
A short story by Marbin Gesher Jay S. Deniega.
Tanka Studies (水上人描繪))
Yago Tse
A poem by Yago Tse.
Fate ball
Damhuri Muhammad
A short story by Damhuri Muhammad
When grandmother’s gone
Jeric Olay
A poem by Jeric Olay.
The fate of a barrio farmer
Jeric Olay
A poem by Jeric Olay.
The somnambulist
Aditya Narayan Sharma
A short story by Aditya Narayan Sharma
Heartbreak in Southeast Asia
Anthony Tao
A poem by Anthony Tao
Recovering flames
Jake Dennis
A poem from Jake Dennis
Narrow Circles
Maung Day
A poem from Maung Day
Ibun
Kulleh Grasi
Poetry from Kulleh Grasi
White snow, silver moon
Ngan Nguyen
A short story by Ngan Nguyen
The Bamboo Rat Farmer
Katrina Yu
A short story by Katrina Yu.