05 May 2011, Posted by V.V. Ganeshananthan, MQR Associate Editor in Blog, 0 Comments Tagged 2011, Fiction, interview, Kuzhali Manickavel, Sepia Mutiny, South Asian, Winter

In Which We Direct You To A Most Excellent Writer, For Purposes of Laughing

by V.V. Ganeshananthan

I’m new here! I am: 1) The interim fiction editor of This Fine Publication, the Michigan Quarterly Review. 2) A blogger. For whom do I blog? I blog for thee. And also Sepia Mutiny, a South Asian-American blog. It’s been around for awhile—since 2004—and is a group blog that covers arts, culture, politics, sports, media, and any other topic that can be seen through the lens of South Asia and/or its diaspora. 3) A GIGANTIC fan of Kuzhali Manickavel’s. Kuzhali is a terrific and funny writer of short fiction (not to mention a great blogger). She lives in Tamil Nadu, India, and has a wonderfully weird and wild collection out. It’s called Insects Are Just Like You and Me Except Some of Them Have Wings.

25 Mar 2011, Posted by admin in Features, 1 Comments Tagged 2011, Fiction, Kuzhali Manickavel, South Asian, Winter

THE UNDERGROUND BIRD SANCTUARY

Kumar’s bones were pushing up under his skin like silent hills. His ribs rippled up in hardened waves while his shoulders and wrists stood out in knotted clumps. In the afternoons, I would count Kumar’s bones while he tried to sleep.

“You’re counting the same one twice,” he would mumble without opening his eyes.

“Well it’s poking up in two places. A lot of them are.”

17 Nov 2010, Posted by Dilruba Ahmed in Blog, 1 Comments Tagged Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Bay Area, Indivisible, Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian American Poetry, Poetry, R. Parthasarathy, Reetika Vazirani, San Francisco, South Asian, South Asian American, University of Arkansas Press

Don’t Eat the Mango: South Asian American Poetry

by Dilruba Ahmed

I’m a sucker for shiny objects—scarves, bracelets, candy wrappers—and drawn to nearly anything bearing deep, saturated colors. Had I encountered Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian American Poetry in my local bookstore, I would have been magnetically attracted to the book’s rich magenta cover, which is embellished with a U.S. map suggesting the sheen of an embroidered sari. But even a quick peek into this new collection from the University of Arkansas Press proves that the volume is not just eye candy. With titles such as “September 10, 2001,” “The Mascot of Beavercreek High Breaks Her Silence,” “Urdu Funk: The Gentle Art of Subtitles,” and “Generica/ America,” the collection’s table of contents hints at the diversity of voices and themes among contemporary South Asian American poets.