Category: 2026 Entries
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βLoss, Survival, and Hope: Yuyutsu Sharmaβs In Godβs Messy Workplaceβ by Arun Budhathoki Yuyutsu Sharma. In God’s Messy Workplace: New Poems, Nirala Publications, 2026. 110 pgs. The COVID-19 pandemic generated…
![[REVIEW] βLoss, Survival, and Hope: Yuyutsu Sharmaβs πΌπ πΊππβπ πππ π π¦ πππππππππβ by Arun Budhathoki](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/in-gods-messy-workplace-new-poems-by-yuyutsu-sharma-author-.jpg?w=1007)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Finding My Own Silent Friends: From the Botanical Garden to Hong Kong’s Streets” by Jennifer Eagleton Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon SILENT FRIEND. IldikΓ³ Enyedi (director), Silent…
![[ESSAY] “Finding My Own Silent Friends: From the Botanical Garden to Hong Kong’s Streets” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/screenshot-2026-06-02-at-10.42.17.png?w=824)
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We are very pleased to announce that we have nominated the following two works of creative nonfiction for the 2027 edition of Best of the Net anthology. Congratulations to Teng and Matt. Good luck! βΒ βReflection on Exile, Impermanence, and Red…
![[BEST OF THE NET 2027] Cha’s NominationsβWorks of Creative Nonfiction](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/screenshot-2026-07-02-at-22.58.36.png?w=800)
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We are very pleased to announce that we have nominated the following two stories for the 2027 edition of Best of the Net anthology. Congratulations to Sajita and Kathy. Good luck! βΒ βEighteen Stepsβ by Sajita Nairβ βSweating Labour, Angry Tearsβ…
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We are very pleased to announce that we have nominated the following six poems for the 2027 edition of Best of the Net anthology. Congratulations to these wonderful poets and good luck! βΒ βWinter Approachingβ by Jonathan Chanβ “Noodle Insurrection or…
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] βWhat Lingers: On Babitha Marina Justinβs The Way Madmen Smellβ by Ankush Banerjee Babitha Marina Justin. The Way Madmen Smell, Red River Press, 2026. 149 pgs. Noted Trivandrum-based academic, poet,…
![[ESSAY] βWhat Lingers: On Babitha Marina Justinβs πβπ πππ¦ ππππππ πππππβ by Ankush Banerjee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/the-way-madmen-smell-by-babitha-marina-justin-.jpg?w=868)
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[CONVERSATION] “speak easy” by Kathy Ngoc Nguyen and An Tran Kathy Ngoc Nguyen’s introduction: Before meeting and getting to know An Tran, I was a fan of his collection of short stories, Meditations on the Mother Tongue (C&R Press, 2017),…
![[CONVERSATION] “speak easy” by Kathy Ngoc Nguyen and An Tran](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/screenshot-2026-07-01-at-13.11.43.png?w=774)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Between the Rabbit and the Not-Rabbit: Yoo Heekyung’s Surrealism in Winter Night Rabbit Worries” by San Kwon Yoo Heekyung (author), Stine An (translator). Winter Night Rabbit Worries, Ugly Duckling Press,…
![[REVIEW] “Between the Rabbit and the Not-Rabbit: Yoo Heekyung’s Surrealism in ππππ‘ππ πππβπ‘ π
πππππ‘ πππππππ ” by San Kwon](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/winter-night-rabbit-worries-1.jpg?w=600)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Insignificant Moments, Significant Lives: Xu Xi’s Horizon Hong Kong” by Jennifer Eagleton Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon Horizon Hong Kong. Xu Xi. Horizon Hong Kong: Selected Stories, Gaudy Boy, 2026. 288…
![[REVIEW] “Insignificant Moments, Significant Lives: Xu Xi’s π»ππππ§ππ π»πππ πΎπππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/horizonhongkong122925.webp?w=1000)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βHorizon Hong Kong: Xu Xiβs Hong Kong in Words and Picturesβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Horizon Hong Kong. Xu Xi. Horizon Hong Kong: Selected Stories, Gaudy…
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[REVIEW] βDoes Rabbit God Dream of a Queer-Asian Hot Pot?β by Felicia Jiang Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon Hot Pot. Hongwei Bao (playwright) and Namoo Chae Lee (director). Hot Pot: A Queer East Asian Play About A Meal, Four Friends and What…
![[REVIEW] βDoes Rabbit God Dream of a Queer-Asian π»ππ‘ πππ‘?β by Felicia Jiang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/hot-pot-53-photo-credit-brett-kasza.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Taste of Loneliness: On Joseph Hsu’s Little Big Women” by Ray Singh Joseph Chen-Chieh Hsu (director). Little Big Women (ε€ε³), 2020. 124 min. East Asian cinema has always possessed…
![[REVIEW] “The Taste of Loneliness: On Joseph Hsu’s πΏππ‘π‘ππ π΅ππ πππππ” by Ray Singh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/89348295_2924687147593664_9140641139848642560_o.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “A Landmark in Environmental Science: Ma Tianjie’s In Search of Green China“ by Laurence Westwood Ma Tianjie. In Search of Green China, Polity Books, 2025. 272 pgs. Beginning in the…
![[ESSAY] “A Landmark in Environmental Science: Ma Tianjie’s πΌπ πππππβ ππ πΊππππ πΆβπππ” by Laurence Westwood](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/in-search-of-green-china-tianjie-ma-livres.jpg?w=575)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βHaunted Inheritances and Queer Futures in Salini Vineethβs The Tree, the Well & the Drag Queenβ by Namrata Salini Vineeth. The Tree, the Well & the Drag Queen, Red River…
![[REVIEW] βHaunted Inheritances and Queer Futures in Salini Vineethβs πβπ ππππ, π‘βπ ππππ & π‘βπ π·πππ ππ’πππβ by Namrata](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/the-tree-the-well-the-drag-queen.jpg?w=750)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “We Are Ugly but We Have the Words: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s Love Poetry” by Jonathan Han Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on If I Do Not Reply. Tammy Lai-Ming Ho, If I…
![[REVIEW] “We Are Ugly but We Have the Words: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s Love Poetry” by Jonathan Han](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/if-i-do-not-reply_tammy-ho.jpg?w=907)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] βSimmering, Steaming, Spilling: On Hongwei Baoβs Queer Playtext Hot Potβ by Ronny Chan ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaonΒ Hot Pot. Hongwei Bao. Hot Pot, Poetic Edge Publishers, 2026. 112 pgs. “To…
![[ESSAY] βSimmering, Steaming, Spilling: On Hongwei Baoβs Queer Playtext π»ππ‘ πππ‘β by Ronny Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hongwei-bao.-hot-pot-poetic-edge-publishers-2026.-112-pgs.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βThe Beauty of Becoming: Farzana Doctor’s The Beauty of Usβ by Hana Kim Farzana Doctor. The Beauty of Us, ECW Press, 2024. 304 pgs. Last year, I wrote about…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βThe Beauty of Becoming: Farzana Doctor’s πβπ π΅πππ’π‘π¦ ππ ππ β by Hana Kim](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/farzana-doctor.jpg?w=971)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Between Branding and Belonging: Re-Imagining Creative Cities in Twenty-First Century Asia” by Suyin Haynes Xin Gu, Michael Kho Lim, and Justin OβConnor (editors). Re-Imagining Creative Cities in Twenty-First Century Asia, Springer,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Between Branding and Belonging: π
π-πΌππππππππ πΆππππ‘ππ£π πΆππ‘πππ ππ ππ€πππ‘π¦-πΉπππ π‘ πΆπππ‘π’ππ¦ π΄π ππ” by Suyin Haynes](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/xin-gu-michael-kho-lim-and-justin-oconnor-editors.-re-imagining-creative-cities-in-twenty-first-century-asia.jpg?w=901)
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[ESSAY] βHot Pot: A Queer East Asian Play About A Meal, Four Friends and What Remains Unsaidβ by Hongwei Bao ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaonΒ Hot Pot. Hongwei Bao (playwright). Hot Pot: A Queer East Asian Play About A Meal, Four…
![[ESSAY] βπ»ππ‘ πππ‘: A Queer East Asian Play About A Meal, Four Friends and What Remains Unsaidβ by Hongwei Bao](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hot-pot-poster-square-with-title.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βNow and Now and Now and Now: Abyssal Form in Yiyun Liβs Things in Nature Merely Growβ by Ronny Chan Yiyun Li. Things in Nature Merely Grow, Farrar, Straus and…
![[REVIEW] βNow and Now and Now and Now: Abyssal Form in Yiyun Liβs πβππππ ππ πππ‘π’ππ ππππππ¦ πΊπππ€β by Ronny Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/things-in-nature-merely-grow-by-yiyun-li-farrar-straus-and-giroux-2025.jpg?w=961)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Bodies and Landscapes in Flux: Displacement, Placemaking, and Agency in Mai-Linh Hongβs Continental Drift” by Shui-yin Sharon Yam Mai-Linh Hong. Continental Drift, Trio House Press, 2026. 108 pgs. Mai-Linh Hong’s…
![[REVIEW] “Bodies and Landscapes in Flux: Displacement, Placemaking, and Agency in Mai-Linh Hongβs πΆπππ‘πππππ‘ππ π·ππππ‘” by Shui-yin Sharon Yam](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/mai-linh-hong.-continental-drift.webp?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “One Script, Many Languages: The Journey of Chinese Writing Across Asia” by Gabriel Corsetti Zev Handel. Chinese Characters across Asia: How the Chinese Script Came to Write Japanese, Korean, and…
![[REVIEW] “One Script, Many Languages: The Journey of Chinese Writing Across Asia” by Gabriel Corsetti](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/chinese-characters-across-asia-how-the-chinese-script-came-to-write-japanese-korean-and-vietnamese-1.jpg?w=667)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Pot Noodles and Power: Junko Takase’s May You Have Delicious Meals” by Anna Nguyen Junko Takase (author), Morgan Giles (translator). May You Have Delicious Meals, Penguin Random House, 2025. 133…
![[REVIEW] “Pot Noodles and Power: Junko Takase’s πππ¦ πππ’ π»ππ£π π·πππππππ’π πππππ ” by Anna Nguyen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/the-politics-of-the-packed-lunch-junko-takases-may-you-have-delicious-meals.jpg?w=977)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βHong Kong, Then and Now, Through the Eyes of Simon Elegantβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason Simon Elegant. City on Fire: A Novel of Hong Kong, Pegasus Crime, 2026. 288 pgs.…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βHong Kong, Then and Now, Through the Eyes of Simon Elegantβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/simon-elegant.-city-on-fire.jpg?w=989)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Silence Between Metaphors: IldikΓ³ Enyedi’s Silent Friend” by Anna Nguyen Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon SILENT FRIEND. IldikΓ³ Enyedi (director), Silent Friend, 2026. 147 min. In…
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “How Daniyal Mueenuddin’s In Other Rooms, Other Wonders Makes Class Feel Inescapable” by Abhinav Tulachan Daniyal Mueenuddin. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 237 pgs.…
![[REVIEW] “How Daniyal Mueenuddin’s πΌπ ππ‘βππ π
ππππ , ππ‘βππ πππππππ Makes Class Feel Inescapable” by Abhinav Tulachan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/in-other-rooms-other-wonders-by-daniyal-mueenuddin-author.jpg?w=977)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Every Puddle a Reflection: On Dorothy Tse’s City Like Water” by Jennifer Eagleton ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaonΒ City Like Water. Dorothy Tse (author), Natascha Bruce (translator). City Like Water, Graywolf…
![[REVIEW] “Every Puddle a Reflection: On Dorothy Tse’s πΆππ‘π¦ πΏπππ πππ‘ππ” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/city-like-water-dorothy-tse-cha-an-asian-literary-journal.jpg?w=1000)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Borrowed Strength: Longman Leung’s Cold War 1994” by Jonathan Han Longman Leung (director). Cold War 1994, 2026. 123 min. Prequels make for demanding films. They demand a connection to…
![[FIRST IMPRESIONS] “Borrowed Strength: Longman Leung’s πΆπππ πππ 1994” by Jonathan Han](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/https-mubi.comenfrfilmscold-war-1994.webp?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] “Memory and Music: Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Michael Raymond The first time I ever heard Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” I was watching the music video through a mosquito net late at night. Just me and the dim,…
![[ESSAY] “Memory and Music: Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Michael Raymond](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/screenshot-2026-05-27-at-20.06.27.png?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] “Alibi” by SamΒ Yu Wing Chan “The Fire in Tai Po is still ongoing.” When I had got home (the phrase “getting back home” has become lost, written on social media afterwards by a resident who escaped after hours of…
![[ESSAY] “Alibi” by SamΒ Yu Wing Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/screenshot-2026-05-21-at-10.14.47.png?w=1024)
Cha 