Category: ExclusiveโNon-fiction
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[ESSAY] “The Apocalypse Before Dinner: What Japanese Robots Taught Italian Children” by Gabriele Micozzi For Italian children of my generation, Japanese animation did not arrive as a coherent archive. I am on the left, with my younger brother Fabrizio, both…
![[ESSAY] “The Apocalypse Before Dinner: What Japanese Robots Taught Italian Children” by Gabriele Micozzi](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/atlas-ufo-robot.png?w=914)
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[ESSAY] โDead Cat Bounce: The Graphic Novel Boom in Singapore That Wasnโtโ by Felix Cheong I became a graphic novelist by accident. Or perhaps by the necessity of reinvention. Whichever is the more charitable view, it was probably as good a…
![[ESSAY]ย โDead Cat Bounce: The Graphic Novel Boom in Singapore That Wasnโtโ by Felix Cheong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/oddballs-screwballs-and-other-eccentrics-and-in-the-year-of-the-virus-1.png?w=859)
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[ESSAY] “Between Two Names” by Wayne Mok โWayne could be a Vietnamese name too.” I clutched my copy of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer and waited while he chatted with the couple ahead. It was my first time attending a book…
![[ESSAY] “Between Two Names” by Wayne Mok](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/wayne-mok-cha.jpg?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] โOne Poet, Two Translators: Preserving the Essence of Voiceโ by Yvette Neisser All entries in Cha on Madame Mao. Marรญa Teresa Ogliastri (author), Yvette Neisser and Patricia Bejarano Fisher (translators). From the Diary of Madame Mao. Carnegie Mellon University…
![[ESSAY] “One Poet, Two Translators: Preserving the Essence of Voice” by Yvette Neisser](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/yvette-neisser-and-patricia-bejarano-fisher.png?w=823)
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[ESSAY] โOne Child, Three Livesโ by Lina Ma HeyTea, High Salaries, and Family Money A HeyTea store in New York Inside a rooftop lounge in Manhattan, Scarlette sits in a cute pink T-shirt and wire-rimmed glasses, a cup of HeyTeaโs…
![[ESSAY] “One Child, Three Lives” by Lina Ma](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/gettyimages-524755818.jpg?w=1024)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “What’s Queer about Hong Kong Comics?โ by Ronny Chan Whatโs queer about comics? Iโve been grappling with this question ever since I took a stab at crafting my first queer…
![[ESSAY] “Whatโs Queer about Hong Kong Comics?” by Ronny Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/combsisters_008.jpg?w=1024)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Asian Pirates? In a Musical?” by Shanon Shah Zhui Ning Chang (director). Asian Pirate Musical, Upstairs at the Gatehouse, 28 Julyโ2 August 2026. I have always been drawn to people…
![[ESSAY] “Asian ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ? In a ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐?” by Shanon Shah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/asian-pirate-musical-2.png?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] “The Unstuck City: Dorothy Tse’s City Like Water” by Luca Griseri Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon City Like Water. Dorothy Tse (author), Natascha Bruce (translator). City Like Water, Graywolf Press, 2026. 112 pgs. The novel resembles a dรฉcollage precisely because…
![[ESSAY] “The Unstuck City: Dorothy Tse’s ๐ถ๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐” by Luca Griseri](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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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Singing in Hiragana: On The Chronicles of Japan” by Mario Rustan All entries in Chaon The Chronicles of Japan Matthieu Felt (translator). The Chronicles of JapanโVolume I: Age of the…
![[ESSAY] “Singing in Hiragana: On ๐โ๐ ๐ถโ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐” by Mario Rustan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/71mw8p3wrll._sl1500_.jpg?w=993)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “(En)Gendering Japanese Literature and Translation: Joan E. Ericson’s Be a Woman” by Catherine Regina Borlaza Click here to read all entries in Chaon Be a Woman Joan E. Ericson. Be…
![[ESSAY] “(En)Gendering Japanese Literature and Translation: Joan E. Ericson’s ๐ต๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐” by Catherine Regina Borlaza](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/joan-e.-ericson-be-a-woman-hayashi-fumiko-and-modern-japanese-womens-literature-.jpg?w=907)
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[Artist Statement] โShanghai Flower: A Tribute to Eileen Changโ by Antzu Huang 2025 marked the centenary of the legendary author Eileen Chang, one of the great figures of modern Chinese literature. In her honour, I wrote an electronic ballad, โShanghai…
![[Artist Statement] โShanghai Flower: A Tribute to Eileen Changโ by Antzu Huang](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/28181042-eileen-chang_cover_1444x2000.jpg?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] “To Belong: Impressions of Hong Kong” by Raimondo Vanitelli Photograph ยฉ Raimondo Vanitelli You take in the city and the city accepts you, even if momentarily. 1 The intersection feels timeless. Red cabs with white roofs honk at each other,…
![[ESSAY] “To Belong: Impressions of Hong Kong” by Raimondo Vanitelli](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/raimondo-vanitelli-2.jpg?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] โThe Switzerland She Waited Forโ by Shiwani Dhiman Authorโs Note: This story is personal, based on conversations I had with my mother-in-law, Dahlia Chaudhuri, as she spoke about her memories of marriage, her younger self, and her long-awaited trip…
![[ESSAY] โThe Switzerland She Waited Forโ by Shiwani Dhiman](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/screenshot-2026-08-31-at-16.05.30.png?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] “The Chinese Girl in Paris: An Unfinished Portrait of China” by William Grice โJe te souhaite une vie heureuseโ, a final dispatch from Paris before the correspondence fell silent. Letters from Rue de la Sourdiรจre, a full moon over…
![[ESSAY] “The Chinese Girl in Paris: An Unfinished Portrait of China” by William Grice](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/william-grice-1.jpg?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] โA Look Back on Anime: Memoir, Poetics, and Literary Hedonismโ by Franz Austin V. De Mesa Filipinos wave a One Piece flag as they take part in a protest against corruption at Rizal Park. Photograph: Ezra Acayan/Getty Image On 21…
![[ESSAY] โA Look Back on Anime: Memoir, Poetics, and Literary Hedonismโ by Franz Austin V. De Mesa](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/e28098a-symbol-of-liberation-how-the-one-piece-manga-flag-became-the-symbol-of-asias-gen-z-protest-movement.jpeg?w=399)
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[ESSAY] “Shades of Huแบฟ” by Cheryl Chong The heat has a strange way of blurring things in Huแบฟ. We glimpse rust-coloured shophouses and dusk-toned homes, most of them melding into a haze as our chartered car nears the city centre.…
![[ESSAY] “Shades of Huแบฟ” by Cheryl Chong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/view-from-the-melia-vinpearl-hue-otherwise-known-as-the-hotel.jpg?w=1024)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “The Ecstasy of Love: The Precarious Line Between Reality and Illusion in Kiwi Chow’s Beyond the Dream” by Hilda Wong Kiwi Chow (director). Beyond the Dream, 2019. 120 min. Is…
![[ESSAY] “The Ecstasy of Love: The Precarious Line Between Reality and Illusion in Kiwi Chow’s ๐ต๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐” by Hilda Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/beyond-the-dream.webp?w=750)
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[ESSAY] “Home” by Daniel Cheng Right: A photograph taken by the author in NewfoundlandLeft: A photograph taken by the author during his first semester in Waterloo Iโm flying home to Newfoundland for Christmas, for the first time since leaving home.…
![[ESSAY] “Home” by Daniel Cheng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/22home22-by-daniel-cheng-.png?w=937)
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[ESSAY] “No Moral at Its End” by Matt Reeck Also read Matt Reeck’s story “Three Travelling Portraits: India”. When I wrote โThree Travelling Portraits,โ I was interested in depicting some of the sexual tension that I had experienced and witnessed…
![[ESSAY] “No Moral at Its End” by Matt Reeck](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/screenshot-2026-07-10-at-19.06.38.png?w=850)
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[ESSAY] “The Internet Cafe That Died During The Pandemic” by Laurehl Onyx B. Cabiles There was a well-known internet cafรฉ in our municipality. Like all other small businesses, it was located at our public terminal since there were no complex…
![[ESSAY] “The Internet Cafe That Died During The Pandemic” by Laurehl Onyx B. Cabiles](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/screenshot-2026-07-11-at-11.40.29.png?w=824)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] โInto the Heart of Darkness in Rudraneil Senguptaโs The Beast Within and Nilanjana S. Royโs Black Riverโ by Rituparna Mukherjee ๐ธ Rudraneil Sengupta. The Beast Within, Context, 2025. 352 pgs.๐ธ…
![[ESSAY] โInto the Heart of Darkness in Rudraneil Senguptaโs ๐โ๐ ๐ต๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐กโ๐๐ and Nilanjana S. Royโs ๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐ฃ๐๐โ by Rituparna Mukherjee](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/rudraneil-sengupta.-the-beast-within-context-2025.-352-pgs.-nilanjana-s.-roy.-black-river-pushkin-vertigo-2024.-368-pgs.png?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] โLiner Notesโ by Jeremiah Dutch Also read Jeremiah Dutch’s story “Cool Jazz at the Dragonfly Club”. โAnyone who understands jazz knows that you canโt understand it. Itโs too complicated. Thatโs whatโs so simple about it.โ โAttributed to Yogi Berra…
![[ESSAY] โLiner Notesโ by Jeremiah Dutch](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/liner-notes-jeremiah-dutch.png?w=864)
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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ 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. Ildikรณ 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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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] โWhat Lingers: On Babitha Marina Justinโs The Way Madmen Smellโ by Ankush Banerjee Babitha Marina Justin. The Way Madmen Smell, Red River Press, 2026. 149 pgs. Noted Trivandrum-based academic, poet,…
![[ESSAY] โWhat Lingers: On Babitha Marina Justinโs ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐โ 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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่ถ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] โSimmering, Steaming, Spilling: On Hongwei Baoโs Queer Playtext Hot Potโ by Ronny Chan Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon Hot Pot. Hongwei Bao. Hot Pot, Poetic Edge Publishers, 2026. 112 pgs. “To…
![[ESSAY] โSimmering, Steaming, Spilling: On Hongwei Baoโs Queer Playtext ๐ป๐๐ก ๐๐๐กโ 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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[ESSAY] โHot Pot: A Queer East Asian Play About A Meal, Four Friends and What Remains Unsaidโ by Hongwei Bao Clickย HERE to readย all entries inย Chaonย Hot Pot. Hongwei Bao (playwright). Hot Pot: A Queer East Asian Play About A Meal, Four…
![[ESSAY] โ๐ป๐๐ก ๐๐๐ก: A Queer East Asian Play About A Meal, Four Friends and What Remains Unsaidโ by Hongwei Bao](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hot-pot-poster-square-with-title.jpg?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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FIRST IMPRESSIONS ่ถ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Yi-Ling Liuโs Portrait of Chinaโs Digital Dissidents in The Wall Dancers” by Johanna M. Costigan Yi-Ling Liu. The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet, Knopf, 2026,…
![[ESSAY] “Yi-Ling Liuโs Portrait of Chinaโs Digital Dissidents in ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ” by Johanna M. Costigan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/wall-dancers.jpg?w=987)
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[ESSAY] “Of Elephants and Peoples” by Aishwarya Narayanan Image Periyar Tiger Reserve is located in the South-Western Ghats of India, administratively falling under the Idukki, Kottayam, and Pathanamthitta districts of Kerala. Encompassing 925 kilometres of protected wilderness, the Reserve is…
![[ESSAY] “Of Elephants and Peoples” by Aishwarya Narayanan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/elephants-https-periyartigerreserve.org_.jpg?w=1024)
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Editor’s note: In this essay, Chris Song reflects on debates in Hong Kongโs Sinophone literary field since the 2019 Biennial Awards, where tensions between everyday poetics and politically engaged writing surfaced. He shows how prizes, criticism, and institutions shape poetic…
![[ESSAY] “Poetics Debates and the Shadow of Power in Hong Kongโs Sinophone Literary Field” by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/poetics-debates-and-the-shadow-of-power-in-hong-kongs-sinophone-literary-field.png?w=786)
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