real chic hero the übermensch is a rara avis the rare bird is a l’étranger the outsider is a theos apo mekhanes the deus ex machina is a peregrine mencina kinezopeisi, or the panacea of the greeks kalo nggak panas ya masuk angin i find it amazing in a city of 12 million … [Read more...]
Writings
Grave Years and the Undead Woman: On the Chilling Erasure of Mothers’ Needs
I have never read anything written by Pearl S. Buck. But a few years ago, I came across something she once said that I have been unable to forget. In a 1958 interview on the American TV show The Mike Wallace Interview, the eponymous Wallace (pausing every now and then to plug Parliament-brand … [Read more...]
Grieving in the Time of Pandemic: Watching My Ailing Mom from Overseas
Watching her mom’s condition deteriorates through video calls from overseas, she is weighed by the heaviness and helplessness of grief in the time of pandemic. I am lying in bed with Beatrice, my 3-year-old daughter, who is eating spaghetti bolognese out of a baby food packaging. She puts a … [Read more...]
Heels of Apocalyptic End
“I was born here.” “In this city?” “In this city,” she nodded. I liked how her hair moved when she nodded. It’s like a black cascade. I cut it once in a while, and she let me keep the scraps in a tin box. In return, I brought candles; three at a time. She likes real things. Real person. Real … [Read more...]
Hurt and Words: On Language and Pain in Public
This blog post is part of issue 125 of Feminist Review, which explores theories of the archive within feminist, queer, crip, decolonial, and diasporic studies. The issue, which brings academics, artists, and archivists into conversation with each other, launched in July 2020. Blog posts in this … [Read more...]
