shaved head poem
living in testing times. most testing times in one hundred years. pandemic sweeping through our world will wipe clean pages…
Stories
The Flood
On the day of the storm, the Natural History Museum of Jerusalem was flooded, its glass display cases shattered, and…
Before the forest was widowed
Before the forest was widowed, And postcards allayed the death of the Javan tiger, In the beginning were rhymes of…
The Inland Sea
Years ago, travelling across America on a Greyhound bus, I found myself astounded when we came upon big inland cities.…
But this is what I have now
Everything was too bright. The pop purple of the jacaranda. The bright pink of the Tabebuia rosea. The leaves, shiny…
Little Black Bodies
At nightfall, I mould scraps of experiments into paper mash puddings and swallow two balls for dinner. Two is a…
Knowing Time
My grandmother’s house in Johor was the place of my childhood as much as it was my mother’s. Once a…
Love-life
‘Love-life’ was shortlisted for the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. How’s your love-life? my father asks. He is drunk. We…
Cloud Ink
Brother has a scar. It takes the shape of Africa on his slim chest. An accident of childhood, it is…
The Night of Hungry Ghosts
‘The Night of Hungry Ghosts’ was shortlisted for the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
THE BLACK MAN’S BURDEN
- Not for Rudyard Kipling
Bluey
‘Bluey’ was shortlisted for the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
The Blessing of Kali
‘The Blessing of Kali’ was shortlisted for the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
How to Marry an African President
‘How to Marry an African President’ was shortlisted for the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. When you are interviewed for…
To An American Stranger, By Way of An Answer
My roots are in Manila — that's above Bali and to the right of Bangkok. You might know the area. …
Oats
‘Oats’ was shortlisted for the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.