New translations by Rahad Abir of two poems by the young revolutionary and Bengali poet Sukanta Bhattacharya.

Poetry, TranslationJee KohDecember 15, 2023Rahad AbirComment

For the Love of Squircles

How does one square the circle? Yap Hao Yang finds that impossible possibility in his review of Tse Hao Guang’s The International Left-Hand Calligraphy Association.

Review, PoetryJee KohDecember 8, 2023Yap Hao YangComment

#YISHREADS November 2023

To celebrate the Festival of Lights, Ng Yi-Sheng lights up our minds with his takes on five works of speculative fiction from South Asia and the diaspora.

ReviewJee KohDecember 1, 2023Ng Yi-ShengComment

A New Picaro

“No good comes from dealing with motherfuckers.” The protagonist of Migrantik, by Norman Wilwayco, runs counter to conventional images of the Flipino migrant worker, as reviewer Lara Norgaard finds out.

ReviewJee KohDecember 1, 2023Lara NorgaardComment

My Book of the Year 2023

26 Singaporean writers, artists, and thinkers recommend their favorite reads this year. The Singapore Unbound team has some recommendations for you too.

ReviewJee KohNovember 29, 2023Comment

A Flag Is Lowered

What does it feel like when a people free themselves from the chains of colonialism and proclaim their independence? We find out in this new translation by Chang Shi Yen of Usman Awang’s moving story “A Flag Is Lowered.”

TranslationJee KohNovember 24, 2023Wan Osman Wan Awang, Chang Shih YenComment

The Last Will and Testament of a Nobleman

A sharp social message masquerading as a courtly love story, Keris Mas’s first story, translated by Chang Shih Yen here, already showed his political leanings and literary gifts.

TranslationJee KohNovember 17, 2023Keris Mas, Chang Shih YenComment

Celebrating Eid at Grandmother’s Grave

In this story “Celebrating Eid at Grandmother’s Grave,” by Malaysia’s first National Laureate Keris Mas, translated by Chang Shih Yen, a woman tries to get a red shirt for her child so that he can celebrate Eid like the other children.

TranslationJee KohNovember 10, 2023Chang Shih Yen, Keris MasComment

Editor’s Note for SUSPECT’S Malay Translation Portfolio

SUSPECT’s Fiction Editor Sharmini Aphrodite introduces the four stories in this first installment of an exciting new project, our Malay Translation Portfolio.

TranslationJee KohNovember 3, 2023Sharmini AphroditeComment

Schizosinga

What creature did Sang Nila Utama actually see on the island? The story “Schizosinga,” by Hassan Hasaa’ree Ali, translated by Ng Yi-Sheng, provides a different answer.

TranslationJee KohNovember 3, 2023Ng Yi-ShengComment

#YISHREADS October 2023

Looking for a Halloween costume? Ng Yi-Sheng offers several scary ideas from Asia.

ReviewJee KohOctober 27, 2023Ng Yi-ShengComment

When the World's Too Much

Diane Josefowicz reviews The Enlightenment of Katzuo Nakamatsu, by Augusto Higa Oshiro, translated by Jennifer Shyue, a novel about a descendant of Japanese immigrants to Peru.

ReviewJee KohOctober 27, 2023Diane JosefowiczComment

Recommendation Letter for Iqra Islam

“Without understanding her, you will glance briefly over her CV, over her proposal, over her application letter and reject her.” A new story by Niaz Zaman.

FictionJee KohOctober 20, 2023Niaz ZamanComment

On Not Killing the Thing You Love

Lydia Wei reviews Dear Bear, by Ae Hee Lee (UK: Platypus Press, 2021), and discovers a world characterized simultaneously by blossom and apocalypse.

ReviewJee KohOctober 13, 2023Lydia WeiComment