Lit-Mag #35

“Travel & Transitioning”


A private poetry reading held after hours at Books Actually, © Jon Gresham

Only through travel can we truly appreciate the arbitrariness of borders between countries, and the illusory symbolism of a national identity the passport carries with it whenever it is shown. It is also through such moments of transitioning that we travel out of our comfort zones, forced to discover what we have not experienced before, as well as confront our own reactions to that difference. I compiled works that show us how, through travel, our sense of self may also undergo a transition, in which we re-discover the world and our ever-shifting place within its flux and diversity. – Cyril Wong, Singapore


Martina Pfeiler was born in Austria in 1976. She has recently published a book on Sounds of Poetry: Contemporary American Performance Poets. Since 2002 she has been teaching at the American Studies Dept. in Dortmund Germany, where she is writing her dissertation on poetry in new media environments. She is amember of the writers group GRAUKO, the Grazer Autorinnen und Autoren Kollektiv (www.grauko.at): Manila International Airport, 1987.

Kris T Kahn is originally from New Jersey and a PhD student in England, researching the intersection of literature and gender. Do visit him at www.kristkahn.net. This piece is entitled: Bidding.

B. R. Dionysius directed the Queensland Poetry Festival from 1997-2001 and is currently editor of papertiger: new world poetry #05. He was short-listed in the 2002 Mary Gilmore Poetry Prize for his poetry collection, Fatherlands. He lives in Brisbane, Australia: Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám, Quatrain 8 | Knossos | Train Song 4.

Koh Beng Liang is the founding editor of The 2ndRule, a guerrilla creative magazine which aims to move people from apathy to action. He currently works as a Systems Analyst and is the author of last three women. His poems: Cuba | Reykjavik.

Terry Jaensch: Terry’s one man show Kissing Myself was shortlisted for the Wal Cherry award and subsequently produced by St Martin’s Theatre in Melbourne. As a poet he has been published both in Australia and overseas, with his work also broadcast on radio and television. His first volume of poetry Buoy, was highly commended in the Anne Elder award, by the Fellowship of Australian Writers: Sight-Seer | Karaoke (Babylon).

S. K. Kelen’s most recent books of poems are Shimmerings (Five Islands, 2000) and Goddess of Mercy (Brandl & Schlesinger, 2002): A Travellers’ Guide to the East Indies | Mid-West 1.

Dawn Lim has won the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award. She is a member of the LitWing, apart of the Hwa Chong English Literary and Drama, Debateand Film society: Quantum Physics(extracts).

Leigh Stein has spent 96% of her life in Chicago. Now she lives in Brooklyn and works as a coat check girl and misses Lake Michigan. Her work has appeared in2River View, Small Spiral Notebook, and Yankee Pot Roast, among others: Gratitude | Tinder | Civil War.

Peter Murphy writes poetry, short stories, plays, and takes photographs. His books include Glass Doors and Lies (poetry) and Black Light and The Moving Shadow Problem (stories). His most recent book of poetry is Snapshots, published by Collective Effort Press: ‘Maniar’ | Tourist and Beggars.

Gaston Ng is serving his National Service in Singapore and is currently part of the Mentor Access Programme under the National Arts Council,Singapore: Next Stop.

Karl Koweski is a thirty year old displaced Chicagoan now living on top of a mountain inAlabama. It’s like sitcom without the humor, here. He has several chapbooks out, the most recent, Can’t Kill A Man Born To Hang, was published by Bottle of Smoke Press: Breakwater | Returning Home | Exits.


Lit-Mag #34    Lit-Mag #36