INFO
| Name | A Clear Dawn |
| Year | 2021 |
| Publisher | Auckland University Press |
| Type of Text | Anthology |
| Artform | Literature |
| Creative Team | Edited by Paula Morris and Alison Wong |
ABOUT
Edited by Alison Wong and Paula Morris (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Whatua), A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices From Aotearoa New Zealand was published in May 2021 by Auckland University Press. This landmark collection — described as “the first-ever anthology of Asian New Zealand creative writing” — brings together poetry, essays, and short stories by 75 different writers and has been praised for exploring the Asian experience with nuance and complexity. As reviewer Saradha Koirala observes:
While some writers explore ideas about being Asian, being migrants, being torn between the traditions of family and discovering their true self, others write about being queer, being alone, being young, being old, revenge, jealousy and mass hysteria. It would be impossible to draw any major themes together, although some pieces do seem to talk to each other or nod knowingly in each other’s direction.
A wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds are represented in the anthology, including writers from the Japanese, Filipino, Indian, Sri Lankan, Chinese and Indonesian diasporas. The writers range from teenagers to those in their 80s and come from a variety of professional backgrounds. Alongside more recognisable names like Chris Tse, Nina Mingya Powles, Rose Lu, and Gregory Kan are works by emerging writers — many of whom had never previously been published. Writers who had had more than two full-length works published were excluded from the collection, as a way of more emphatically platforming ‘new’ voices.
Editors Paula Morris and Alison Wong describe their approach as coming ‘together as tangata whenua and tauiwi” for this anthology, and in an interview with RNZ, Wong adds that they saw this anthology as “an opening of the door. This is a journey we take together, where we discover so much about our country and our people and all of the diverse people within it.”
Reviewing the book for Landfall, writer Renee Liang adds to this sentiment, saying:
Our writers speak directly to our community: insider to insider, we get it; we feel and cry and pulse. We are happy and grateful that at last—after 200 years of being present in the NZ landscape—there is a physical manifestation of our voices and we can feel the sunlight on our faces.
The book received the Upstart Press Award for Best Non-Illustrated Book at the 2022 PANZ Book Design Awards.
Writers featured, in alphabetical order: Akemi; Cybonn Ang; Manisha Anjali; ki anthony; Shriya Bhagwat; Russell Boey; Serena Chen; Gemishka Chetty; Joanna Cho; Vanessa Mei Crofskey; Modi Deng; Saraid de Silva; romesh dissanayake; Maryana Garcia; Nod Ghosh; Wai Ho; Ya-Wen Ho; Bernadette How; Feby Idrus; Isabelle Johns; Gregory Kan; Angelique Kasmara; Melanie Kwang; Sharon Lam; Yan Tan Danny Lam; Natasha Lay; Grace Lee; Wen-Juenn Lee; Lynette Leong; Malinna Liang; Jessica Lim; Jiaqiao Liu; Rose Lu; Hui Luo; Himali McInnes; Cybella Maffitt; Rupa Maitra; Sarah May; Mustaq Missouri; Anuja Mitra; Zhi Hong Mo; Tze Ming Mok; Nithya Narayanan; Eva Wong Ng; Han Mai Nguyen; Sze Ning Ooi; Kiri Piahana-Wong; Sugu Pillay; A L Ping; Aiwa Pooamorn; Nina Mingya Powles; Emma Shi; Emma Sidnam; Naomi Simon-Kumar; Neema Singh; Mikee Sto Domingo; Nicole Tan; Rosabel Tan; Tuck Ming Tan; Janna Tay; Karen Tay; Yoshiko Teraoka; Joy Tong; Chris Tse; Latika Vasil; Rushi Vyas; Amy Weng; Belinda Wong; E Wen Wong; Sherry Xu; Sigred Yamit; Grace Yee; Ting J Yiu; Xiaole Zhan; Sherry Zhang.
LINKS
Key awards
2022 — Upstart Press Award for Best Non-Illustrated Book at the 2022 PANZ Book Design Awards.
