Egrets wade across a rippling lake. Rows of apartments unfurl on islands and mountainsides, while boxes of plastic dolls line shelves at the mall. Everywhere, valorations of thinness prosper—disappear here. Dust dances. In our previous issue, we gathered interpretations of “ VAST 大”. Now, we turn to minutiae; these are the details that add up to our world and our lives, in the contemporary moment.

This issue features the winners and shortlistees from our eighth annual writing contest, judged this year by John Yau and Jeremy Tiang.

In the issue:
— Editor Yue Chen and Dr. Lee Ann S. Wang discuss abolitionism and Asian American studies in the context of Wang’s new book The Violence of Protection (Duke University Press).
— Interviews Editor Chi S. Tsu speaks to Divya Maniar about her debut novel, After Care (Verve, 2026), tracing the book’s inspirations and character motivations.
— Poet Dong Li in conversation with Editor Erika Jing and Jing Yuan about family memory, language and translation.
— Designer Katherine Ju meets mixed media artist Joseph Ni to talk through ideas of queer liminality and Chinese cultural philosophy.
— Staff Contributor J Wu renders the world of basketball into illustration; editor Eli Hsieh’s photograph transports us to a world of gray.
— New poems by Cela Xiè, Bruce Elvin and Jia Hui Lee are each sharply evocative in their own way, responding to movie scenes and memories.
— Shui-yin Sharon Yam asks readers to trace a path upwards through a poem’s lilting language, “in search of home”.
— “My First Story” by Toku traverses family memory through expressive, thoughtful prose.
— Poetry contest winner Tina Li captures—and refractures—modernity with propulsive rhythm in “Indirect States of Address”.
— Fiction contest winner Amy Chu diagnoses contemporary dating in “Springtime in Abington”, told through effective, listless narration.

Front cover by Miki Wong. Back cover by Eli Hsieh.