The Asian Prizes announces the long list for the inaugural Asian Prize for Poetry 2025, featuring ten works from nine countries exploring the theme “The Earth.” The international jury, chaired by Ukrainian poet Iryna Vikyrchak, selected diverse voices spanning Ukraine, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Botswana, Vietnam, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
‘Contours of Him’ brings remarkable depth to our understanding of men and their bodies, helping to redefine masculinity in ways that are more compassionate, complex, and authentic. By inviting readers into intimate relationships with the physical male form as experienced across diverse cultures, this anthology advances our collective conversation about gender and embodiment
The title Anatta, a Pali word meaning “not-self,” points towards a central theme in the anthology: the impermanence of all things, including the self. Buddhist philosophy challenges the notion of a fixed, unchanging self. Anatta proposes instead a fluid, ever-changing entity, constantly shaped by our experience as a body-mind (Nama-Tula) and the world in which it lives.
Lily Tang believes that storytelling has the power to transcend cultures and build the critical connections we need to make the world a better place and has spent the past two years building a youth storytelling fellowship program to empower Indigenous students in Taiwan. Through her writing, Lily explores the transnational Chinese experience and the complexity, beauty, and pain of immigration and diasporic identity.
The Asian Review 