Call and Response 2 : A Singapore Migrant Anthology

"Migrant. Citizen. Foreign Talent. Singaporean. Local. Expatriate. Immigrant. Permanent Resident. Migrant Worker.” What do these words mean, and how do they make you feel when you say them, or when you hear them said to you? When a border is crossed, when a passport is stamped, when you taste a familiar dish or hear a familiar accent – who truly belongs where, and to what or whom?

This sequel anthology brings together more than seventy writers and poets with differing relationships to the words “Singapore” and “migrant”. They were paired up, and asked to write to each other, and respond – and they came back with stories and poems that cover everything from the ache of homesickness to the sting of prejudice, from the tingle of romance to the balm of friendship.
Once again, we call you into a listening space, to hear voices familiar and foreign, fervent and fearless, funny, forthright and too often forgotten – we hope you respond.
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Hardback: 352 Pages
Product Dimensions: 140 x 205 mm
ISBN: 9789811498046
Published by Math Paper Press

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Call and Response: A Migrant / Local Poetry Anthology

edited by Joshua Ip, Rolinda Onates Espanola, and Zakir Hossain Khokan
published by Math Paper Press
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"Singapore is a migrant nation.

Who truly deserves the title "local", and how far removed is your average "local poet" from the term "migrant worker"?

The anthology "Call and Response" gathers the voices of more than thirty "migrant" poets, and pairs them with a creative response from the same number of "local" writers in this initiative. Metaphors and memories are reflected and refracted through each poet's unique prism of language, but the light catches the page, whether harsh or warm, to illuminate. The editors Rolinda Onates Espanola, Zakir Hossain, and Joshua Ip call you into the reader's space - we hope you respond."
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"My local choice is Call and Response: A Migrant/Local Poetry Anthology (Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2018) mainly for the long-awaited chance of seeing a range of migrant writers really hit the mainstream—and even more exciting, the debut of migrant domestic worker poets such as Rea Maac, Rolinda Onates Espanalo, and Nora Grimaldo. ...May we hear even more from these migrant writers (and editor) even more on their own terms sooner rather than later. Further evidence that Singapore may finally locate simultaneous soul and backbone through the rough energy of gynocentric migrant writing."
 - Angus Whitehead, educator, nominating the collection for Book of the Year 2018.

"Edited by Rolinda Onates Espanola, Zakir Hossain, and Joshup Ip, Call and Response (Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2018) remains remarkable simply for the virtue of its project. Featuring over 30 ‘migrant’ writers, published alongside ‘local’ ones, this collection just swells with humanity and good will. "
 - Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingde, poet and fictionist, nominating the collection for Book of the Year 2018.

"Call and Response, eds. Joshua Ip, Rolinda Onates Espanola and Zakir Hossain Khokan (Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2018) and My Lot is a Sky eds. Melissa Powers and Rena Minegishi (Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2018). A pair of poetry anthologies, their respective subtitles—”A Migrant/Local Poetry Anthology” and “An Anthology of Poems by Asian Women”—speak to their importance in carving out spaces for specific voices to be heard. Kudos also to Kenny Leck and the Math Paper Press team for believing in these projects and giving them a platform.
 - Ian Chung, writer.

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ISBN: 978-981-11-8919-7
Published: 2018
Extent: 138 pages
Finish: Paperback
Published by Math Paper Press
Cover and Design by Sarah and Schooling