Photo by Kak Sok Phirom at Phirom Photography
ON EARTH BENEATH SKY EXPLORES THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE
Chath pierSaths’snew book On Earth Between Sky is 68 intense yet soothing reflections in poetry and prose on life in Cambodia and the US – a strong new Khmer work to embrace.
Sharp Eyes – By Sithis Yim Samnang
Editor's note: We hope you read this short piece out loud to discover its eloquence in rhythm and sound. Written while thinking of the images in the"First They Killed My Father" movie, it speaks to contemporary times throughout troubled neighborhoods and nations. Sithis Yim Samnang is a young writer to keep on your horizon. Sharp Eyes By Sithis Yim Samnang I used to have a heart made of rice fields and cattle farms, a stomach enough for a grateful meal, and an eye rich in sunsets. Our...
The Orange Silk Dress by Sithis Yim Samnang
The Orange Silk Dress by Sithis Yim Samnang Between our dreams fear in realities meet the unfortunate bravery captured an uncalled treachery. My mother sewed a dress made of orange silk wounded her hand and her mouth with needle made weapon, to quilt the flesh of her own and her son She gave him his dress to impress his father to confess his future to commit to his wonder She gave him his dress to leave unwanted identity his father momentarily startled uncontrolled...
A Nail the Evening Hangs On – review of Monika sok’s debut book by Chath Piersath
From the publisher Copper Canyon Press: In this staggering poetry debut, Monica Sok illuminates the experiences of Cambodian diaspora and reflects on America’s role in escalating the genocide in Cambodia. A Nail the Evening Hangs On travels from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, where Tuol Sleng and other war museums reshape the imagination of a child of refugees; to New York City and Lancaster, where the dailiness of intergenerational trauma persists on the subway or among the cornfields of a small...
Rap Music: Ancient and Contemporary Poetry Flourishing in Cambodia
Painting by Chath pierSath Rap may have been born from the streets and the culture of African-Americans, but in Cambodia, it has ancient roots. Poetry was often recited or sung. The passing on of stories and various forms of narratives started with the speaking tongue, in rhymes, and improvisation. The Ayai and Chepey were often improvisations that can be a satire of something, or on the subject of the occasion, marriage or sex. The singer introduces himself or herself, thanking...
Chin Meas – Monk, Noodle Man & Revered Poet
Thanks to my fellow poet YENG Chheangly, I have learned to admire CHIN Meas. I invited him to our Khmer Literature Festival in 2017 and he has returned for the following years. Both his life and his personhood deserve our attention. Many of his poems have a Buddhist resonance and serve as cautionary tales about our tragic flaws. He embraces the impermanence of life and hauntingly leaves his readers pondering multiple layers of meaning. Chin Meas lives in Siem Reap with his wife and two young...
Cambodian Field notes from Haley & Sothy
Editor's Note: Haley and Sothy personify the spirit of Cambodia. In their presence, you catch a sense of joy, astonishment, and curiosity. Each in their own way is a storyteller and story is the juice that energizes all our comings and goings. Sothy carries an innate connection to nature’s total consciousness and intuitively lives in the wrinkles of time past, present, and future. Haley is a master at creating community, digging deeply into the culture, and understanding that no lives or...
in pictures – Cambodia through your eyes
Photograph by Bunnawath ChhunIn Pictures Magical Cambodia is collecting original photographs taken by Khmers, ex-pats, and visitors from around the world. We know you have your favorite photographs of Cambodia's life and landscapes that speak to you. Please share them with us through the link below and we will continue to create galleries that express the magic of the Land of Wonder. You get full photo credit and we will share it with the world. Our first gallery is collected from Urban Street...
Reflections on Chef Nav by Sokunthea Oum
Chef Nak, whose real name is Rotanak Ros, has become an essential ambassador of culture from Cambodia. Nak is a self-taught chef and entrepreneur who energetically is resurrecting Khmer food and introducing its glory to the rest of the world. “Nhum: Recipes From a Cambodian Kitchen,” is a collaboration with Phnom Penh-based photographer Nataly Lee. Nak explores recipes from her childhood and her travels throughout Cambodia. Her documentation of the ingredients and their health benefits bring...
KHMER LANGUAGE LEARNING DIARIES – IN SEARCH OF Khmer #2 – Duck!
KHMER LANGUAGE LEARNING DIARIES – Chapter 2 Sunday morning. It was one of those days where you wake up at about 3 am and just think, bugger it, I’ll put the coffee on. I'll sit down and listen to 24 vowel sounds that sound pretty much the same, and keep cycling them until my ear can pick out the difference. I do a good job of getting into it. My roommate soon rises with typical cheer. 'Morning, Dickhead!' (We live in a Southeast-Asian millennial young one's world. If the English aren't...
I see you & Khmer Dogs – Poems by Yeng Chheangly
I see you You’re a soldier A wanderer and a beggar You beg at bus stations and in the market By clasping your palms together. Young people like me ask Whether you’re real or fake. Are you real or fake? I keenly observe Your gestures, both soft and frail, Harsh and callous — Your actual manners I...
Experiments in video Poetry – Yeng Chheangly
Mekong River speak out her grief to villagers. Created from the inspiration of documenting the images of Tommyo Costa Ito. នេះគឺជាវីដេអូនកំណាព្យទីបីហើយ ដែលខ្ញុំ បានរៀនផលិត។ លើកនេះ ខ្ញុំបានដកស្រងយកច្បាប់ប្រុសដោយបណ្ឌិត ម៉ឺង ម៉ៃ មកបង្ហាញ ដោយបង្កើតរូបភាពថ្មីបន្ថែមទាក់ទងនឹងមុខ របស់កុមារី យ៉េង ចន្ទគឺមអ៊ី និង ថន ណាត់ថាក់លី។ I've been learning this process of making video merging them with Khmer poetry. This time I took some part of the old master poet work, Chok Moen Mai. The piece I...
An old book & The Sound of Tro – Poems by Yeng Chheangly
An Old Book Books on the shelf are in categories, Well kept and arranged in order, While one lies elsewhere, Is covered in thick dust. Kept but never cared for, Tossed into a corner, An outcast from the new shelved books, Fearful it may destroy the shelf’s proper upkeep. The book in the corner feels left out. No one even notices it. Dust chokes it, making it full of self-doubts. Only the new books are handsomely good. Tomorrow he must do some research. He searches through all the...
Musings Towards a new language for the arts – meet Reaksmey Yean
Photo of Reaksmey Yean courtesy of រូបថត | ©Norm Phanith, 2017 Why we need a language for art I am a Cambodian-American. Though I speak Khmer, I cannot read and write. I don’t have access to the intellectual history nor the linguistic development of the Khmer language. I am literate in English since it’s the first language that I learned to read and write in because I came to the US at the age of ten. I was educated in American schools, starting in fifth grade. During the Khmer Rouge, I was...
Khmer Language learning diaries – introduction
KHMER LANGUAGE LEARNING DIARIES – INTRODUCTION Chapter 1 FIRST STEPS Patience and attention! Slow down, and listen. What kinds of sounds are people making? Turn on their television. Watch their mouths. How are they making their sounds? What are they doing with their tongues and teeth? Where does the sound seem to be coming from? Throaty? Glottal? Nasal? None of these? Some study language for a lifetime without considering these questions. Of course, I’ll wager a bet that their pronunciation...