Arvin Temkar

Arvin Temkar is a writer in San Francisco. This summer he’s traveling the U.S. collecting stories about American identity: instagram.com/arvintemkar 

 

Shing Yin Khor’s Graphic Novel Tells a New American Myth

A Review of the Legend of Auntie Po

Shing Yin Khor’s charming graphic novel The Legend of Auntie Po bills itself as “a new American myth,” a testament to the way stories and culture are ever-evolving. This new myth is conjured by 13-year-old Mei, who lives in a Sierra Nevada logging camp with her father in 1885 and spins tall tales of “mother of all loggers” Auntie Po and her giant blue water buffalo — a counterpart to legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his ox. 

Poetic Identity

An interview with Craig Perez by Arvin Temkar

Craig Santos Perez is an American Book Award-winning poet and professor at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. He is originally from Guam, a small American territory in the Pacific. Much of his work examines his identity, his homeland and the impact of American influence on the island. His latest book, from unincorporated territory [lukao],was highlighted in NPR’s “Poetry to Pay Attention To” list last year.