blur by the, by Cham Zhi Yi
blur by the, by Cham Zhi Yi
blur by the is a collection of fractures that make not quite a whole. It is a giving of permission to the self, to exist as messily as ( i s ). These poems are a record of navigation through longing and dis [ place ] ment of the body and of place, a shattering of expectation(s) of the self and of family, often through dreams, food and eroticism. blur by the is a yearning for freedom from grief, memory, and—ultimately—from definition.
‘Cham’s practice is closer to that of Solange. Like Solange, Cham combines ‘deep joy mediocrity’ – affection for the quotidian, that empathy and cognitive recognition demanded by poetry – with ‘full time tenderness’. They are a gracious host (offering up the good cutlery, the nice bowls at the back of the cupboard), and are consistently and amply solicitous of the reader.’ - Declan Fry (Cordite Poetry Review)
💥 Judges for the 2020 Mary Gilmore Award wrote:
‘Cham Zhi Yi’s playful and intense poems deftly unpick the sometimes-rich, sometimes-fraught relationship between place and identity, history and the contemporary, family and self. Concerned with a Malaysian past and an Australian present, blur by the engages a variety of moods and forms, from the satirical and demotic to the lyrical and redacted. The collection’s multilingual status underscores the profound imbrication between language and experience. Its interest in form and typography is pronounced, further drawing attention to a poetics that is attuned to the material nature of language, just as it is aware of the cultural politics of any language act. In this impressive debut collection, the everyday becomes a profound source of (dis)connection and linguistic play.’
Awards:
💥 Winner: 2020 Anne Elder Award. Read more >
💥 Shortlisted: 2020 Small Press Network Book of the Year Award. Read more at ArtsHub and on the SPN website >
💥 Shortlisted: 2020 Mary Gilmore Award. Read more >
💥 Shortlisted: 2020 ACT Writing & Publishing Award. Read more >
First edition. Perfect bound. 95 pages.
ISBN: 9780648147541
Read a review by Declan Fry for Cordite >
About the author
Zhi is a Malaysian woman currently based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country which now exists as the esoteric wormhole known as Canberra. She is a believer of deep joy mediocrity and aspires to full time tenderness. She is best digitised on Instagram @chamzhiyi. blur by the is Zhi’s first book.
