{"id":10593,"date":"2018-09-19T18:03:10","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T13:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/vessel-shared-experiences-baziju\/"},"modified":"2023-02-14T01:20:20","modified_gmt":"2023-02-13T20:20:20","slug":"vessel-shared-experiences-baziju","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/editorials\/vessel-shared-experiences-baziju\/","title":{"rendered":"A Vessel for Shared Experiences: Baziju’s Box Kite<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of <\/span>Box Kite<\/span><\/i> is the idea of Baziju itself. As described in the collection\u2019s titular prose poem, \u201cBaziju is a vessel for shared experiences.\u201d Shared actions, interests, and languages support human connections throughout <\/span>Box Kite<\/span><\/i>: practising Mandarin and eating dumplings sparks nostalgia between the speaker and the server in \u201cThe Snow Cabbages of Harbin,\u201d a chance encounter with a stranger becomes a friendship upon the discovery that both speak Mandarin in \u201cYuanfen,\u201d and a visit to a region loved by a friend prompts the buying of a gift in \u201c<\/span>Ba Gua<\/span><\/i>: The Eight Trigrams.\u201d There is an intimacy to these connections, and by inviting readers into these stories, <\/span>Box Kite <\/span><\/i>creates yet another layer of shared experience. <\/span><\/p>\n

Evident throughout the text is the authors\u2019 respect for Chinese language and culture. The use of Mandarin words and allusions to China\u2019s history and literary figures are prevalent throughout the collection. For example, in \u201cXishiDoufu,\u201d ordering a hot meal causes contemplation of the historical Xishi, a \u201clegendary beauty of the Warring States period,\u201d and of a novel by Chinese writer Gu Hua. These references help connect story to setting and provide a feeling of authenticity. While the closing notes offer definitions and explanations enough to prevent any serious detraction or feelings of deficiency, some knowledge of Chinese culture may enhance reading.<\/span><\/p>\n

Within the individual pieces of this collection, simple actions like walking, eating, or shopping become the basis for recollection and thought. Whether referring to the speaker\u2019s location or imagined places, <\/span>Box Kite\u2019s<\/span><\/i> settings\u2014from Taiwanese temples to Toronto bagel shops\u2014are described with vivid prose. Readers with wanderlust may find themselves imagining their own desired travels instead of paying attention to the text that follows. However, aside from slowing the reading process a bit, there\u2019s no real harm in this kind of aspiration.<\/span><\/p>\n

The detailed descriptions in the collection are complemented by black and white photos from the authors\u2019 travels. These are a nice touch that add to the personal feel and travel journal esthetic of the collection. However, while black and white printing ensures the photos do not draw attention away from the writing itself, some photos are a bit dark to appreciate the details and I can\u2019t help but wonder if some would not have been improved with colour. Still, the combination of prose and photos further allows readers to immerse themselves within the words and worlds of <\/span>Box Kite<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

In \u201cLu Xun\u2019s Desk,\u201d Baziju describes a pressure to write thoughts down \u201cas though merely by writing something down, something more might be accomplished.\u201d <\/span>Box Kite<\/span><\/i> accomplishes much more than ink on a page; it fills the mind of the reader, creating something tangible that lingers in the mind after the pages are set aside.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Emily Stewart<\/strong> is a wanna-be everything and an actual freelance writer and editor. She currently writes about book news for Women Write About Comics, acts as a digital content coordinator and publishing assistant for Common Deer Press, and volunteers with Editors Canada. When not at a keyboard, she’s usually reading CanLit, YA, or SFF, trying to be artistic, or daydreaming about travel. Find her online at emilystewart.ca<\/a> or on Twitter @emstewart041<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ARC<\/a> HITS THE HEART HARD.
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Box Kite is a collection of \u201cproto-stories, [\u2026] essays, memoirs, or prose poems\u201d by Baziju, the collected voice of Roo Borson and Kim Maltman. The book’s richly descriptive prose acts as a kind of travel journal, drawing on experiences of Toronto, Australia, and\u2014most prominently\u2014China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2854,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"10221","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1442,1704,1894],"tags":[],"genre":[21],"publisher":[189],"issue":[],"poet-in-residence":[],"series":[3128],"topic":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10593"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10593"},{"taxonomy":"genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/genre?post=10593"},{"taxonomy":"publisher","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publisher?post=10593"},{"taxonomy":"issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue?post=10593"},{"taxonomy":"poet-in-residence","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/poet-in-residence?post=10593"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=10593"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcpoetry.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=10593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}