Earlier in the month I was moaning about my seeming inability to constructively read pretty much anything, and most especially the three periodicals I acquired around April-May. Well today I finished the third and final one of these, the May-July issue of the Mekong Review. I'm relieved to say it didn't fall quite as flat with me as the other mags I've struggled with. At the very least it served, as always, as a fruitful reminder of what an utterly fascinating part of the world I live in and how much I just don't know about the wider environs of South East Asia.
It also featured a piece by an ex-student of mine, Daryl Yam, who is turning out, not unexpectedly, to be a resonant voice in the region. His enthusiasm for the work he was reviewing, the fourteen essays comprising Queer Southeast Asia, was heartening, especially in the light of the personal struggles he delicately hints at in the essay in relation to the uncertainties he faces as a queer man in Singapore.
If the only thing we really learn of through our reading is the vulnerability of others, that seems to me sufficient reward.
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