Late one July morning, Mei Lin stood in the line inside the Harrington’s, the local butchers. Sen, brought along to push the second wheeled grocery cart required for the fortnight grocery run, clutched at her mother’s skirt, peering uncertainly at the whole lamb carcass and row of unplucked chickens hanging just behind the counter. After ...

I am Vietnamese-Australian, yet I speak English better than any other language.  All my reading, writing and thinking is limited to combinations and permutations of the twenty-six lettered Roman alphabet. So do I still have use for another language? As a little girl, I saw language as a burden. When I was ten years old, ...

1989, and the hottest summer on record, at least since I’d been born. Salt ‘n’ Pepa were all over the airways and in our tiny suburb, between crimping fringes and rearranging fluoro bobby socks, all of the other third-grade girls were singing let’s talk about sex. We didn’t  realise the real revolution wasn’t bumping and ...

I get it, I really do. I saw your tv episode about being Jewish and feeling attracted to Asian women. I understand your conflicting feelings...

When the man climbed out of the ute I picked up my backpack, dusted off my shorts and walked over. ‘Meghan?’ His accent was Australian, his eyes green with flecks of yellow. I stuck out my hand and we shook. He took my backpack and hauled it into the back. Town after dusty town whizzed ...

Falling failing falling.  Failing used to mean: failing an assignment, an exam, a subject.  Falling behind.  Failing chemistry: no matter how hard I tried – I never achieved more than a C.  Not an F, but it may as well have been.  My dad wanted to go and speak with my Chemistry teacher and ‘sort ...

According to Ba, my biological imperative is to marry and have children. I was dozing before this, but his words shake me up. His voice travels far: he and Ma are having their morning conversation with condensed-milk coffee at the back of the house while I’m in the front, but it sounds like he’s shouting ...