m//otherland is a literary debut that cradles the intimacies of longing and love for a country torn apart by distance, violence and desire. In the tradition of Latin American literature, these poems explore the nooks of Mexican roots, family, queerness, sanctity and memory. They weave restlessly between borders, bodies and liminal spaces. Calling into question the traditional narratives of Latin symbolism and identity, Asiel Adán Sánchez writes back to a home that is constantly healing.
is a non-binary poet based in Naarm/Melbourne. Born and raised in Mexico,
their work explores the intricacies of race, culture, gender and sexuality. Asiel’s writing has appeared in Cordite Poetry Review, Rabbit Poetry, Archer Magazine, Voiceworks Magazine,
and Australian Multilingual Writing Project, among others.
asiel_adansanchez
A beautiful collection of poetry about identity, belonging, family, home and ancestry.
Asiel Adán Sánchez masterfully plays linguistic instruments to create the most intricate and astounding melodies. This collection is as much a healing balm as it is a call-to-action.
You will gather new gifts with each re-reading.
–Nevo Zisin
m/ /otherland draws down impossible-to-name feelings of bodies, lovers, land, home, place, movement and self, then arranges them on the page with unmatched precision. This is to say, approach carefully. I was not prepared and now fin myself weeping over the kitchen sink.
–Fury
Accomplished in both its visual and literary elements, this film skilfully uses metaphor especially around violence, body, colour and paint. The poem evokes the plurality of Octavio Paz’s Proem. The music is tender as is the voice; love the line ‘that a broken lip/ deserves to be/ dressed in red/ as though it’s never/ kissed the pavement.’
–Queensland Poetry Festival
(on "Autorretrato", opening poem)
The poems held here are so intensely visual that I’ve come to interpret it as a collection of paintings, spanning across a variety of genres –portrait, still life, landscape– whilst also being, somehow, autorretratos of ourselves.
Reading m/ /otherland reminded me that faint imprints or erased pencil on white paper are still stubbornly visible and impossible to fully remove.
–Ana Maria Gomides
These poems were written on Wurundjeri Country and Latji Latji Country. To the traditional custodians, I give thanks and stand in solidarity in the face of colonisation and systemic violence. Always was. Always will be.
Funds from The University of Melbourne Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Staff
Excellence Award in Diversity and Inclusion were used in part for the development of this book.
Thank you to Mexican painter Fabián Cháirez for kindly allowing us to use their painting
"La Invocación" (2015) for the cover of this collection.
"La Invocación" (2015), Fabián Cháirez Ⓒ
We are a small publisher dedicated to promoting the work of emergent writers. We publish books that advocate for diversity and inclusion in all their forms. To date, we have published 8 books of different genres in Spanish and 1 bilingual anthology (English & Spanish). m/ /otherland is our first book in English, which will be translated into Spanish and published, launched and distributed in Mexico in 2022.