"A Radical Literary Space." A Chat with Kamil Ashan, Editor of South Asian Avant-Garde

Editor of journal for dissident and unconventional work takes us through their lit mag

Good day, my fellow lit mag lovers! I come with news of one more interview, freshly in the books.

Today I had the fascinating fun of speaking with Kamil Ashan, Editor of South Asian Avant-Garde: A Dissident Literary Anthology. This magazine “feature[s] dissident, unconventional work in fiction, essays, journalism, plays, poetry, and multimedia, in the hopes if reclaiming radical traditions that have long been excised from South Asian histories, and forging new communities and reinforces necessary solidarities.”

Like many creative undertakings (including this newsletter), SAAG is a product of the early pandemic. Kamil had previously worked for Barrelhouse and, during their time there and in the literary community at large, built connections among other editors, artists, poets, writers, and multi-media creators invested in dissident and radical South Asian voices. In May 2020 Kamil formed a staff (with many editors—SAAG’s editorial staff is quite large!) to create this new venture.

Today Kamil discussed a bit of the history of the avant-garde. Defining just what the avant-garde means, and what it looks like in a contemporary literary context, is part of the ongoing focus of the magazine.

Also integral to SAAG’s vision are leftist politics and activism. As the magazine defines itself as “a dissident literary anthology,” and since I am nothing if not a relentless question-asker, I asked Kamil to define both these terms— “dissidence” and “leftism.”

Specifically I wondered, is the word “dissident” tossed around too easily nowadays, with every Twitter opinion-haver believing themselves a threat to the established order? Do many of us not comprehend real dissidence, which can often include disappearances of human beings (as written about here in SAAG), violence, torture, censorship and other forms of repression?

Also, is there a political realignment taking place, in which there are both people on the left and the right who harbor anti-establishment views? If so, is the magazine open to writing from people on both sides, so long as they have a spirit of dissidence in their work? And, how do all these definitions shift and evolve over time?

Ah, my darlings, you will have to watch the video to hear Kamil’s thoughtful answers to all these questions and more!

Overall, this was not only a fun discussion, but was a particularly educational one.

SAAG will open for submissions within the next few months. Until then, you can read content on the site for free and follow them here.

To our guest who came out today, I couldn’t see your face, but no matter—thank you for attending! Your very presence is the sparkle in my day, the sweet lavender in my aromatherapy kit!

And, of course, big Thank You to Kamil for taking the time to pull back the curtain of another exciting little magazine.

Happy viewing!

There are three more events this month! Learn about them and register to attend here.