fragments
from
a
queer
flower
re-membering

On the 10th anniversary of their sexual assault, cát nguyên published their bilingual Vietnamese-English zine, fragments from a queer flower re-membering (những cánh hoa của một bông hoa queer nhớ/trở-lại). The 56-page handbound, handcrafted, botanical zine is a contemplative gathering of wildflowers from their garden of memories, an unfiltered bouquet of both those that are flourishing and those that are wilting. In sharing their experiences with queerphobia and sexual violence, cát nguyên’s wish is to neither solicit sympathy nor recount a story of heroic survival. Rather, cát nguyên’s intentions are simple: to liberate their voice, acknowledge the violence that was inflicted upon them, and nurture their soul as it re-members.

returning to where i’ve never been is cát nguyên’s debut poetry zine, documenting their journey since their grandma’s passing as well as their physical and spiritual return to their homeland, after having been born and raised in the West.

This poetry zine is the culmination of lifetimes of love. It was originally meant to be a love poem dedicated to both bà & cát nguyên. Yet, it was bà who taught them how limitless love can be. They are therefore comforted in knowing that by honoring her & their relationship, cát nguyên is also sharing what they inherited from her.

The 84-page poetry collection is an odyssey that began with grief. For years, cát nguyên sifted through strings of incense before bà’s altar, contemplating the cruelness of this world, trying to make sense of it all. They wept & sang, drowned & dreamed until one day, the smoke finally cleared.

returning to where i’ve never been is a hand-stitched, mud-stained, mangosteen-dyed, and cigarette-kissed poetic performance on paper. It is the act of bà & myself defying the linearity of time & space to find each other again & again. This poetry zine is as permanent as impermanence itself. It is unconditional love.