Editor Kavita Bhanot and Rikhi Ubhi, Publicity and Editorial Assistant at Birmingham’s Tindal Street Press, discuss the publishing house’s new anthology ‘Too Asian, Not Asian Enough’ and how they hope it will break stereotypes that bombard British Asian cinema and literature.
Rebellious girls sneaking off to play football behind their parents’ backs; black sheep forced into arranged marriage by a brutal father and immigrant children struggling to fit in with the white kids in their estate. These are some of the narratives that dominate British Asian films and novels, simply because they sell.
But new anthology, ‘Too Asian, Not Asian Enough’ defies these rules that bind most Asian storytellers into producing the same predictable rehashes, which often leads to generalised ideas of who and what Asians are.
“This is an anthology of twenty-one short stories, showing that British Asian writers are no longer willing to pander to outdated stereotypes” says Rikhi.
But the anthology is more than just breaking away from the norm, as brainchild Kavita wanted to challenge people’s ideas of Asians.
“Knowing many writers who feel stifled by the expectations of the British Asian label and listening to these writers speak about this at various events, I am aware of how difficult it is for an Asian writer to place their work because it doesn’t fit into most publishers’ ideas of ‘Asianess” she says.
The London-born writer wanted to do something that redresses the received opinions and stereotypes about Asians and this ultimately led her to pitch the idea for ‘Too Asian, Not Asian Enough’.
Rikhi said, “Kavita’s enthusiasm for the project motivated Tindal Street Press to send out a call for submissions to British Asian writers, asking them to send us stories on any theme they liked.”
And the writers chosen for the final selection certainly are mavericks, for the anthology covers a wide range of topics in these quirky stories.
One tale features a jilted husband who gains comical revenge on his ex-wife by smearing pizza on her driveway and another follows a hair collector who gets what’s coming to her when she arrives in a European village.
But the characters aren’t restricted to vengeful husbands and hair thieves. Iconic footballer David Beckham makes an appearance in Rajeev Balasumbramyan’s story, which sees the formerEnglandcaptain behave destructively after observing a corpse version himself in a portrait painting.
“Many of the resulting submissions – like Rajeev Balasumbramyan’s that you mention – are not what one might at first expect in an anthology of British Asian writing and shows how vibrant British Asian writing is,” explains Rikhi.
So what does theBirminghampublisher hope to achieve from this independent anthology?
“We hope that it will lead publishers, booksellers, media to open their mind towards ‘British Asian’ writers” says Kavita, “to be open to the stories that we want to write, rather than expecting us to fit into a narrow niche.”
But widening narrow niches are not the only aims that Tindal Street Press has, as Rikhi stresses, “We also hope to make British Asian identity less monolithic and more layered, more nuanced and more truthful.”
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