Hyphen Magazine #9 "At Play"

If you haven't picked up their latest issue, Hyphen #9 features my poems "Whorl" and "Imperious".

Shameless self-promotion aside, standout articles to me in this issue included 'Shinoda's Song' by Todd Inoue, an intriguing interview with Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, as well as 'Yoshino Battles the Pink Elephants' by Nicole Makris, that explains what "covering" or downplaying our natural characteristics has to do with our civil rights.

It's almost a pity that YBPE is buried deep in the back of this issue.

Maria Park has some nice pieces of her visual artwork in 'discrete velocity'. They must be very interesting to see in person.

There's also Karen Kim's great little article on the differences between the various karaoke machines out there. But no love for Ed Bok Lee's book 'Real Karaoke People'? Aw.

Kim does also have an important article on how casinos are targeting Asian Americans. Having seen the results of chronic gambling among Southeast Asian refugees in the Midwest, I'm glad others are calling attention to it, although this article primarily focuses on the Vegas / CA scene.

In a weird case of mixed messages, thanks to Lisa Katayama, we also get to learn how to play Liar's Dice (most recently featured in Pirates of the Carribean 2, but hopefully not a new reality TV show this fall.)

Alas, "Let's Play," the closing feature comic strip hits way too close for home. ;)

In all, it's a good issue to pick up with some great content. The only weird thing I'd note is that many of the ads are surprising well-designed and integrated into the magazine at an almost organic level- they feel like they really belong there, for the most part.

You can check them out at www.hyphenmagazine.com