On the Brink of Belief: Queer Writing from South Asia

In this collection, twenty-four LGBTQIA+ writers from South Asia and beyond, conjure worlds where the borders between myth and memory, flesh and spirit, fact and belief dissolve.

Djinns linger in homes, an Assamese grandmother says. Peculiar cousins haunt Kashmiri family trees. Redemption for Shaitan is found on a bathroom floor in Lahore. In Dhaka, questions hang heavy in a police cell. Farewell emails offer closure to a relationship set against the backdrop of the decriminalization bill in Sri Lanka. And in a quiet kitchen somewhere in Nepal, memories still glow like flames.

This collection is a first-of-its-kind portal into the charged space where queerness meets faith. Building on the cultural histories of South Asia, these stories are brought to you as flash fiction, memoir, poetry, fragments and conversations, gathering voices that are at once intimate, fiercely authentic and defiant. Together, they rewrite what it means to belong and believe, offering readers not answers but revelations.

Kazim Aliwas born in the United Kingdom and has lived transnationally in the United States, Canada, India, France and the Middle East. His books encompass multiple genres, including the volumes of poetry Inquisition, Sky Ward, winner of the Ohioana Book Award in Poetry; The Far Mosque, winner of Alice James Books’ New England/New York Award; The Fortieth Day; All One’s Blue; and the cross-genre texts Bright Felon and Wind Instrument. His novels include the recently published The Secret Room: A String Quartet and among his books of essays are the hybrid memoir Silver Road: Essays, Maps & Calligraphies and Fasting for Ramadan: Notes from a Spiritual Practice. He is also an accomplished translator (of Marguerite Duras, Sohrab Sepehri, Ananda Devi, Mahmoud Chokrollahi and others) and an editor of several anthologies and books of criticism. After a career in public policy and organizing, Ali taught at various colleges and universities, including Oberlin College, Davidson College, St. Mary’s College of California, and Naropa University. He is currently a professor of literature at the University of California, San Diego.