Smita Sahay Editor-in-Chief

    Editorial

    Dear Readers,

    As we welcome you to the latest issue of Usawa, we invite you to meditate on the theme of ‘kindness’. What does it mean to you? Is it an act or emotion? Is it activism or self-care? Is it compassion or generosity?
    How does it show up in our lives, how does it enrich our everyday?

    This is your issue, every piece is an ode to your love and kindness. We hope the pieces live with you in your homes, under your pillows, as bookmarks, that they travel with you tucked in your socks, nestling in your pockets close to your hearts.

    I’m very happy to announce a new section, Features, where writers respond to events in the news, such as Annie Ernaux’s winning the Nobel prize in literature, the tragic passing of the wonderful writer, Temsüla Ao, and the thought provoking art-exhibition, Woman is as Woman Does curated by the academic and writer, Nancy Adajania.

    A heartfelt congratulations to our Poetry Editor, Vinita Agrawal for the publication of her award winning collection of poetry, The Natural Language of Grief , and our Translations Editor, K. Srilata for the publication of the timely and thoughtful volume, This Kind of Child.

    We happily welcome the writer, poet, and research scholar, Ankush Banerjee as our Books Editor. Do check our forthcoming issues for reviews and book recommendations for more.

    As the year comes to a close, the Usawa family is thrilled for the wonderful achievements and publications of all our contributors and editors.

    Wish you all happy holidays. Do be kind, especially to yourselves.

    With love,
    Smita

    Subscribe to our newsletter To Recieve Updates

      The Latest
      • Matchbox by Usawa – June & July’25

        Resistance through June and July

      • Is it Too Late to Save Our Mothers?

        A daughter's haunting reflection on inherited pain and motherhood

      • Unclaimed

        Yearning for summer’s raw, timeless music, unadorned and healing

      • Reflections on Fascist Frameworks in Contemporary Times

        A timely dissection of fascist tactics in modern democracies

      You May Also Like
      • Four Poems By Dee Allen

        If Nature Took a human shape It would be A female Shadow self

      • Smita Sahay Editor-in-Chief

        We dedicate issue #9 of the Usawa Literary Review curated around the theme of

      • Guilt By Kinshuk Gupta

        There were just three days left for the exam and my belly was grumbling, heart

      • The Dreams of a Mappila Girl, a memoir by BM Zuhara, translated from the Malayalam by Fehmida Zakeer

        After she had acquired the key to the house in Kozhikode, Umma became very busy