Past and Parallel Lives

By Kaya Ortiz

Winner of the 2024 Dorothy Hewett Award

Time. Memory. Mirror. Past & Parallel Lives is a rippling reflection on being alien, queer, and other. These poems yearn for home and belonging after migration, religion, and coming out. Kaya Ortiz's award-winning debut shines with authenticity - this is a courageous departure from a past life, towards a queer future and a poetic return to self.

"A gentle and powerful urge to believe in a world where becoming is just as beautiful as arriving." Madison Godfrey

"Brimming with incantatory power, Past & Parallel Lives is a luminous contribution to queer Filipino poetics." Eunice Andrada

"This collection is a marvel, a miracle. By leaning into the past, Ortiz propels us into a future radiant with queer joy. This book is essential and a must-read." Scott-Patrick Mitchell

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1760802980
• ISBN13: 9781760802981
• Release Date: March 2025
• Publisher: University of Western Australia Press
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.3"