a letter from the editors:

Dear Reader, 

Welcome. We, The Wave Team, may not know you, but we are so glad you’re here. That is the delight of this virtual zine. 

For the Quaranzine, we invited anyone in the Pan-Asian diasporic community to contribute to this virtual time capsule. During a global pandemic and reckoning with racial inequality, we wanted to forge an open platform for our community to convey what they’re thinking, feeling, noticing, grieving, and cherishing. That’s why this issue is raw. It’s clear that our community is processing, struggling with, and fighting against anti-Asian discrimination during COVID-19. And even more, the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement urges us to deepen our belief in being active, meaningful allies to BIPOC communities, and strengthens our resolve to showcase stories that need to be heard. This mission is solidified in all the labor and love that has culminated in our beloved Quaranzine.

But, it is strange to think that you may be reading this alone on a digital screen, rather than perusing a physical copy in a lively room, like at our inaugural launch celebration. On one browser tab, you may be seeing images of frontline workers combating a pandemic, on another, clips of people partying in quarantine. How do we stay grounded when our virtual windows into the larger world quickly become biased or fragmented? There is now a strange dissonance in our physical perspectives, which have suddenly contracted to the little universes inside our quarantined walls and Zoom windows. Our world shrank to the home, the grocery store, and the radius within walking distance. What does this do to our minds, our hearts, our memories of bustling streets, our sense of spontaneity?

It can feel like our ability to emotionally connect and tell our truths degenerates living in a world like this. So please, go through this zine slowly. Read every piece. Use this as an opportunity to actively listen,  reflect on the world, and empower yourself to speak your truth. We hope the voices in this issue restore your creative reserves, stretch your empathetic muscles, and strengthen the core of what makes you human. 

Here it is, the Quaranzine. 

With love, 

The Wave Team

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