The Fiction of truth, the truth of fiction

Kyoto Journal #71 brought together diverse writers celebrating the varied aspects of tea. My short story "Hunger" was also published in it.  You can view their content page below. ___________________________________________________________________________ Here’s a sampling of voices from the vibrant, pervasive, evolving world of tea, from a wide variety of sources, The story of tea is a perfect lens through which to view the contact and mutual transformation of East and west. This is barely an introduction, but the many trails are marked. This issue was guest edited by Gaetano Kazuo Maida, executive director of the nonprofit Tea Arts Institute, former organizer of the American Premium Tea Institute and publisher of the industry journal Tea Trade. (He is also a founding director of the Buddhist magazine Tricycle, and is executive director of the  International Buddhist Film Festival, www.ibff.org .) The Art Director of this issue is Ayelet Maida, principal of A/M St...

Sushma Joshi Albuquerque.  The Greyhound bus finally arrives, but my box of books is lost in transit. Three people, including me, sit there arguing with the manager about how this has been the consistent principle of Greyhound, and how its time they took responsibility. After three days in the bus, this is the final straw. I would have spent about the same amount of money if I had tried to get a cheap airline ticket, I realize belatedly, instead of spending another hundred dollars in transportation and hotel charges. But there is nothing to do. Here I am in Albuquerque, a day before school started, stuck in a small town of superb suburban sprawl and no public transportation. I call up the Yellow Cab, and I call the Zia Hotel, prominently displayed in the Albuquerque's information booth.  “You are Indian?” the very Indian voice at the other end asks me.  “Nepali,” I answer.  “You are alone?” the woman says, with the curiosity that tells me I a...

I found an illustration Vitasta Raina had done for my short story "The Zia Motel," which was published in Emanations in 2015. That is one of the most perfect illustrations I've ever had for my stories--it captures the heart of the story.  You can see more of Vitasta's work here http://www.urbanexploratory.com/2015_07_01_archive.html