When I picked up embroidery seriously in February of 2021, it wasn’t with the direct intention of tying it to my poetry practice. I just needed to get away from people and their thoughts on my devices. Every time my phone buzzed, I felt a deep anxiety. I had to find a way to keep my hands occupied, and not pick up calls or type replies I might regret.

In 1991, the Japanese police were called to Tsukuba University, northeast of Tokyo. A cleaning lady had come in to do her rounds and discovered the body of Hitoshi Igarashi, an assistant professor of comparative Islamic culture. Igarashi was the Japanese translator for Salman Rushdie’s infamous novel, The Satanic Verses.

Early on in Marvel’s feature Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, I found myself wincing in the dark of the cinema hall. The scene in question happens when the titular character is heading to his friend Katy’s house for breakfast. Hearing the Chinese dialogue and reading the English subtitles at the same time made me mutely disappointed.