Migrations and Mediations The Emergence of South Asian Diaspora Writers in Australia, 1972-2007

“… remarkable for its steady grasp of a unifying vision encompassing literary production by writers coming from disparate cultures and historical backgrounds, and establishing their significance as a factor in the construction of the contemporary cultural identity of Australia …Capili demonstrates meticulous scholarship notable for its thoroughness and unerring sense of relevance … an important contribution to the narrative of Australia’s cultural history …”
Emeritus Professor Bienvenido Lumbera
University of the Philippines
National Artist for Literature and Magsaysay Awardee

“… An important contribution to both Australian and Filipino literary scholarship. Both Australians and Filipinos have mainly looked at the United States or the United Kingdom for their literary interests. Here is a book that deals with the works of Southeast Asians in Australia and their attempts to translate their experiences into the broader Australian worldview. It is important to know how Australia is opening itself to the variegated experiences of its migrant writers. It is also important for Filipinos to look beyond their American lenses and realize that their national and regional compatriots are engaging in new literary terrains.”
Dr. Raul Pertierra
University of New South Wales

“… important and timely: on one hand, identifying and documenting the various factors that have limited, shaped and facilitated the development of Southeast Asian Diaspora writers in Australia; on the other, demonstrating the significant contribution these writers have made to the advancement of multiculturalism in Australia … Capili’s main contribution to the field lies in the way he distinguishes and documents the various programs, institutions, mentors, awards, and communities that have contributed to the growth of Southeast Asian diasporic writing in Australia …”
Professor Michael Pinches
University of Western Australia

About the Author

Jose Wendell P. Capili earned his degrees from the University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines (UP), University of Tokyo, University of Cambridge, and the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (now School of Culture, History & Language, College of Asia and the Pacific), Australian National University.
Capili has published seven books and over three hundred articles in Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia. He received Carlos Palanca, Cultural Center of the Philippines, USTETIKA, and UP Gawad Chancellor awards for his poetry and essays as well as scholarships, grants, and fellowships from Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Singaporean, Hong Kong, Philippine, Australian, and British governments.
He was a recipient of the Carlos P. Romulo Professorial Chair and the UP Centennial Professorial Chair. He was a Visiting Scholar, Writer and Professor at the Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Waseda University, University of Cambridge, University of Hong Kong, University of Malaya, National University of Singapore, University of Sydney, University of Western Australia, University of Melbourne, and the University of Queensland.
His creative and critical productions were presented in many conferences and festivals, including the Cambridge Seminar on the Contemporary Writer (2000), Hong Kong International Literary Festival (2001), Sydney Writers’ Festival (2007, 2008), and The 76th PEN International Conference in Tokyo, Japan (2010).
He is a professor of English, creative writing, and comparative literature, UP Diliman, and the assistant vice president for public affairs & director of the Office of Alumni Relations, UP System.