Christine Imperial is an incoming Cultural Studies PhD student and Dean's Distinguished Graduate Fellow at UC Davis. She holds a BFA from Ateneo de Manila University and an MFA from CalArts. Her debut book Mistaken for an Empire will be published with Ohio State University Press's literary imprint Mad Creek Books as the 2021 Gournay Prize Winner.
i.
utang: hang / up the ph / one means / i can / not be re / trieved / sieve
through / bron / chi tease / s out / toxi / city / plea / se breath / e th / e
spir / it / out
ng: con / nects ne / ck to ch/ est stran /ge / stai / ns in th / is hou / se
fou / nded on grad / ien / cy
loob: k / nob turn /s left le / ft do / or op /en stran / ger caugh / t me p / eek
th / rough / blind / s tri / es a / sk / etch ou / t o / f e / lec / tric / al wi
/res a so / ul coils a / ro / und fru / it fall / en dow / n pla /stic tr /ees
ii.
hi-rap: the i / not like hi / but / hee breathe squeeze the / breathe / ing
wraps the lary/ nx like a riddle sphinx the answer / too hard the
answer / on / hold / on / or
tu-long: correct my wrongs / for / too / long / i heard only soft / coughed
/ out son / nets at / a for / eign pace / patience
lu-pit: or lu / pit / not ip / it repeat / ed stuck too / hard / on dif / fer /
ence de/ fer / ence / physical / ly educate / d kow / tow
ta-o: not tao / but two syl / lables bounce / ing around / like children
sound / ing out vowels to / re / hearse real / words
pa-sen-sya: na / uncle / when he land/ ed in los / ange / les less confi / dent
had to pause / abrupt / make way for / where na/palang/diba /
would be / placed / / in ab / sence
si-gaw: not allowed / to shout / counts back / wards from one / thou /
sand to sand down im / pulsing / over some / thing un / named
bu-lol: lo / la keeps again / st threat of / losing an / other / called out of
a cub / icle in L / A long dis / tance call about / mother can’t cry /
between err / ands in the car / tongue unknott / ed / / swallows /
what calls/ itself feral /wail
da-ram-dam: what words / can / not grasp can / not re / main must / hollow
space / gaps on / to which / fingers fold /
sa-li-ta: i / mutt / er my noise / an / noys me / turns red / turn / every /
thing / in / in / difference i / m / plode