What does “Reclamation” mean to Apparition Lit?

Greetings and salutations!

Reclamation is upon us. The last issue of the year will bring to mind a myriad of ideas and experiences. In order to help you pinpoint your vision, we have, once again, brought you exactly what the readers are searching for in the submissions pile.

This issue, our guest editor is the prolific and popular Ai Jiang. Ai is riding high on an incredible 2023, which, in its first half alone, saw the publication of three (THREE!!) of her novellas: the diverse Smol Tales From Between Worlds, the haunting gothic LINGHUN, and the cybernetic I am AI.

Apparition was lucky to ensnare Ai’s editing talents for Reclamation, and we are excited to present Ai’s wishlist, along with the wishes of all of our amazing readers:

Ai Jiang (Guest Editor): I would like to see stories centered on identity and history reclamation, whether personally, socially, or culturally. I definitely would like to see stories that play with form and perspectives, and unusual approaches to what reclamation might mean. Or, in short, the more out-of-the-box it is in terms of exploring the theme, the better.

Amy (Owner/Senior Editor, Poetry Editor, and Webmaster): I would really like to see some ecological impact stories and poems. Something where the flora/fauna reclaim destroyed world/environs. I would LOVE to see this done in a humorous way too. We don’t get enough, well-done, humor! (I’m also kind of wanting stories about Land Back.)

Tehnuka (Submissions Reader): I am interested in submissions that address colonisation and oppression. Our cultures, our languages, and even our bodies have been forced to adapt to survive, in ways that continue to cause intergenerational emotional and physical harm. I would love stories that look at how we reclaim ourselves and our communities. This could include non human perspectives…the land, elements of nature, non-human species…

A.J. Van Belle (Submissions Reader): I would love to see a character reclaiming personal power, something intangible that was lost, or a cultural aspect/tradition. Other interesting possibilities include: reclaiming a slur; winning a battle; taking back land; taking back other things that were stolen; regaining memories; regaining forgotten or distanced parts of the self…

Maria (Poetry Editor & Assistant Fiction Editor, Submissions Reader): Reclamation can be small (a family heirloom) or large (a biome). Reclamation can be tangible or intangible. I love the way nature reclaims things that seem so modern…like abandoned malls, etc…or the way that the trenches of WWI have been softened and grown over by the land. I think that reclamation has a kind of incompletion to it: something is found again, retaken, but it was missing for a while. It is changed. You are changed. The hollowness and hope of that.

While we don’t accept blackout or “found” poetry, I would certainly be interested to see poems physically play with the idea of reclamation.

This issue, Apparition welcomes three new submissions readers, and we are excited to have their feedback for Reclamation:

Evelyn Teng (Submissions Reader): I would like to see a sense of learning from whatever mistake caused the need for reclamation to begin with, whether that’s on a worldwide/universe-wide scale or something as small as a personal relationship.

Monique Cuillerier (she/her; Submissions Reader) I, too, like the approaches others have mentioned. I was also thinking about how the process of reclamation, even if successful, results in something that is different than what was there before. I’m interested in how attempts to reclaim the exact things lost are doomed to failure, but that there can be something else, something different that is still of value and related to the original.

León Othenin-Girard he/they; Submissions Reader) I definitely agree with the approaches everyone has mentioned so far: reclamation in terms of identity and history, as well as nature and other non-human perspectives. I would like to add that it could be interesting to flip the angle, too: what happens when the things and people that are sometimes discarded in the process of growth return to reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs?

There you have it, folks! The floodgates open shortly, and we are looking forward to what you have in store!

Review our submissions page for all the details, and then visit our portal to send us your piece!

Until next time, friends!

Blog Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash