Hong Kong Special Folio

Background: In the 21st Century, postcolonial realities in cosmopolitan places comprise of several paradoxes in socio-political structures (Varga 2011, Appiah 2006). They inform and influence the intention and execution of political dissent, and take on unprecedented capacities as a result of globalised digital communications (Tagg and Sergeant 2014, Hall 2011). However, the lack of a documentation of human experiences within an environment of dissent that involves digital communications, in cosmopolitan postcolonial spaces, is problematic. The Umbrella Revolution of Hong Kong exemplifies this contemporary gap. Contribution: The Hong Kong Special Folio is a curated compilation of multi-genre literary works aimed at providing a nuanced discursive experience surrounding the Revolution. The Folio platforms local voices from Hong Kong, especially of students of Hong Kong Baptist University, who were active participants in the Revolution and whose education and future prospects were pragmatically affected as a result of participation. The Special Folio also contains international work, and work from non-literary artists who provided original and provocative perspectives on an on-going collective form of dissent. Significance: Drunken Boat is a highly acclaimed, oldest online literary journal in the world, starting from 1999. Published out of the United States, it has continued to platform global and experimental voices, and has won a South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference & Festivals Award. The Review Review, a notable American publication, has noted that “Drunken Boat is, or should be, central to any discussion of literature online or online literature ... Drunken Boat is a ... beautifully presented, carefully maintained space.”