May 21 — Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom

by Kaitlin Hsu 徐欣 | edited by Terry Sun

Kaitlin Hsu 徐欣 is a poet, translator, and crossword constructor. She currently works as an associate editor at Kaya Press. 

A note from Kaitlin: This puzzle takes its title semi-ironically from Mao's "Hundred Flowers Campaign," a period in China from 1956-1957, when the CCP encouraged citizens to share their true feelings toward the government, unfortunately ending in an ideological crackdown after criticism quickly grew overwhelming. Though you will only find three flowers today in the theme answers, my hope is that you will see the puzzles in APIHMinis as that beautiful bouquet from the Asian and Pacific Islander diasporas, notable not only for their diversity across nationality or ethnicity or history but also for each puzzle's unique obsessions and formal inventiveness. While the world still seems to only make us legible through the familiar tropes of family trauma and immigrant striving, I want to call attention to alternative lineages and possibilities. We are No-No Boys, labor organizers, communists, criminals, sex workers, queer avant-pop divas, and yes, mediocrities. 🌸🌺🌹to us all~