Dear Alter

Dear Alter has something new to say about that state of in-betweenness, of flux, that particularly defines a young, queer person’s life. The collection is preoccupied with devices: black boxes, Roombas, phones, cameras, and especially those robots that can’t really be spoken of as devices anymore – so aware of their loneliness and full of desire they have become. It’s an innovative and thrillingly fresh debut.

From the opening pages of Dear Alter, we step into a strange but familiar world, where androids and goddesses rub shoulders, and old souls find new worlds to inhabit. Jiaqiao Liu’s debut poetry collection is a tender and surprising exploration of how memory and language forge the paths we take to find our past and future selves, utilising poetic forms as varied as the technologies it draws inspiration from. These poems seek to understand the circuitry that connects and defines us, often with emotionally devastating effect. Dear Alter is a one-of-a-kind book that signals the arrival of a striking new voice in New Zealand poetry.

• | Author: Jiaqiao Liu
• | Publisher: Auckland University Press
• | Publication Date: Jul 10, 2025
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9781776711697
• | ISBN-10: 1776711696