Winner of the 2024 Dorothy Hewett Award

Time. Memory. Mirror. Past & Parallel Lives is a rippling reflection on being alien, queer, and other. These poems yearn for home and belonging after migration, religion, and coming out. Kaya Ortiz’s award-winning debut shines with authenticity – this is a courageous departure from a past life, towards a queer future and a poetic return to self.

"A gentle and powerful urge to believe in a world where becoming is just as beautiful as arriving." Madison Godfrey

"Brimming with incantatory power, Past & Parallel Lives is a luminous contribution to queer Filipino poetics." Eunice Andrada

"This collection is a marvel, a miracle. By leaning into the past, Ortiz propels us into a future radiant with queer joy. This book is essential and a must-read." Scott-Patrick Mitchell

Shortlisted for the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry at the 2026 NSW Literary Awards