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Acknowledgments
This collection developed out of a conversation between the editors about the relative merits of textual analysis and contextual significance. Since that initial conversation, many other voices have greatly enriched our engagement both with the subject at hand, British Asian fiction, and with the theoretical issues that inevitably arose. In this context, we would like to thank Bob Lumsden for his continued advice and support. Our lucid exchanges with him on a slew of intellectual and academic matters give us hope that the work we do has impact and rigour. Many other colleagues in our university have repeatedly contributed to our extended conversation, as have many students in our British Asian literature (Sim) and contemporary literature (Murphy) modules, as well as all our students here at NTU at graduate and undergraduate levels. Our initial suspicion—that the Southeast Asian scene of writing, crisscrossed by different diasporas and enriched by multiple soteriological and linguistic traditions, proffers insights into the chosen field—only became a reality through our interaction with them. Their encouragement and intellectual provocation is invaluable, gratefully accepted, and deeply appreciated. As such, this is a kind of dedication to our students over the past three years.