{"title":"Kawika Guillermo","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKawika Guillermo\u003c\/strong\u003e offers a captivating exploration of arts and culture that blends poetic expression with rich, evocative storytelling. Readers can expect works that immerse them in vivid landscapes and thoughtful reflections, where language and imagery intertwine to evoke a deep sense of place and identity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith titles such as \u003cem\u003eOf Floating Isles\u003c\/em\u003e, Guillermo’s writing invites an appreciation of nuanced cultural narratives and a connection to the natural world. These books are perfect for readers who seek contemplative and lyrical journeys through contemporary cultural experiences.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"of-floating-isles-by-kawika-guillermo-9781834050065","title":"Of Floating Isles","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn immersive journey on how the author's lifelong attachment to video games filled a deep-seated longing to belong.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOf Floating Isles\u003c\/em\u003e is a captivating collection of personal essays that unpack the mystifying and often intimate roles that video games play in our lives. Interweaving memoir with cultural critique, Kawika Guillermo explores the subtle yet transformative influences of video games in shaping them as a queer and mixed-race grandson of two preachers; as a traveller, immigrant, and games scholar; and as a father, caretaker, and mourner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough a mixture of fanciful musing, rigorous inquiry, and unflinching self-reflection, \u003cem\u003eOf Floating Isles\u003c\/em\u003e reframes the gamer's retreat from others not as social isolation, but as a quest for a different community, one where they feel seen, heard, and understood. This deep-seated longing to belong, Guillermo suggests, forms the imaginative worlds of video games and the floating isles they conjure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy exploring his own lifelong attachment to video games, Guillermo shows how they can spark rage, confusion, and the desire to escape. These emotions are not necessarily bad; they are the growing pains that many young people must work through. So too can games provide reflective realms to dwell, to imagine, and to build spaces for queer, trans, racialised, and neurodiverse groups.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEnvisioning games as forms of poetic interaction, \u003cem\u003eOf Floating Isles\u003c\/em\u003e boldly conveys their truth-telling powers: their ability to offer guidance in times of loss and hardship, and their power to reveal the oppressive mechanisms of our 'real' world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47383950852332,"sku":"9781834050065","price":44.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/27657053482840.jpg?v=1773390182"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/kawika-guillermo.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}