I first encountered Tartan and Turban (Fraser 2004) in an Edinburgh book- shop in 2006. At that time, I was intrigued by concepts of hybridity and liminality and was considering new research on intercultural writers from an anthropological perspective. This resulted in Narratives of Place, Belonging and Language (Nic Craith 2012) and The Vanishing World of the Islandman (Nic Craith 2020). Tartan and Turban did not feature in those volumes, which focused solely on memoir as a resource. However, it is now time for me to recapture my excitement at that first glimpse of Bashabi Fraser’s vol- ume of poetry. Moreover, since that time I have come to know Fraser as an academic and friend and have attended her poetry readings and book launches.