Natsukashii for ‘A Little Better Elsewhere’ 

I’ll confess. Before I penned this blog entry, I Googled what ‘nostalgia’ meant. That may be embarrassing given I had just spent the past year working on an anthology about nostalgia, so please believe that I was searching instead for the etymology rather than the definition. Anyways.  

Nostalgia, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), derives from the Greek nostos, meaning return home, and algos, meaning pain. Apparently, the OED claims that the word ‘nostalgia’ climbs exponentially in usage since the 1800s. Seemingly, many of us can growingly empathise with this desire to return to what cannot be recovered as we endlessly grapple with the ephemerality of our lives.  In a politically fraught world, this notion of bitter longing or sentimental wistfulness for a period, place or person in the past has led us back to this word ‘nostalgia’.  

As we step away from nostalgia and look towards the future, I think of my first, now other language. As a child, I knew not of nostalgia but of natsukashii. Natsukashii (なつかしい/懐かしい) is a Japanese term that derives from the verb natsuku (懐く) which roughly means to ‘become attached’ and ‘keep close’. Unlike nostalgia, Natsukashii is not about wanting to return to the past, but instead affirming a human togetherness by reflecting in appreciation for what once was. Shifting from grief to gratitude, Natsukashii is a sort of ‘happy nostalgia’, if you will. Sometimes, it is because we cannot return to past experiences that they become all the more meaningful. 

It was within this milieu of collective empathy that the anthology team and contributors of 2025 produced A Little Better Elsewhere. As someone who was fortunate enough to have been part of this incredible editorial team, I wish to extend my thanks to all who were involved in the culmination of this anthology on nostalgia. It was truly a fantastic experience, and I encourage all and any writers in the USYD community to submit for our 2026 anthology.  

For our 2026 theme, we have pivoted from nostalgia to hope. As the new team settle in and submissions flow through once more, I am excited by the possibilities of what will be created. The many forms that inspiration can take in our ideas, from precious memories to aching desires, will surely bear fruition in this next edition of the USYD Anthology. I look back fondly, and am grateful for the time I had working with everyone on A Little Better Elsewhere. I will keep that close as we transcend times of instability and fear through writing, to manifest and hope for a better future.