Kalden Dhatsenpa

Lausan • 24th April 2026

The forgotten path of Tibetan communism - Lausan

Editors’ note: This essay by Tibetan-Canadian journalist and poet Kalden Dhatsenpa reviews the memoirs of one of the key founders and leaders of the Tibetan Communist Party, Phuntsok Wangyal. Wangyal’s memoirs are edited and translated into English as A Tibetan Revolutionary: The Political Life and Times of Bapa Phüntso Wangye (University of California Press, 2004).

Gridsense • 27th November 2025

i caught ur cold, by Gridsense

Vocals, rhythm guitar, lyrics Kalden Dhatsenpa
Drums Eric Maillet
Lead guitar Rhys Climenhage
Bass Conor Antenucci

recorded in 2025 in Montreal at Rhys' studio

Discordia Review • 11th July 2025

California Above, Everything Else VOL 1 - photopoetry zine

A GOLDEN CAGE
IN SEARCH OF CANARIES BELOW
OH, CALIFORNIA
THE PROPHET OF QUARTZ TRIED TO TELL YA
ABOUT THOSE JUST TEMPTATIONS
LIKE A PERMANENT SEASON OF WARDENS
...

Yeshe • 4th December 2024

three poems

In the rich tapestry of emotions woven by Kalden Rangdröl Dhatsenpa's in his three poems, it’s difficult for readers not to become entangled in the imagery of wires and constellations, which symbolize the bonds between people and suggest their intimacy despite distance.

carte blanche magazine • 19th September 2023

Providence, Devoid by Kalden Dhatsenpa — carte blanche magazine

An astrology website once told me that my moon sign, Sagittarius, indicated that I likely moved a significant amount as a child. Another suggested that whenever I was feeling down or confused, that I should travel to a different neighbourhood as an alternative form of therapy. “Providence, Devoid” is a personal travelogue of sorts and by extension, due to my astrological predilection, a therapeutic reflection on the void left by my father’s passing.

Yeshe • 30th August 2023

Four Poems

Kalden Rangdröl Dhatsenpa’s poem ‘Bandit Enlightenment, or the Real Shangri-la’ juxtaposes religious philosophy and realism without suggesting the negation of either of the two. Kalden Rangdröl Dhatsenpa also enriches the English language by seamlessly bringing to it Tibetan exclamatory words such as ‘e-ma-ho’, ‘Ki’, and ‘kikisoso lha gyalo’ in his poetry.

Canadian Dimension • 30th August 2023

The day the bubble burst: ‘Akira’ and Japan’s economic ‘miracle’

Akira was made at the tail-end of a dying studio system, and at the apogee of Japan’s asset bubble, which began its slow burst in 1989. The scale of Akira’s story makes it even more remarkable that such a film was able to see the light of day given the floundering of Japan’s economy at the close of the decade.

Canadian Dimension • 10th April 2023

Atlantis, Ukraine

Ukraine’s military-entertainment complex has found success in Atlantis; it has the artistic subtlety that other Ukranian war films lacked, but it didn’t have to sacrifice any of the military connections, or right-wing political aspirations.

Canadian Dimension • 10th April 2023

‘Triangle of Sadness’ is a flawed rebuke of the billionaire class

Östlund is playing with all the right and relevant pieces and themes. The film is brimming with great moments, but it also lacks sharpness in its commentary. Triangle of Sadness is a caricature of the wealthy—and a decent one at that—but caricatures seldom offer much more than entertainment.

The Breach • 11th January 2023

Canada birthed a mining industry in Tibet

The steady flow of minerals from Tibet’s sacred mountains to global markets is haunted by the ghost of Canadian mining companies.

In the Chinese-occupied nation, Canadian companies were among the first to gain access to the copper, gold, lead and zinc under its peaks—making Canada, for a time, a major foreign investor in Tibet.

Canadian Dimension • 4th February 2022

‘Don’t Look Up’ or: How Adam McKay learned to keep worrying and love the nihilism

At best, Adam McKay’s new Netflix film, Don’t Look Up (2021), is an emotional salve for those activists and climate scientists experiencing frustration at government inaction on climate change, and the media’s failure to inspire a response to the Anthropocene. For others who are already familiar with these inglorious trends, McKay preaches to the choir without offering any viable road to salvation.

Canadian Dimension • 1st January 2022

‘Shang-Chi’ and the politics of liberal representation

Shang-Chi’s diasporic achievements in representation, both in its cast and crew, are remarkable considering the long history of anti-Asian racism in the Western film industry. The film’s Asian identity is international, undeniable, and unwieldy, revealing weaving histories that bring to question the limits to liberal representation and its expressions in the film industry today.

Canadian Dimension • 12th September 2021

Canada’s in a housing crisis. It’s time for radical solutions

Recent polling shows that more than ever, Canadians cite housing affordability as one of their top election issues. This should come as no surprise: years of political inaction has led us to a desperate housing emergency in which speculators and developers reap massive profits, while working class Canadians pay record amounts of their income just to have a roof over their heads.

Canadian Dimension • 25th August 2021

‘The Green Knight,’ apocalyptic anxiety and the new avatars of climate change

As climate breakdown intensifies, filmmakers are endeavouring to capture the anxiety driven by a warming world. Caught up in this anticipatory energy is a notable rise in pagan-inflected art that could be connected to these growing concerns. Writer-director David Lowery’s The Green Knight should be understood as part of this cultural exploration of eco-anxiety and our relationship to nature.

Commo Mag • 21st December 2021

I Just Wanna Talk!

I drive to a car wash near me in little italy. I think the owners are Iranian. None of the garage doors are motorized. They were pulling them open and closed with bare hands on steel chains in the middle of winter.

The Breach • 11th November 2021

Infiltrating Amazon: What I learned going undercover at the corporate giant ⋆

Photography for The Breach. Canon 6D at the Amazon facility in Lasalle.