Chen Chen (Chinese: 陳琛; pinyin: Chén Chēn, born March 9, 1989) is an American poet.[1] His book, When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities, was longlisted for the 2017 National Book Award for Poetry.[2] Chen serves on the poetry faculty for the low-residency MFA programs at New England College and Stonecoast.[3] He served as Jacob Ziskind Poet-in-Residence at Brandeis University from 2018 to 2022.
Chen Chen | |
|---|---|
 Chen at the 2017 Texas Book Festival | |
| Born | March 9, 1989 Xiamen, China |
| Education | Hampshire College (B.A.) Syracuse University (M.F.A.) Texas Tech University (Ph.D.) |
| Website | |
| www | |
Life
editChen was born in Xiamen, China and grew up in Massachusetts. After graduating from Newton North High School, he received his B.A. in creative writing and Asian/Pacific/American Studies at Hampshire College in 2011, and his M.F.A. from Syracuse University in 2014.[3] Chen completed his Ph.D. in English and creative writing at Texas Tech University, where he was a part-time instructor in composition.[4]
His work has appeared in Poetry, The Massachusetts Review, Drunken Boat, Best of the Net, The Best American Poetry, The Academy of American Poets, and elsewhere. He has served as a poetry editor for Salt Hill Journal, and currently serves as editor-in-chief of Underblong and managing editor for Iron Horse Review.[5] He also edits "the lickety split", a Twitter-based journal that "only publishes poems that fit in a single tweet",[6] alongside his fictional assistant editor Gudetama the Egg.[7]
Awards and fellowships
edit- 2014 A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize[8]
- 2014 New Delta Review's Matt Clark Award in Poetry
- 2015 Finalist, Poetry Foundation's Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships[9]
- 2016 Kundiman Fellow
- 2017 Longlisted, National Book Award
- 2018 Finalist, Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry
- 2018 Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) New Writers Award
- 2018 Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry
- 2019 Pushcart Prize
- 2019 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Literature
- 2023 American Library Association Notable Books for Adults List[10][11]
Books
edit- Set the Garden on Fire (Porkbelly Press, 2015)[12]
- Kissing the Sphinx (Two of Cups Press, 2016)[13]
- When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities (New York: BOA Editions, 2017)[3][14][15]
- Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency (New York: BOA Editions, September 2022) [3]
- Explodingly Yours (Ghost City Press, 2023)[16]
In anthology
- Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology (University of Georgia Press, 2018)[17]
References
edit- ^ Siemsen, Thom (2017-03-09). "'Queer People are Making Beautiful Worlds:' Chen Chen on his Debut Poetry Collection". Out magazine. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
- ^ Kellogg, Carolyn (2017-09-13). "The 10 poets on the longlist for the 2017 National Book Award". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
- ^ a b c d "Full Bio". chenchenwrites.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
- ^ "Conversations with Contributors: Chen Chen (Poetry)". The Adroit Journal. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
- ^ "Infoxicated Corner: Interview with Chen Chen". The poetry blog. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
- ^ "[a mango from the neighbor's tree] — a poem for the lickety~split".
- ^ "The Lickety Split". Twitter. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
- ^ "Chen Chen". BOA Editions, Ltd. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
- ^ "2015 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship Winners Announced". Poetry Foundation. 2017-03-25. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
- ^ "2023 Notable Books List Announced: Year's Best in Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry". RUSA Update. 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
- ^ Foundation, Poetry (2024-07-06). "Chen Chen". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
- ^ "Set the Garden on Fire by Chen Chen". The Rumpus.net. March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
- ^ "Kissing the Sphinx". porkbellypress.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
- ^ Teicher, Craig Morgan (February 8, 2017). "Poetry To Pay Attention To: A Preview Of 2017's Best Verse". NPR News. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Lewis, Michelle (April 11, 2017). "When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities: A review of Chen Chen's debut poetry…". Medium. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ "Explodingly Yours". Ghost City Press. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
- ^ "UGA Press View Book". www.ugapress.org. Retrieved October 3, 2018.