CHEN CHEN
CHEN CHEN
Chen Chen (born 1989) is one of the most vibrant, emotionally incandescent, and widely celebrated voices in 21st-century contemporary poetry. Born in Xiamen, China, he immigrated to the United States with his family as a young child, growing up in Massachusetts. He earned his MFA from Syracuse University and his PhD in English and Creative Writing from Texas Tech University. His distinct cultural and personal journey as a queer Chinese-American immigrant serves as the rich emotional anchor for his deeply imaginative writing.
He achieved swift national and international acclaim for his ability to blend structural playfulness with profound vulnerability. Chen's style breaks away from traditional elegiac solemnity, opting instead for a voice that is conversational, hyper-contemporary, and filled with surrealist wit, pop-culture references, and deep tenderness. His poems beautifully navigate the complex friction of familial love, the lingering weight of immigrant inheritance, the joy of queer desire, and the daily absurdities of navigating institutional structures in modern society.
Among his most essential poetry collections, chapbooks, and acclaimed literary works are:
| BOOK / COLLECTION | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities (2017) | his stunning debut collection, winner of the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize and longlisted for the National Book Award, exploring family, migration, and coming-of-age |
| Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency (2022) | his brilliant second collection, named a best book of the year by the Boston Globe and NPR, focusing on structural racism, queer joy, and breathing during global crises |
| Set the Garden on Fire (2015) | his notable early chapbook that introduced his signature blend of whimsical intimacy, domestic subversion, and acute emotional clarity |
| GESUNDHEIT! (2019) | a collaborative, deeply engaging poetry chapbook co-written with Sam Herschel Wein, showcasing his dedication to artistic kinship and communal play |
Below are excerpts from his highly rhythmic, conversational, and structurally inventive poems, capturing his unique balance of humor and heartbreak:
From "Self-Portrait As So Much Omelet" (in When I Grow Up...):
I am sentimental. I want the world to be less of a firing squad
& more of a morning pastry. I want to tell my mother
about my boyfriend without her crying over the phone,
asking if I still go to church. (...)
I am trying to love the world, which is difficult
when the world is an angry machine fueled by small errors.
But look: the sun is a giant yolk today, breaking over the houses,
& I have not given up on the possibility of a softer breakfast.
From "In the Year of No Summer" (in Your Emergency Contact...):
To be safe, I stayed inside the house of my own head.
But the ceiling was low. The windows were smudged with old grief.
(...)
I called you because the news was a heavy stone
& my hands were tired of carrying stones alone.
We talked about nothing—about garlic bread, about the neighbor's dog—
and suddenly the rooms inside me had doors again,
and the doors were open to the cool evening air.
In broader terms, Chen Chen is important because:
- redefined the aesthetic boundaries of the modern immigrant narrative by infusing it with bright surrealism, humor, and joy rather than solely focusing on trauma
- pioneered a contemporary poetic vernacular that seamlessly integrates internet culture, pop references, and casual speech with rigorous academic structure
- expanded the landscape of Asian-American queer literature, offering deeply nuanced portraits of filial piety, maternal love, and personal authenticity
- serves as an active mentor, editor, and advocate within the literary community, championing marginalized underrepresented writers and fresh poetic forms
Consistently writing and teaching as a vital force in the contemporary literary scene, Chen Chen continues to chart the expansive possibilities of the human heart, leaving a permanent mark on the shape of 21st-century poetry.