author
Chen Chen
Known for poems that mix humor, tenderness, and sharp emotional honesty, this acclaimed writer explores family, queerness, and immigrant identity with warmth and surprise. His work has reached a wide audience through award-winning collections and frequent appearances in major literary venues.
1 Audiobook
水滸後傳
by Chen Chen
About the author
Chen Chen is an American poet and educator whose first full-length collection, When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities (2017), was longlisted for the National Book Award and won the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. He later published Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency (2022), and his poems have appeared in publications such as Poetry and in multiple editions of The Best American Poetry.
Along with his books, Chen Chen has written several chapbooks and has taught in a range of literary and academic settings. Biographical notes from major poetry organizations describe him as a poet whose work often brings together wit, vulnerability, and close attention to queer, Asian American, and immigrant experience.
He has studied at Syracuse University and Texas Tech University, and he has also served in teaching and residency roles, including at Brandeis University and in low-residency MFA programs. Across his writing and teaching, he is widely recognized for making serious subjects feel lively, intimate, and deeply human.