We are so proud of 2014 poetry alum Chen Chen. His debut work, When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities was just added to the National Book Award‘s longlist for poetry. (Finalists will be announced October 4.)
Publishers Weekly writes that Chen “balances the politics surrounding shame and desire with hearty doses of joy, humor, and whimsy in his vibrant debut collection”, as he makes sense of his past to imagine a better future. Reviewer Jennifer Michael Hecht of Poets.org writes that “The poems are full of wisdom and wit, engaging with the slow revelation of the poet’s sense of self but also with metaphysics, psychology, and the cosmos…”
Don’t miss Chen’s reading later this month at Buffalo Street Books. He will be reading with fellow poetry alum Eric Berlin (’16) on Saturday, September 23 at 6:00 pm. The reading is free and open to the public. Join and share our Facebook event for this reading here!