Today I was named Civic Poet of Seattle. In this poet laureateship role which extends through the end of 2024, I’ll be an ambassador for poetry and work on public art and poetry projects with partners like Northwest Film Forum, Seattle City of Lit, Alliance Francaise, Ballard Public Library and other partners.
This past year lots of good things happened:
I signed book deals with Blue Cactus and Empty Bowl Press to publish books in Fall 2023. I published new work in Moss, International Examiner, South Seattle Emerald, Khôra, JoySauce, Mutha Magazine, and Mundane Fantasy Comix.
I received a 2022 Artist Trust Fellowship and a Hope Corps grant from the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture for my podcast on Asian American stories, The Blue Suit, which launched in July from KUOW Public Radio. KUOW commissioned a second season which will launch in May 2023.
I served as a visiting poet at Clark College and read my work at Northwest Film Forum, Seattle Art Museum, AWP Philadelphia, Port Townsend Writers Conference; Emily Dickinson Museum, and Hugo House. I was part of the annual ArtSong project in Vancouver, Canada, and worked with Obediya Wonderful on setting my poetry to music which was performed by Rachel Iwaasa and Asitha Tentakoon. I was also honored by Bushwick Book Club who devoted an entire program to celebrating my poetry book Virga.
I curated and moderated programs for Seattle Public Library as their guest public engagement curator and brought Pamela Sneed, Sean Sherman, and Jenny Liao to Seattle. I also guest moderated a post-show conversation with Degenerate Art Ensemble for On the Boards. And I guest curated an Ink Aloud showcase for Bushwick Book Club featuring Molly Wizenberg, Sasha LaPointe, Elisheba Johnson, and Rachel Kessler. Lastly, I produced an end of season event for The Blue Suit at the Seattle Center with Tomo Nakayama, Anida Y. Ali, Jessica Rubenacker, and the community.
I’m excited to do bigger things in 2023 and return to working as an independent events curator and producer. My next project: #wrongAsian: Other Poets I’ve Been performance with Arlene Kim, EJ Koh, and Woogee Bae in March 2023.
I’m now represented by Tyler Tsay of The Speakeasy Project. Interested in booking me for a reading or inviting me to talk about my podcast The Blue Suit for KUOW Public Radio? Get in touch with The Speakeasy Project!
