Mar
2
1:00 PM13:00

Rewriting the Family - Generative Workshop for Sustenance [Virtual]

Hosted by Joy Sullivan.

Rewriting the Family

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” So goes the famous opening of Anna Karenina—was Tolstoy right? How might we imagine otherwise? Or define family differently? Or queer it? What is family in the 21st century? What does it mean to you? In this generative session, we’ll explore these and other complicated questions by discussing brief readings and attempting a few writing prompts. We’ll consider blood family alongside chosen family, familial memory and grief alongside the dream of new familial constellations. Poems by F. Douglas Brown, Wo Chan, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Victoria Chang, and others will inform our conversations and experiments.  

Please come to this session with a favorite (or least favorite!) family photograph, where family could mean chosen family or include animals or however you define it. We’ll use this photograph as a portal into writing.

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Mar
20
6:00 PM18:00

The Contemporary Love Poem - Generative Workshop for Charlotte Lit [Virtual]

THE CONTEMPORARY LOVE POEM

Are you nervous to write love poetry because you think it’s going to sound cheesy and sentimental? Or are you enthusiastic about writing it but unsure how to make it fresh and exciting? In this generative class we’ll discuss and practice a range of approaches to the love poem—or the poem that talks about love. Such a poem doesn’t have to be about falling in or being in love. And a love poem can also be a political poem. We’ll read work by Jessica Abughattas, Natalie Diaz, Jericho Brown, Diane Seuss, and others, as models for how we might experiment with and love the love poem anew. Participants can expect to draft at least three new pieces.

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Mar
26
to Mar 29

AWP 2025 in Los Angeles

I’ll be on two panels and reading for 2 off-site events.

Panel: Breaking All the Rules: Ungoverning the Contemporary Sex Poem
with Eric Tran, Luther Hughes, Erika Meitner, and moderated by Keetje Kuipers

Reflecting on sex and literature, Melissa Febos writes, “When something seems difficult, in writing and in life, we tend to make rules around it.” But rules were made to be broken—or reinvented—and this panel will share strategies for writing poems that push back against cultural norms that attempt to govern sex on and off the page, as well as the ways that allowing a fuller sexual existence into our poems can create more space for explorations of humor, grief, play, and even our deepest rage.

Panel: The Defiance of Pink Poetry Books
with jason b. crawford, Yesenia Montilla, Anatalia Vallez, and moderated by Xochitl Bermejo

To see the world through rose-colored glasses means to have a positive outlook that may be naive or weak. But in a violent world, it is an act of defiance to choose love and joy over alienation and uncertainty. Celebrating titles that feature the color pink on their covers, poets will read work that highlights the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, and identity, and discuss how pink came to be a prominent element of their book, and what the color means to them and their writing.

Off-sites:

Thurs Mar 27th 5:30pm-8:30pm
HOLDING COURT 

6:00 to 7:30 pm at Melody LA
Horny Queer Poetry

More info to come.

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Apr
6
12:30 PM12:30

Writers on Writing - Generative Workshop for Hudson Valley Writers Center [Virtual]

Writers on Writing

To take as your subject writers, writing, “the writing world”—is this just annoying? Pretentious? Are there ways to do it well? Perhaps with a healthy dose of humor? In this generative session we’ll discuss and write after an array of examples across genres, including work by Sigrid Nunez, Brenda Shaughnessy, Jhumpa Lahiri, Carl Phillips, and others. We’ll think together about writer as personal vs. cultural identity, the role of the writer today vs. in the past, and the aspirations vs. limitations re: what writing can do politically. I’ll offer some prompts and we’ll experiment, digress, while trying our best not to annoy ourselves. Writers of all genres are welcome. 

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Apr
16
4:00 PM16:00

Visiting Poet for the Mad River Festival at CT State Northwestern

Conversation with members of the Poetry Club/Literature Club and students enrolled in creative writing classes

Reading + Q&A

Since 1997, Northwestern has hosted this event under the guidance of the English Department; in recent years, sponsorship has grown to include the Art Department and the Library.  Our event now encompasses the annual Spring Student Art Show and the public launch of our Mad River Anthology, which has been published annually since the college was founded in 1965.  The Anthology includes poetry, prose, and art from our students, faculty, area high school students, and members of our community.  Poets selected for inclusion in the Anthology are then invited to read their works during the festival. 

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Jun
2
to Jun 6

Hudson Valley Writers Center/Pocantico Center Poetry & Prose Residency

I’ll be joining this new residency as faculty along with Brian Turner, Nick Flynn, & Ananda Lima.

HVWC is proud to announce a literary residency for eight poets and eight prose writers on the beautiful campus of The Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in Tarrytown, NY from June 2 to June 6, 2025. Confirmed faculty are award-winning, nationally acclaimed authors: Nick Flynn, Chen Chen, Brian Turner, and Ananda Lima.

Each student will take two two-hour workshops a day in their genre from 9:30-11:30 am and 2:00-4:00 pm and spend the rest of the time writing and exploring the grounds. Students will live onsite in well-appointed guest houses during the residency. Students will share bedrooms, bathrooms, living, and dining spaces. The Pocantico Center will provide a grocery stipend for breakfasts and lunches, as well as catered family-style dinners. The residency is open to all poets and prose writers, including historically underrepresented artists, such as those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, LGBTQ+, women, nonbinary, or disabled. Please check the HVWC website for details.

More info + apply now (scholarships available)!

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Dec
15
2:00 PM14:00

Reading with Cindy Juyoung Ok for the Brookline Poetry Series [Virtual]

Cindy Juyoung Ok and I will read for about 20 minutes each, and then there will be an open mic. Please contact the Brookline Public Library for a Zoom link: brooklinepoetry@minlib.net.

Official description: the Brookline Poetry Series is an independent monthly venue housed at the Brookline Public Library Main Branch.  In recent years we have hosted poets such as Alan Shapiro,  Stephanie Burt, Vievee Francis, Daisy Fried, Major Jackson, Dorianne Laux, Matthew Olzmann, Patricia Smith, and Jane Wong.

We meet the third Sunday of the month, September through May, from 2-4 p.m.  Readings in September-November and March-May are in-person; readings in December-February are on Zoom. The afternoon starts with our invited readers.  An open mike closes the event, where some of the best up-and-coming lyric and narrative poets in Boston present their work. We draw a regular audience of 30-50 people, and poets often tell us that we have one of the most attentive audiences they have encountered.  It's a serious but warm venue, with a strong sense of commitment to the work and to the community we've built. The Boston Globe has called us "the best literary open mike in Boston." The Series directors are Ann Killough, Christine Tierney, Aimée Sands, and Susan Jo Russell.

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Dec
14
12:00 PM12:00

The Contemporary Love Poem - Generative Workshop for ONLY POEMS [Virtual]

THE CONTEMPORARY LOVE POEM

Are you nervous to write love poetry because you think it’s going to sound cheesy and sentimental? Or are you enthusiastic about writing it but unsure how to make it fresh and exciting? In this generative class we’ll discuss and practice a range of approaches to the love poem—or the poem that talks about love. Such a poem doesn’t have to be about falling in or being in love. And a love poem can also be a political poem. We’ll read work by Jessica Abughattas, Natalie Diaz, Jericho Brown, Diane Seuss, and others, as models for how we might experiment with and love the love poem anew. Participants can expect to draft at least three new pieces.

More info + enroll.

Update: this workshop is sold out!

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Oct
18
6:00 PM18:00

Reading for "I'm So Glad I Moved to New York" - an art & music event with Anna Jekel & First President of Japan

C5BK 5 Central Avenue, Brooklyn New York. Anna Jeke'l’s exhbit will be up & other activities will be happening through the weekend (Oct. 18-20).

Opening reception on Fri. Oct. 18, 6:00-9:00pm

Food + drink.

Reading by Chen Chen - 7:45pm.

Music by First President of Japan Unplugged - 8:00pm.

I’m So Glad I Moved to New York acknowledges that being happy in the city is not negating a naturalistic past nor a sarcastic impossibility, but embracing the tension of being an animal and an artist.

More info.

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Oct
13
4:00 PM16:00

"Against the Universal, Toward the Communal" - Masterclass for Ellipsis [Virtual]

In this talk, we'll question the expectation for creative work to be “universal” by examining how often this term actually refers to/caters to a particular audience and gaze. In place of the universal, I suggest a framework of the communal, one that celebrates difference and listens to (rather than dismisses) anger that demands accountability. Writers and thinkers such as Jennifer Chang, Paul Celan, Sara Ahmed, and Toni Morrison will inform my remarks. Oh, and I'll be discussing a gorgeous, sort of queer movie in the Sailor Moon franchise. There will be time dedicated to drafting a piece that articulates your own artistic and political universe. While my main examples come from poetry, I believe these ideas can apply across genres, so all participants are welcome.

[Zoom session for participants in Ellipsis]

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Oct
3
to Oct 5

Skagit River Poetry Festival

LaConner, WA. Hosted by the Skagit River Poetry Foundation.

Fri. Oct. 4 -

9:00-9:55am Poetry Sampler with Ellen Bass, Elizabeth Bradfield, Chen Chen, & Ilya Kaminsky

2:30-3:45pm Poetry Sampler with Chen Chen, Tony Curtis, & Tawanda Mulalu

Sat. Oct. 5

1:45 - 3:00pm Gender Identity panel with Ellen Bass

3:30-4:45 Poetry Sampler with Elizabeth Bradfield, Chen Chen, Rio Cortez, & Samuel Green

Tickets + more info.

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Sep
20
to Sep 22

Featured Author at the Provincetown Book Festival

Sun. Sept. 22 - 10:00am: I’ll be reading and in conversation with fiction writer Santiago Jose Sanchez.

Official description:

Self and Otherness: Queer Life in Poetry and Prose

Poet Chen Chen, author of Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency and Santiago Jose Sanchez, author of the new novel Hombrecito, compare poetry and fiction, queer life as people of color in the U.S., love, art and the whole ball of wax.

Full schedule + more info.

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Aug
4
to Aug 9

Fine Arts Work Center - Writing Friendship Workshop

Inspired by recent discourse on the complexities of friendship, this multi-genre generative workshop explores a variety of approaches to writing about/from friendship. We’ll start by discussing Mary Ruefle’s Pushcart Prize-winning essay “Dear Friends” before diving into friendship-focused work by a range of poets and writers. Each day you will be provided prompts and exercises, and participants can expect to generate at least five drafts over the week. We’ll think about what friendship means in an era of friending and following, of political upheavals and generational divides as well as intersections. Writers of all genres are welcome to this gathering of texts, questions, and—one hopes—friends.

More info + registration.

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Jul
11
to Jul 21

New England College MFA summer residency 2024

As poetry faculty for this MFA program, I’ll be teaching two peer feedback sessions, one generative session, and I’ll be reading as part of the faculty reading series. I’ll also be meeting with mentees, participating in a professional development panel, and attending student readings, graduating student lectures, and fellow faculty’s sessions.

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Jun
27
to Jun 30

Stonecoast MFA summer residency 2024

I’ll be teaching in the second half of this MFA residency: a three-day workshop focused on social justice poetry & nonfiction as well as a generative session on writing about family. I’ll also be giving a reading as part of the faculty reading series. And I’ll be meeting with mentees and attending student and fellow faculty events.

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Apr
20
12:30 PM12:30

Hudson Valley Writers Center - Generative Workshop [Virtual]

“I had a friend who…”: Writing Friendship with Chen Chen (via Zoom)

Inspired by recent cultural discourse on the complex power of friendship, this multi-genre generative workshop explores a variety of approaches to writing about/from friendship. We’ll start with a discussion of Mary Ruefle’s Pushcart Prize-winning essay “Dear Friends” (one of her best, most moving prose pieces, I think) before taking a look at a handful of friendship-focused piece by a range of poets and writers as potential models for our own writing. I’ll provide some writing prompts, including one that involves texts/DMs/emails with friends. We’ll think about what friendship means in a contemporary era of friending and following, subscribing and subtweeting, a global pandemic and generational divides as well as intersections. How do we make friends today? How do we maintain friendships? How do we, when needed, “break up” with friends in ways that don’t sound like a memo from HR? These deeply personal questions, among others (including the more craft-related ones!), will drive this session, this gathering of texts and— one can hope—friends.

More info + registration.

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Apr
8
to Apr 11

Georgia Poetry Circuit pt. 2

Second set of readings and class visits at colleges and universities across Georgia.

Tues. Apr. 9: Valdosta University

Weds. Apr. 10: Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

Thurs. Apr. 11: Georgia Southern University

Fri. Apr. 12: Savannah State University

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Apr
6
3:30 PM15:30

Reading at Anthony DiPietro's Book Launch - Brandeis University

Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum. Co-sponsored by the creative writing program.

Anthony DiPietro, Deputy Director of the Rose Art Museum, will be launching his debut poetry collection, kiss & release (Unsolicited Press). I’ll be reading from my work in support.

About the book: You may assume “this is a failed romantic gesture” or else “the best thing that happened to sex/since the devil invented it.” If a poetry book could sleep around, get divorced, and fall in love with a hookup, that book would be kiss & release. If a book could kill a snake to revive a dead lover, this one would. This book parties, hollers (and whispers) at hotties, and craves escape: “I will invent a way.” If you’ve ever been bored during group sex, this book’s for you. Do not read while driving: the book’s already driving too fast, singing loudly, and using Siri to reply to fuckboys.

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