Yongyu Chen
Yongyu Chen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Beijing, China |
| Occupations | Poet and scholar |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Cornell University (BA) Harvard University |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Film and Visual Studies |
| Website | https://yongyuchen.site/ |
Yongyu Chen is a Chinese American writer and artist. They are the author of Perennial Counterpart (Nightboat Books, 2026), a winner of the 2023 Nightboat Poetry Prize.[1] In 2023, they won Poetry Magazine's Friends of Literature Prize.[2]
Biography
Chen was born in Beijing, China.[3] They grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, and graduated from Farragut High School, where they competed on the quiz bowl team.[4][3][5] As a high school student, they received early recognition for their poetry from The Poetry Society.[6] They received their BA in comparative literature and Spanish from Cornell University.[7]
Their debut poetry collection, Perennial Counterpart, is forthcoming from Nightboat Books. Noting its cinematic quality, Tracy K. Smith described the collection as a "generous, exquisite debut" and praised it for "the lyric conviction animating [Chen]'s work, and the ongoing dialogue—across time, lives, temperaments and texts—that gently yet adamantly stitches us to one another."[8] It was selected as one of Literary Hub’s “Most Anticipated Books of 2026.”[9]
Chen is currently a PhD student in Film and Visual Studies at Harvard University.[7] Their scholarship focuses on "photography, queer theory, potentiality, & the ontology & ethics of worlds."[7] In 2025, they were an ArtTable Fellow at the Public Art Fund.[10] Their poems have appeared in The Paris Review, Poetry, and The Baffler.[11][12][13]
Honors and awards
- 2023: Poetry Magazine's Friends of Literature Prize
- 2025: Nightboat Poetry Prize
References
- ^ Bergamini, Lina (2024-03-15). "Announcing Nightboat's 2023 Poetry Prize Winners!". Nightboat Books. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ "Poetry Magazine Prizes". The Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ a b reidykc (2020-08-01). "SUMMER 2020 CONTRIBUTORS". Nashville Review. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ "Farragut - QBWiki". www.qbwiki.com. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ "NAQT | 2014 High School National Championship Tournament | Yongyu Chen". www.naqt.com. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ "Yongyu Chen – The Poetry Society: Poems". Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ a b c "Yongyu Chen | Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies". afvs.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ "Perennial Counterpart". Nightboat Books. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ Hub, Literary (2026-01-06). "Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2026". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ "Previous ArtTable Fellows – ArtTable". Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ Chen, Yongyu (2025-09-05). "Making of a Poem: Yongyu Chen on "Outpost" by Yongyu Chen". The Paris Review. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ "Yongyu Chen". The Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
- ^ "Yongyu Chen". The Baffler. 2025-08-11. Retrieved 2026-01-23.