Headlands Center for the Arts

Artist Statement

My poetry focuses on the intersections of technology, magic, and daily life, often set in the East Bay where I grew up. I am interested in the cataloging of memory as a way to preempt feelings of loss as well as the absurdities of the structures and routines that we have created—both of which are deeply human. Through poetry, I explore the ways reality is warped by memory, dreams, and social norms despite our constant search for the truth. (Also, I hope the poems are a little funny.)

While at Headlands

I plan to make progress on a collection of documentary poems that focuses on the Chinese half of my family who have roots in San Francisco Chinatown and mostly still live in Northern California. With the resources offered at Headlands, I will research my family history through interviews, archives, and possibly physically digging through boxes of old photos. I would like the collection to include a wide range of accounts, from my great grandparents’ immigration documents to how my parents feel about living in the suburbs. I am curious about the tension between history and the imagination. 

“With the Suddenness of May” and “Suburban Love Song” originally published in Grist Journal, 2020.

“In This I Find,” The Margins, 2020.

“The House Is Under Water,” The Margins, 2020.