Poem Collaboration "Slant / Diptych" in Brooklyn Rail Magazine

Ever since I first picked up a copy of the Brooklyn Rail at McNally Jackson years ago, I wanted to be a part of it. Now thanks to Dr. Michelle Yee, this poem written in dialogue to her brilliant work on contemporary Asian-American Art is now out in Brooklyn Rail! I loved writing from Michelle's ideas of "in-betweenness," how to create and break boundaries within the "master's language," and how to celebrate the joys of being an Asian-American woman.

Read the poem collaboration here.

So inspired by Amy Sadao and Suzette Min's introduction to the series: "Abolition of a Category" featuring Asian-American scholars and artists. Let's remake the canon!

If you happen to be in NYC, please do pick up a print copy and send me a pic! Would love to see how it looks in real ink and paper.

Dogs! Revenge! 1st Person Plural! Story "Geraldine Foggs" published in Identity Theory

There's revenge! Dogs! Mysterious illness! Yuppies! Small town crimes! Revenge by dogs! "Geraldine Foggs" is now out with Identity Theory. It only takes 12 minutes and no cost at all to read here.

This story about a cleaning woman with a crooked son and an unexplained blindness is told from the perspective of the town. I've always loved the first person plural. Anthony Doerr's "For A Long Time, This was Griselda's Story" and Jeffrey Eugenides' Virgin Suicides are gorgeous examples. It took me several drafts over the years to get the point-of-view and magical realism atmosphere right. A good reminder to keep editing and don't give up on your favorite stories. 

Can't thank enough editor extraordinaire Sophie Newman who helped me land the ending, and Matt Borondy for bringing me into the Identity Theory community, and who found the perfect photo to go with this piece.

Correspondence with an Artist: Naming Nature, Creating in the Pandemic and More

Would you save what you can't name? How do you create in a pandemic? What do the minutiae of art/poetry do for this big world? Artist Leigh Ann Beavers and I tackle the tough questions, and more!

Read at: shenandoahliterary.org/thepeak/a-correspondence-yun-wei-leigh-ann-beavers

Story "It Was A Watermelon Love" in The Boiler!

New story about young love, old regrets and lots of bad-good art now out with The Boiler ! What would you do if you had a chance to see a past love after decades? Would you meet them or run the other way so that you can freeze those perfect memories? Would you even recognize each other?

Inspired by sunny days in Provence and lots of tipsy gallery openings in NYC, this story took me a year to perfect... and it's less than 5 minutes to read! Don't know about you but sounds like a good deal to me.

"It Was Our First Great Sorrow" and "The Best Things in Life" in Shenandoah Journal

In the first week of the pandemic, when we didn't know this would last for more than a year, when we created a bunker life in a one-bedroom apartment, these two poems poured out of me. In "It Was Our First Great Sorrow," I imagined what hell would be like if it were made of flowers, when something beautiful turns into the tragic. Then in a burst of uncharacteristic positivity, I thought about how phrases like "the best things in life" are so familiar yet unknown and undefinable. Those moments that make you feel on a visceral level that life is precious are the ones that surprise, the ones that defy rational explanations. Now, more than a year after that bunker life, Shenandoah Journal has put these poems out in the world, and the world has changed so much, yet in some ways, not at all.

Read the rest of "It Was Our First Great Sorrow" and "The Best Things in Life."

And check out the full issue of writers I'm lucky to be sharing space with, including Anna Maria Hong and a new translation of Adonis!

Dehumanization and How to Heal - Asian Women Writers Panel

For anyone who missed it, here's the recording of the Asian women writers panel hosted by International Women's Writing Guild.

The panelists had so many brilliant, heart-breaking and inspiring things to say, here is just a small sample:

Dr. Ada Cheng: "When you write yourself out of your own stories, there is no story to tell."

Sarah Lyu: "Dehumanization happens because we don't want to deal with complexity."

Usha Akella: "We couldn't wait around for the change we wanted to see. As poets and writers, it becomes inevitable that you're also an activist."

Michelle Liu: "The reason we remain complacent and silent is because of the privileges we have."

Watch here for more. Please share!

Asian Women Writers Panel May 5th 1pm ET / 7pm CET

A month ago, the Atlanta spa shootings shook something in me that only poetry could answer. Now I'll be talking with these brilliant writers about activism and literature, healing and solidarity, and how to write about the unspeakable. Join us at 1pm EST / 7pm Geneva time tomorrow, Wednesday, May 5th! Free and open to the public.

Register at: https://iwwg.wildapricot.org/event-4274005?fbclid=IwAR1H2l-pqin3zRhkX4tZ5jQYpvuRlwte7rW9hil1A7ba0kHYVAy4ADTZu-g