About
Winner of the Costa book Award for Poetry
A Poetry Book Society Recommendation
Reviews
[An] extraordinary, brilliant and searingly honest collection...beautifully governed by formal rigour and literary excellence. – The Poetry Review
[Chan] is one of those rare poets who leave you looking up with a sense that you can engage even the smallest part of the world around you with a much greater intensity. – PN Review
Chan has picked a perfect title, one that is as expansive and evocative as the poems that it encompasses. – The Hong Kong Review of Books
As [a] governing metaphor and organising principle...the sport [of fencing] provides enlivening strategies for the poetic realisation of loss and rebellion. – The Guardian
New Poems
Anthologies
Selected Publications
Nine Arches Press (2021)
Hodder & Stoughton (2022)
Prose
Selected Publications
Guardian Review (2022)
Guardian Review (2021)
Guardian Books (2021)
The Stinging Fly (2020)
The Journal of British & Irish Innovative Poetry (2020)
Guardian Review (2020)
Guardian Review (2019)
The Journal of American Studies (2018)
Guardian Books (2018)
Modern Poetry in Translation (2018)
Events
Dates
2022
Some of the following events will take place online
18 Jan: Reading, Dún Laoghaire Lexicon Library & Cultural Centre
3 Feb: Reading, English and Creative Writing, Lancaster University
21 Mar: Reading, "Poetry As/And Criticism", Maynooth University
26 Mar: Reading and Q&A, The MSt in Creative Writing, Oxford
5 Apr: Reading, The 2022 Think Human Festival, Oxford Brookes
12 Apr: Moderator, Diana Bellessi with Leo Boix, Oxford Brookes
21 Apr: Reading, Sylvia Legris & Mary Jean Chan, Granta Books
17 May: Reading, Kayo Chingonyi & Mary Jean Chan, Birkbeck
19 May: Reading, Theo Kwek & Mary Jean Chan, Kellogg College
26 May: Judge, Jhalak Prize Awards Ceremony, The British Library
4 June: Reading, Pride Month Panel, Blackwell's Bookshop, Oxford
9 June: Reading, Oxford Review of Books June Issue Launch, Oxford
11 June: Reading, Poetry Showcase, The Welshpool Poetry Festival
12 Aug: Reading, Poetry Panel (host: Theo Kwek), Sing Lit Station
22 Sept: Reading, East Side Voices anthology, Daunt Books, Oxford
27 Sept: Moderator, 100 Queer Poems panel, Topping & Co., Bath
2021
16 Feb: Literature, Film & Theatre Seminars, University of Essex
17 Feb: The Centre for Poetry & Poetics, University of Sheffield
18 Feb: Foyle Young Poets Showcase, Poetry Society, London
23 Feb: LGBTQ History Month, Putney High School, London
27 Feb: Mary Jean Chan & Karen Solie, Kendal Poetry Festival
5 Mar: Talk, The Cambridge Union, University of Cambridge
8 Mar: Reading, Homerton College, University of Cambridge
20 Mar: Reading, MSt Creative Writing, University of Oxford
8 Apr: Reading & Poetry Prize Ceremony, Swarthmore College
10 Apr: Celebration of Nathalie Anderson, Swarthmore College
16 Apr: Desert Island Poems, The Seren Cardiff Poetry Festival
22 Apr: Natalie Diaz with Mary Jean Chan, Manchester Lit Fest
29 Apr: Oxplore Book Club (Live Poetry), University of Oxford
6 May: The Herbert Society, Jesus College, University of Oxford
21 May: The Creative Industries Festival, Oxford Brookes University
1 June: The 33rd Lambda Annual Literary Awards, A Virtual Ceremony
13 June: Mary Jean Chan & Will Harris, Ledbury Emerging Poetry Critics
29 June: Professionalising Your Poetry, The Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre
16 Sept: Reading and Q&A with Mary Jean Chan, University of Hong Kong
25 Sept: Writers and Migrants, Poetics of Home, A Chinese Diaspora Festival
3 Oct: Language, Home and Self, Poetics of Home, A Chinese Diaspora Festival
10 Oct: Mary Jean Chan, Andrew McMillan & Paul Mendez, Cheltenham Lit Fest
20 Oct: Reading by Mary Jean Chan, Inventions of the Text, Durham University
22 Oct: Kazim Ali, Mary Jean Chan & Cole Swenson, The Big Poetry Weekend
28 Oct: Reading and Q&A, Mary Jean Chan, Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan
5 Nov: Reading and Q&A, Mary Jean Chan, Oxford High School, Oxford
10 Nov: Mary Jean Chan, Yousif Qasmiyeh & Ruth Padel, ORB, Oxford
6 Dec: Reading and Q&A, Mary Jean Chan, The University of Liverpool
2020
28 Jan: The Costa Book Awards Ceremony, Quaglino's, London
10 Feb: The Think Human Festival, Oxford Brookes University
22 Feb: The Verve Poetry Festival, Birmingham Hippodrome
9 Mar: Letters Home by Jennifer Wong, Poetry Cafe, London
8 May: Q&A with Kenny Leck, BooksActually, Singapore
14 May: International Dylan Thomas Awards Ceremony
15 May: Jhalak Prize, The Author's Club Online Lit Fest
29 May: Books Are Magic Readings, New York, USA
7 June: Words and Swords, The York Festival of Ideas
19 June: Masterclass, Scottish BAME Writers Network
28 June: Moving House by Theophilus Kwek, Carcanet Press
2 July: Seamus Heaney Centre First Collection Awards Ceremony
5 July: Ledbury Poetry Festival: Cathy Park Hong and Will Harris
9 July: UCL Take Flight Hub, Sustaining Your Career as a Poet
14 July: The National Literacy Trust Readings, Instagram Live
16 July: HSS Research Series, Oxford Brookes University
29 July: Queer Poetry Writing Week, Arvon at Home
5 Aug: The Poetry Book Society Virtual Book Club
24 Aug: The Edinburgh International Book Festival
19 Sept: The Hong Kong Shuffle Online Readings
1 Oct: National Poetry Day, Queen Anne's School
3 Oct: What We Read Now: An Online Poetry Series
11 Oct: Rainbow Writes: funded by FRIDA, Malaysia
7 Nov: Spoke and Bird, A Poetry Open Mic, Singapore
11 Nov: Literary Society, St Paul's Girls' School, London
15 Nov: The Hong Kong International Literary Festival
20 Nov: Queer Reads Library (Bilingual), Hong Kong
28 Nov: Ó Bhéal Winter Warmer Poetry Festival, Cork
Media
Readings and Interviews
January 2020
Faber & Faber
August 2020
The Edinburgh International Book Festival
March 2021
The Cambridge Union
Press
Reviews, Features and Interviews
Radio and Podcasts
Eamonn M. McCormack / Getty Images
Contact