About
Winner of the Costa Poetry Award
A Poetry Book Society Recommendation
Reviews
Extraordinary, brilliant and searingly honest...beautifully governed by formal rigour and literary excellence. – The Poetry Review
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
As governing metaphor and organising principle...the sport [of fencing] provides enlivening strategies for the poetic realisation of loss and rebellion. – The Guardian
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
Bright Fear
Forthcoming on 3 August 2023
Prose
Selected Publications
Review of English Studies (2022)
Guardian Review (2022)
Guardian Review (2022)
Guardian Review (2021)
Guardian Books (2021)
The Stinging Fly (2020)
Journal of British & Irish Innovative Poetry (2020)
Guardian Review (2020)
Guardian Review (2019)
Journal of American Studies (2018)
Events
*some events are hybrid/will take place online
19 Feb: Moderator, 100 Queer Poems Panel, The Verve Poetry Festival, Birmingham
*21 Feb: Reading, Meet the World Poetry Panel, National Centre for Writing, UEA
*24 Feb: Talk by Mary Jean Chan, English & Comparative Literary Studies, Warwick
*1 Mar: Reading, After Sylvia: Poets on Plath, The National Poetry Library, London
9 Mar: Reading, Mary Jean Chan, Keith Jarrett & Faryal Velmi, Reading University
*11 Mar: Reading, Poets of Chinese Heritage, 2023 AWP Conference, Seattle, US
14 Apr: Reading, Mary Jean Chan with Giorgia Sensi, Ritratti di Poesia, Rome, Italy
*24 Apr: Masterclass, Writing a Poetry Collection, Writers & Artists, Bloomsbury UK
*27 Apr: Launch, Where Else: An International HK Poetry Anthology, Oxford Brookes
*12 May: Reading with Kim Moore & Clare Shaw, The 2023 Newcastle Poetry Festival
22 May: Reading with Michael Symmons Roberts, Harris Manchester College, Oxford
*11 July: Reading, Fleche & Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
*21 Aug: Reading with Nina Mingya Powles, The Edinburgh International Book Festival
*31 Aug: Reading by Mary Jean Chan, Asia Creative Writing Programme, Singapore
18 Sept: Launch of Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan, Topping & Co. Booksellers, Bath
21 Sept: Judge, The Booker Prize shortlist event, National Portrait Gallery, London
15 Oct: Reading with Daljit Nagra & Jen Campbell, Durham Book Festival, Durham
21 Oct: Reading with Fiona Benson & Stephen Sexton, Seamus Heaney HomePlace
24 Oct: Reading with Mina Gorji & Bhanu Kapil, Pembroke College, Cambridge
27 Oct: Reading with Patrick James Errington, Brookes Poetry Centre, Oxford
28 Oct: Reading, Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan, Wantage Literary Festival
7 Nov: Reading, Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan, Topping & Co., Edinburgh
26 Nov: Judge, The Booker Prize winner ceremony, Old Billingsgate, London
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, "We'll Tell You Everything" Panel, Sing Lit Station
21 Aug: Reading, Asia Creative Writing Programme Poetry Showcase
22 Sept: Reading, East Side Voices, Daunt Books, Summertown, Oxford
27 Sept: Moderator, 100 Queer Poems Panel, Topping & Company, Bath
4 Oct: Reading, Abingdon Literary Society, Abingdon School, Abingdon
8 Oct: Reading, 100 Queer Poems Panel, Coast is Queer Literature Festival
19 Oct: Judge, The Wasafiri New Writing Prize Awards Ceremony, London
8 Nov: The Books Are My Bag Readers Awards, Foyles Bookshop, London
11 Nov: Moderator, 100 Queer Poems Panel, Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre
19 Nov: Reading, The Oxford University Poetry Society, Worcester College
25 Nov: Reading, Oxford High School, Girls' Day School Trust, Oxford
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 in 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
Media
Readings and Interviews
January 2020
Faber & Faber, London
August 2020
The Edinburgh International Book Festival
Press
Reviews, Features and Interviews
Radio and Podcasts
Contact