Mary Jean Chan is a Hong Kong-Chinese poet, lecturer, editor and critic whose debut poetry collection, Flèche, won the 2019 Costa Book Award in the poetry category. Chan’s second book, Bright Fear, was published by Faber in 2023. In 2023, Chan served as a judge for the Booker Prize.
Mary Jean Chan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1990 (age 33–34)[1] Hong Kong |
| Occupation | Poet, lecturer, editor, critic |
| Education | Royal Holloway University of Oxford Swarthmore College |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Notable works | Flèche |
| Notable awards | Costa Book Awards Eric Gregory Award |
| Website | |
| www | |
Biography edit
Mary Jean Chan was born in 1990 and was raised in Hong Kong.[1] Chan graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Swarthmore College in 2012 with a BA in Political Science. Chan obtained an MPhil from Oxford in International Development and also completed an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.[2][3]
In 2018, Chan's pamphlet, A Hurry of English, was published by ignitionpress and was chosen as a Poetry Book Society Summer Pamphlet Choice.[4] Chan's debut poetry collection Flèche was published by Faber & Faber (2019). It was chosen as a Poetry Book Society Autumn Recommendation.[5] The book won the Costa Book Award for Poetry in 2019.[6]
In 2019, Chan was named as one of Jackie Kay's 10 Best BAME Writers in Britain, with Kay describing Chan's poetry as "psychologically astute and culturally complex."[7]
Chan's second collection of poems, Bright Fear, was shortlisted for the 2023 Forward Prize for Best Collection[8] and the 2024 Writers' Prize.
Chan served as Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes University from 2018 till 2023. Chan is currently a tutor on the MSt in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford and is the 2023-24 Judith E. Wilson Poetry Fellow at the University of Cambridge.
Awards edit
- 2024 Jhalak Prize (Longlisted for Bright Fear)
- 2024 Dylan Thomas Prize (Shortlisted for Bright Fear)
- 2024 The Folio Prize (Shortlisted for Bright Fear)
- 2023 Forward Prize for Best Collection (Shortlisted for Bright Fear)
- 2022 Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards (Shortlisted for 100 Queer Poems)
- 2021 Lambda Literary Awards (Finalist for Flèche)
- 2020 Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry First Collection Prize (Shortlisted for Flèche)
- 2020 Jhalak Prize (Shortlisted for Flèche)
- 2020 John Pollard Foundation International Poetry Prize (Shortlisted for Flèche)
- 2020 Dylan Thomas Prize (Shortlisted for Flèche)[9]
- 2019 Costa Book Award for Poetry, Flèche[6]
- 2019 Eric Gregory Award, A Hurry Of English[10]
- 2019 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem (Shortlisted)[3]
- 2018 Poetry Society Geoffrey Dearmer Award[11]
- 2017 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem (Shortlisted)[12]
- 2017 Poetry Society Anne Born Prize[13]
- 2017 National Poetry Competition (Second Place) [1]
Bibliography edit
- Siblings (Monitor Books, 2024), with Jay Bernard, Will Harris & Nisha Ramayya
- Bright Fear (Faber & Faber, 2023)
- 100 Queer Poems (Vintage, 2022), co-editor with Andrew McMillan
- Flèche (Faber & Faber, 2019)
- A Hurry of English (ignitionpress, 2018)
External links edit
References edit
- ^ a b c "Mary Jean Chan". Poetry Society. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ Riggs, Jonathan. "Waxing Poetric". Swarthmore College. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Forward Arts Foundation in Conversation with Mary Jean Chan". Forward Arts Foundation. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ Poetry Book Society. "A Hurry of English by Mary Jean Chan". Poetry Book Society.
- ^ "Autumn Selections 2019". Poetry Book Society. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Jonathan Coe's Brexit-themed novel among Costa Book Award winners". BBC. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ Kay, Jackie. "Jackie Kay selects Britain's 10 best BAME writers". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ Creamer, Ella. "Forward prizes for poetry add new award for performed poems". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ "Dylan Thomas Prize 2020 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ "Eric Gregory Award Winners". Eric Gregory Award. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ "Geoffrey Dearmer Prize". The Poetry Society. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ "Forward Prizes of Poetry 2017 Winners". Forward Arts Foundation. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ "Anne Born Prize". The PoetrySociety. Retrieved 10 January 2020.