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Kirsten Shu-ying Chen's searing debut collection offers a poignant exploration of the liminal space between what is holy and what is prosaic. Formalistically rich and varied, these poems do not blink in the face of grief, but shelter there. Chen "curse[s] the wide width of the wound" and creates a world in which her poems link arms to enter the blistering present. A demonstration of the daily rituals of love, these elegies swell with humanity as death draws near. "The body knows. / The night knows and the body listens." Light waves simultaneously reminds us of what we already know and what we too often forget: there just isn't enough time, and yet, an abundance of joy is everywhere, for each of us.
-Omotara James, Song of My Softening
About the author
Kirsten Shu-ying Chen grew up at the Jersey Shore. She graduated from the University of Maryland's business school, spent some time in Washington DC and Baltimore, then moved to New York where she received her MFA in creative writing from the New School. She's also a sketch comedy writer, screenwriter, and founder of the former BTP artist collective. Her poetry can be found in Best American Poetry, PANK, The Florida Review, Yes Poetry, and elsewhere. Earlier versions of this collection were named finalist for both the Autumn House Press chapbook prize and the Tomaž Šalamun chapbook prize from Factory Hollow Press. She currently lives in New York City. Light waves is her debut full-length poetry book.
