Read more
Derek Chung’s poems capture the East-meets-West synergy of Hong Kong’s cosmopolitan culture, while tracking the city’s myriad transformations over the past two decades. Though his poems bear the influence of Anglophone poets such as Elizabeth Bishop and Seamus Heaney, Hong Kong is at the heart of his work. Writing through the lens of a father, restaurant-goer, dreamer, flaneur, protester, and more, Chung captures a city in motion—and the joy, loss, and heartbreak that comes with loving Hong Kong.
About the author
Derek Chung is an acclaimed poet, essayist, and critic from Hong Kong. The author of eight poetry collections, several short story anthologies, and a book of poetry criticism, he is a two-time winner of the Youth Literary Awards and five-time winner of the Hong Kong Biennial Awards for Chinese Literature, among other accolades. He has also been named Artist of the Year (Literary Arts) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. In 2019, Chung was a featured poet at the International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong (IPNHK), one of the most influential international poetry event series in Asia. His work has been translated into English and Japanese.
Award-winning translator and writer
May Huang began translating Chung Kwok-keung’s poetry in 2018 and her translations have appeared in
Exchanges, Circumference,
The Common, World Literature Today,
Los Angeles Review, and elsewhere. Huang was selected to participate in ALTA’s 2020 Emerging Translators Mentorship Program, and she received an Honorable Mention in the 2020 Gulf Coast Prize in Translation. In 2021, Huang was awarded a PEN/HEIM Translation Fund Grant to translate Taiwanese author Chiou Charng-Ting’s short story collection “
Young Gods” into English. Her writings on translation have appeared in
Words Without Borders, Electric Literature, Hopscotch Translation, Hong Kong Review of Books, and
Cha: An Asian Literary Journal.
Summary
Derek Chung’s poems capture the East-meets-West synergy of Hong Kong’s cosmopolitan culture, while tracking the city’s myriad transformations over the past two decades. Though his poems bear the influence of Anglophone poets such as Elizabeth Bishop and Seamus Heaney, Hong Kong is at the heart of his work. Writing through the lens of a father, restaurant-goer, dreamer, flaneur, protester, and more, Chung captures a city in motion—and the joy, loss, and heartbreak that comes with loving Hong Kong.
Foreword
· Advance galleys to Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New Yorker, NPR.
· E-blast announcements and offers of review copies to our list of 250+ reviewers, literary journals, bloggers, and literary organizations.
· Advance review copies on Edelweiss.
· Coop available.
· Virtual launch readings with recent partners, such as Grolier Poetry Bookshop (Cambridge), Yu and Me Books (NYC), Prairie Lights Books (Iowa City), Miami Book Festival, Rain Taxi Review (Minneapolis).
· Review and feature article campaign to select poetry, and Asian and Chinese academic publications.
· Featured title at AWP, Boston Book Fair, Brooklyn Book Festival, ALTA, Tucson Festival of Books.
· Email marketing to creative writing, Chinese, Asian Studies departments for course adoption.
· Social media campaigns on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, and e-blasts to Zephyr’s customer list of 1,500 names.
· Will submit to PEN Poetry in Translation Award, Griffin International Poetry Prize, National Translation Award, Derek Walcott Poetry Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, Patrick D. Hanan Award, Harold Morton Landon Award, and others.
