A queer Chinese American poet, Chen Chen's work has appeared in Poetry, The New York Times Magazine, and The Best American Poetry. His first collection, When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities, was selected by Jericho Brown for the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize and longlisted for the 2017 National Book Award for Poetry. From the same book, Elegy for My Sadness is an intimate and lyrical examination of love, romancing, and poetic whimsy.