Chen Chen
@chenchenwrites.bsky.social
traveling poet • phd in english • 2 books with @boa-editions.bsky.social • latest chapbook @ghostcitypress.bsky.social • faculty at new england college • abolish the police & free palestine
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https://www.chenchenwrites.com/the-latest
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https://www.chenchenwrites.com/the-latest
Pinned
Chen Chen
@chenchenwrites.bsky.social
· Nov 22
hello, good evening, my name
is chen chen, i’m a poet, and you may know me from such poems as this, “i love you to the moon &”
is chen chen, i’m a poet, and you may know me from such poems as this, “i love you to the moon &”
i just had a nutella cappuccino and now i want all coffee to be just that
November 11, 2025 at 4:32 PM
i just had a nutella cappuccino and now i want all coffee to be just that
Reposted by Chen Chen
November 9, 2025 at 9:50 PM
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our life.
—Annie Dillard
Well, every day is all there is.
—Joan Didion
—Annie Dillard
Well, every day is all there is.
—Joan Didion
November 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our life.
—Annie Dillard
Well, every day is all there is.
—Joan Didion
—Annie Dillard
Well, every day is all there is.
—Joan Didion
Reposted by Chen Chen
@chenchenwrites.bsky.social spotted in my local bookstore!!!
"Explodingly Yours"
"Explodingly Yours"
November 2, 2025 at 3:20 PM
@chenchenwrites.bsky.social spotted in my local bookstore!!!
"Explodingly Yours"
"Explodingly Yours"
I hated childhood
I hate adulthood
And I love being alive
—Mary Ruefle, from “Provenance”
I hate adulthood
And I love being alive
—Mary Ruefle, from “Provenance”
October 26, 2025 at 3:21 PM
I hated childhood
I hate adulthood
And I love being alive
—Mary Ruefle, from “Provenance”
I hate adulthood
And I love being alive
—Mary Ruefle, from “Provenance”
after much consideration, ughhhhhhhhhhh hhh
October 26, 2025 at 4:18 AM
after much consideration, ughhhhhhhhhhh hhh
It is true there is not enough beauty in the world.
It is also true that I am not competent to restore it.
Neither is there candor, and here I may be of some use.
—Louise Glück, from "October"
It is also true that I am not competent to restore it.
Neither is there candor, and here I may be of some use.
—Louise Glück, from "October"
October 25, 2025 at 11:03 PM
It is true there is not enough beauty in the world.
It is also true that I am not competent to restore it.
Neither is there candor, and here I may be of some use.
—Louise Glück, from "October"
It is also true that I am not competent to restore it.
Neither is there candor, and here I may be of some use.
—Louise Glück, from "October"
love being in a bookstore and they suddenly start playing laura palmer’s theme from twin peaks
October 24, 2025 at 2:14 PM
love being in a bookstore and they suddenly start playing laura palmer’s theme from twin peaks
My therapist tells me that I need to work on holding onto myself. This is my first therapist. I don’t know what she means. I thought that having myself was not supposed to take any effort.
—Yanyi, from The Year of Blue Water
thinking about this little (vast!) prose poem again
—Yanyi, from The Year of Blue Water
thinking about this little (vast!) prose poem again
October 24, 2025 at 12:36 AM
My therapist tells me that I need to work on holding onto myself. This is my first therapist. I don’t know what she means. I thought that having myself was not supposed to take any effort.
—Yanyi, from The Year of Blue Water
thinking about this little (vast!) prose poem again
—Yanyi, from The Year of Blue Water
thinking about this little (vast!) prose poem again
Reposted by Chen Chen
Join @chenchenwrites.bsky.social on Zoom for a special writing workshop! Discover a poetic form using only the letters in your name. We'll explore examples and guide you in creating words and lines. One week from tonight at 7 PM ET!
🎟️ chenchen2025.eventbrite.com?aff=Bsky
🎟️ chenchen2025.eventbrite.com?aff=Bsky
October 16, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Join @chenchenwrites.bsky.social on Zoom for a special writing workshop! Discover a poetic form using only the letters in your name. We'll explore examples and guide you in creating words and lines. One week from tonight at 7 PM ET!
🎟️ chenchen2025.eventbrite.com?aff=Bsky
🎟️ chenchen2025.eventbrite.com?aff=Bsky
Reposted by Chen Chen
Reading poems from When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities by @chenchenwrites.bsky.social and feeling so many feels
October 15, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reading poems from When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities by @chenchenwrites.bsky.social and feeling so many feels
keep your wonder alive, keep your aliveness alive
October 7, 2025 at 1:59 PM
keep your wonder alive, keep your aliveness alive
the great adventure of living while very very gay
October 7, 2025 at 12:56 AM
the great adventure of living while very very gay
love a crisp fall day with a high of 82°
October 5, 2025 at 9:39 PM
love a crisp fall day with a high of 82°
When someone dies, we go searching for poetry.
But I want elegies while I’m still alive... I want ballads, I want ugly, grating sounds, I want repetition, I want white space... and even center-aligned italicized poems that rhyme, and most of all — feelings.
—Jenny Zhang
But I want elegies while I’m still alive... I want ballads, I want ugly, grating sounds, I want repetition, I want white space... and even center-aligned italicized poems that rhyme, and most of all — feelings.
—Jenny Zhang
October 3, 2025 at 10:55 PM
When someone dies, we go searching for poetry.
But I want elegies while I’m still alive... I want ballads, I want ugly, grating sounds, I want repetition, I want white space... and even center-aligned italicized poems that rhyme, and most of all — feelings.
—Jenny Zhang
But I want elegies while I’m still alive... I want ballads, I want ugly, grating sounds, I want repetition, I want white space... and even center-aligned italicized poems that rhyme, and most of all — feelings.
—Jenny Zhang
something that can be so tough is Everything
September 29, 2025 at 10:52 PM
something that can be so tough is Everything
Write into the honey.
...
Write into the rain.
—Rick Barot
...
Write into the rain.
—Rick Barot
September 27, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Write into the honey.
...
Write into the rain.
—Rick Barot
...
Write into the rain.
—Rick Barot
i am meant to be cute at cute cafes, like that’s my destiny, and too much time away makes me despondent, like it makes me fucking wither
September 25, 2025 at 7:53 PM
i am meant to be cute at cute cafes, like that’s my destiny, and too much time away makes me despondent, like it makes me fucking wither
eavesdropping on the homosexuals as well as the bisexuals: a craft essay in the form of community gossip
September 25, 2025 at 6:42 PM
eavesdropping on the homosexuals as well as the bisexuals: a craft essay in the form of community gossip
Reposted by Chen Chen
🪶 ✨ Join us Thurs, 10/23 @ 7 PM ET on Zoom for a workshop with @chenchenwrites.bsky.social! We'll explore a poetry form using only the letters in your name. Discover how this constraint boosts creativity through examples and hands-on creation. 🎟️ More & Register: chenchen2025.eventbrite.com?aff=Bsky
September 25, 2025 at 5:03 PM
🪶 ✨ Join us Thurs, 10/23 @ 7 PM ET on Zoom for a workshop with @chenchenwrites.bsky.social! We'll explore a poetry form using only the letters in your name. Discover how this constraint boosts creativity through examples and hands-on creation. 🎟️ More & Register: chenchen2025.eventbrite.com?aff=Bsky
thinking about luke and lorelai
September 23, 2025 at 11:03 PM
thinking about luke and lorelai
no i love the temperature love it i just need the sun to keep setting at 8:00pm thanks
September 23, 2025 at 10:24 PM
no i love the temperature love it i just need the sun to keep setting at 8:00pm thanks
Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.
—Lucille Clifton
—Lucille Clifton
September 21, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.
—Lucille Clifton
—Lucille Clifton
Reposted by Chen Chen
📣 NEW RELEASE ALERT! 📣 Boa Editions is thrilled to announce that Aracelis Girmay's new collection of poetry GREEN OF ALL HEADS is out now! We have signed paperbacks and hardcovers for sale on our store in limited supply! Purchase yourself a copy today at boaeditions.org. Spread the word🍃
September 16, 2025 at 1:02 PM
📣 NEW RELEASE ALERT! 📣 Boa Editions is thrilled to announce that Aracelis Girmay's new collection of poetry GREEN OF ALL HEADS is out now! We have signed paperbacks and hardcovers for sale on our store in limited supply! Purchase yourself a copy today at boaeditions.org. Spread the word🍃
oh! my second book just turned three!! happy third bday, emergency contact!!!
September 15, 2025 at 8:08 PM
oh! my second book just turned three!! happy third bday, emergency contact!!!