Jennifer Wong was born and brought up in Hong Kong. She now lives in the UK and works as a writer, translator and teacher. She has published three collections: *Goldfish* (2013), Diary of a Miu Miu Salesgirl - a pamphlet with Bitter Melon Poetry (2019), and most recently Letters Home 回 家, published by Nine Arches Press in 2020, which was selected as a Wild Card Choice by the Poetry Book Society. In this podcast, Jennifer reads and discusses four poems: ‘of butterflies’, ‘Girls from my class’, ‘My father, who taught me how to fold serviette penguins’, and ‘Truths 2.0’. You can read the poems that Jennifer discusses and find out more about her work on the Podcasts page on the Poetry Centre website – just search for ‘Oxford Brookes Poetry’. In our discussion, Jennifer explores topics such as the relationship between her past and present life, how far the Chinese family might be perceived as ‘a perfect state of happiness’, her use of Cantonese and English in the poems, her formal choices, and the challenges of writing about the recent Hong Kong protests. Do tell us what you think of the podcast by e-mailing us or getting in touch via social media - we’re on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Thank you for listening!
Jennifer Wong and Niall Munro
https://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/letters-home.html
2020-07-14