J.L. Chen is a Chinese Canadian poet and writer, and an incoming Stegner Fellow at Stanford University (2026-2028). Her work appears in Grain, ARC Poetry, Literary Review of Canada, PRISM International, Mantis (Stanford), Vallum, Canadian Literature, Tupelo Quarterly, EVENT, West Trade Review, Queen's Quarterly, West Trestle Review, Bayou and elsewhere. She was shortlisted for the 2024 Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize, named a Finalist for the 2025 Robert and Adele Schiff Award by The Cincinnati Review, and longlisted for the 2025 CBC Poetry Prize—selected as one of 23 writers from more than 3,200 submissions.
Chen holds an MFA from University of King's College and serves as an editorial board member for TCR newspaper at UBC/UNA. In her spare time, she can be found dancing or riding on the open road.
Writing Between States and Languages: Poetry, Migration and Movement
Chen reads from her published work and discusses her approach to writing migration, memory, and embodiment.
Themes include diaspora, intergenerational story-telling, bilingual identity, and the intersection of movement and language.
See above
