Aja St. Germaine
Dr. Dorothy Chan is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Editor Emeritus of Hobart, Book Reviews Co-Editor of Pleiades, and Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of Honey Literary Inc., a 501(c)(3) literary arts organization. This month, they published their third book, BABE, on December 2nd, 2021. Her other collections include Attack of the Fifty-Foot Centerfold , Revenge of the Asian Woman, and a chapbook, Chinatown Sonnets.
Dorothy Chan’s latest book, BABE, explores themes such as queerphobia, Chan’s experience as a queer Chinese American, pop culture, and queer satisfaction. Their poetry oozes details of passion, intimacy, and queerness that will make you swoon. In this interview, Chan offers insight into their reminiscent title, killer triple sonnets, and reflecting on queer and BIPOC joy during a pandemic.
Aja St. Germaine (ASG): How does BABE complement your other works?
Dr. Dorothy Chan (DC): BABE is my third full-length poetry book, and my fourth collection overall. Title-wise, she’s an oddball amongst my other books. I usually go for long titles, like Revenge of the Asian Woman (Diode Editions, 2019) and Attack of the Fifty-Foot Centerfold (Spork Press, 2018). But you know what, BABE is one damn good word. It’s also reminiscent of my nineties childhood. I remember texting gifs of Babe, the pig, to my friends when the book got accepted by Diode.
ASG: Do you see your scholarly work reflect in your poetry? How does your work as a professor bleed into your work as a poet, and vice versa?
DC: Great question! You know, I think all this work is connected, and the more I progress in my career, the less I think about these clear demarcations. Whatever I do, I always set out with a contemporary feminist mission. My work as an active editor and a publishing poet informs my work as a professor, especially when teaching intermediate and advanced poetry workshops. When I’m teaching, I might be wearing my “professor cap” predominantly, but the “editor cap” comes on quite frequently too. It’s like the difference between workshopping and getting your work published. Both are important. But during workshop, I might say “If you want this to be published, you might want to try [x].” I also believe that the best poets are the best researchers. I think about poetry books I admire, such as Jessica Q. Stark’s Savage Pageant (Birds LLC) and Rosebud Ben-Oni’s If This is the Age We End Discovery (Alice James Books). Both these books are examples of highly researched collections. As a professor, it’s also my job to constantly research, whether it’s re-reading and discovering new materials for a course or researching for my next book.
ASG: Your use of triple sonnets is killer, and it’s one of your many strengths. What compels you to employ triple sonnets?
DC: Thank you so much, Aja! The Triple Sonnet is my signature form and it’s my own creation. I’m obsessed with excess. I mean, why have one of something, when you could have three or five or one hundred or one million?
“Every poet should have their own signature form. I love the sonnet in general because it provides an abundance of voltas, the absolute best part of any poem”
Every poet should have their own signature form. I love the sonnet in general because it provides an abundance of voltas, the absolute best part of any poem. I have fond memories of studying the sonnet with Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon at Cornell.
ASG: Diode Editions describes BABE as “paying homage to the first girls who ever loved [you] in this analysis of sexuality, queerness, popular culture, and resilience.” I would love to hear you speak more on your perspective of the relevance of these themes, particularly amidst the pandemic.
DC: The pandemic has given me a lot of time to reflect. My writing routine fluctuates. But right now, I keep coming back to the themes of memory and nostalgia and the question of “What truly made me happy?” This has then made me re-explore my first loves and first discoveries. Or maybe it’s just odd spending my first years of my thirties in a pandemic. Maybe my early thirties are the right time for me to look back and see what I can improve.
The above themes are increasingly relevant during the pandemic. If we’re talking about public health and the mental and physical well-being of individuals, then we certainly cannot erase discussions of identity, race, gender, and sexuality. When we talk about public health, we need to discuss what neighborhoods get the best and most convenience healthcare access. And then we can start unraveling the social, economic, and political reasons for that.
ASG: What have you done to celebrate the release of BABE?
DC: I’m having a Zoom party reading with my favorites on Thursday, December 9th at 7 PM central time. Confirmed reader list so far: Alan Chazaro, Amorak Huey, Antony Fangary, Avni Vyas, I.S. Jones, Jane Wong, Jessica Q. Stark, José Felipe Alvergue, Joshua Nguyen, Justin Greene, Kendra DeColo, Nabila Lovelace, Ricky Ray, Rita Mookerjee, Rosebud Ben-Oni, Stephanie Niu, Taneum Bambrick, and Zeeshan Khan Pathan.
ASG: How can people participate in your Release Party via Zoom? Tell us more about the event!
DC: It’s going to be a great time! I’ve invited some of my closest writer friends and favorite poets—the best and the brightest— to read with me.
Click here to register today.