SITA BALANI MEETS THE AWARDWINNING POET MJ CHAN

MJ CHAN

ILLUSTRATION FERNANDO SAFONT

MJ Chan has a host of prizes and publications to her name, edits Oxford Poetry magazine, and writes fearless, powerful poetry on queer themes. What more could we want? DIVA caught up with this exciting new talent.

DIVA: Your Forward Prize-nominated poem, Chopsticks, captures the painful experience of introducing a new partner to parents. How have readers responded to this poem?

MJ CHAN: Many said that after reading the poem online that it moved them to tears, which was quite surprising for me, since many of these readers do not identify as queer themselves. However, I think their response reveals a universal desire for acceptance and love, which most people can identify with. I’m very honoured that the judges deemed the poem worthy of the Forward shortlist. I wrote it out of a sense of grief and rage at the difficulties of not being able to love myself and those around me in a homophobic space within which shame is rampant. I also wanted to express the complexities of Chinese culture when its familial values come up against the fact of queerness. I wondered about all the queer youth in Hong Kong who were less lucky than I had been, who simply had no way out of their predicament of living in a city that is fundamentally unforgiving towards LGBTQ people. Were many driven to self-harm or suicide? What do such tragedies entail for the parents who seemingly love their children enough to sacrifice lots for their education and wellbeing? The poem was a question I needed to ask, and I’m grateful to my readers for sharing some of their responses.