Join my Patreon, please!
Click on this image to join my Patreon!
For many, support for doing the thing they love is the dream.
Over the many years I’ve been on this rock, I’ve had the incredible benefit of strong emotional and creative support while I pursued my artistic endeavors. And just before COVID-19 reoriented the world, many friends funded a modest book tour for my debut collection of poems Anatomy of Want. That generosity was humbling to say the least and it spoke to a belief in my work and talent that I myself, at times, waver in. And outside of me, it’s significant because by allowing others a chance to hear my poetry, new audiences would get a taste of my flavor of queer poetry, Asian American poetry, queer Asian American poetry. If the adage that “representation matters” holds true, uplifting my work further insists that Asian and LGBTQ+ creativity, subjectivity, narrative, and personhood have a place in this world.
Building on the impact of Anatomy of Want’s book tour donors, I’ve launched this Patreon to create a community of supporters who dually want to see my work persevere in reaching new ears, minds, and hearts and to recognize the validity of Asian American LGBTQ+ voices in a sociopolitical-cultural landscape that is increasingly xenophobic, anti-Asian, and fanatically hostile to the notion of a United States not rooted in white supremacy.
Being a poet in the 21st Century in the U.S. means that at least half of the work in being an author is the hustle to be visible. A great majority of small press-published poets don’t have agents or publicists so the name we make for ourselves is largely of our own doing. Should you become a member of this Patreon at any level, you make it so that I’m not doing it alone. You will be supporting:
- The maintenance and development of my website
- PR efforts, including the costs of postage, shipping materials, review copies of Anatomy of Want, publicity photos
- Submission costs for literary journals, awards, reviews, etc.
- Equipment upgrades for virtual readings
- Patreon-exclusive programming, content, etc.
- My next poetry manuscript(s)
- Reading travel expenses
- Stability, security, and sanity!
I fully recognize that Patreon support is a profound privilege and I will honor that with dedication, effort, transparency, and to listen to what you have to share and say. I look forward to taking you all on my creative journeys. To join my Patreon, click on the image above!
