mfa writers in residence

margaret rhee is a poet, new media artist, and scholar. she is the author of chapbooks yellow (tinfish press, 2011), and radio heart; or, how robots fall out of love (finishing line press, 2016), a finalist for the 2017 elgin award from the science fiction poetry association. her first full-length poetry collection love, robot was published by the operating system in 2017 and named a 2017 entropy best book of poetry and recognized with an elgin award. her new media art project “the kimchi poetry machine” was selected for the electronic literature collection volume 3.

her research focuses on technology, and its intersections with literary, media, queer, feminist, and ethnic studies. she is currently completing her first monograph, how we became human: race, robots, and the asian american body. currently, she is a college fellow in digital practice in the english department at harvard university. she is also a visiting scholar at the nyu a/p/a institute, and assistant professor suny buffalo in the department of media study (2018).

literary fellowships include kundiman, hedgebrook, and the kathy acker fellowship. she received her ph.d. from uc berkeley in ethnic and new media studies, and her ba in creative writing/english from the university of southern california.

[re:con]versations :: poetry, practice and robot love with margaret rhee >

brendan basham is diné, born in alaska and raised in northern arizona. his work has appeared or is forthcoming in the santa fe literary review, red ink, yellow medicine review, juked, and sheepshead review. he was a nominee for a 2016 pen / robert j. dau short story prize for emerging writers. he holds an mfa in creative writing from the institute of american indian arts, and is currently finishing his first novel.

poet monica sok was born and raised by cambodian refugees in lancaster, pennsylvania. she is the author of year zero (poetry society of america, 2016) and has received fellowships from bread loaf writers' conference, calabash/the conversation literary festival, elizabeth george foundation, hedgebrook, fine arts work center, jerome foundation, kundiman, macdowell colony, montalvo arts center, national endowment for the arts, saltonstall foundation, stadler center for poetry, and others. her poems appear in consequence magazine, kenyon review, narrative, poetry, the new republic, and triquarterly review, among others. she holds an mfa in creative writing from new york university.

quote from sok's 2016 interview on the rumpus

"yearling is about adolescence and the transformative stuff that shapes it, so the book is obsessed with initiations, ordeals, and homecomings, or lacks thereof. the links between humanity and animality are a recurring theme, as is the question of how certain forces may grant or deny someone their personhood.

the greatest goal i have for yearling is for it to sing, rather than to say."

lo kwa mei-en is the author of yearling (alice james books, 2015) and the bees make money in the lion (2016), and winner of the kundiman poetry prize and the cleveland state university poetry center open competition. she is from singapore and ohio, where she lives and works in cincinnati.

"i cannot emphasize enough how grateful i am for the time given to me by the kundiman residency at sierra nevada college. the opportunity to focus on my work in the natural beauty near lake tahoe was a gift, and having access to prim library made such a positive impact on my time there. in addition, the time spent with the snc faculty and students during the mfa residency was meaningful to me; the community acts as a family, and extended such a welcome to me that it was hard to see them go."

-- lo kwa mei-en, february 2016

cathy linh che is the author of split (alice james, 2014), winner of the kundiman poetry prize, the norma farber first book award from the poetry society of america, and the best poetry book award from the association of asian american studies.

A Vietnamese American poet from Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA, she received her BA from Reed College and her MFA from New York University. She has been awarded fellowships and residencies from Poets & Writers, The fine arts Work Center at Provincetown, kundiman, Hedgebrook, Poets House, The Asian American Literary Review, The Center for Book Arts, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Workspace residency, and a Jerome Foundation Travel Grant.

she is founding editor of the online journal paperbag, Publicity & events Associate at Kaya Press, and Executive Director at kundiman.

brynn saito is the author of the palace of contemplating departure, winner of the benjamin saltman poetry award from red hen press (2013). she also co-authored, with traci brimhall, bright power, dark peace, a chapbook of poetry from diode editions (2013). her work has been anthologized by helen vendler and ishmael reed, and has appeared in virginia quarterly review, ninth letter, hayden’s ferry review, and pleiades.

brynn was born in california's central valley to a korean american mother and a japanese american father. she is the recipient of a kundiman asian american poetry fellowship, the poets 11 award from the san francisco public library, and the key west literary seminar’s scotti merrill memorial award. brynn lives in the bay area and teaches at the california institute of integral studies and sofia university.