Eileen Chong (born 1980) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

contemporary

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Early life and education

Chong was born in 1980, in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

, and

Peranakan The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, ...

descent. She grew up speaking English, Mandarin and Hokkien. Chong studied English language and literature at the

National Institute of Education The National Institute of Education (NIE) is an autonomous institute of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. Ranked 12th in the world and 2nd in Asia by the QS World University Rankings in the subject of Education in 2015, the ...

in Singapore and taught literature in secondary schools. She migrated to Sydney, Australia in 2007. After moving to Sydney she undertook a Masters of Letters at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

. After taking a poetry class with

Judith Beveridge Judith Beveridge (born 1956) is a contemporary Australian poet, editor and academic. She is a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award. Biography Judith Beveridge was born in London, England, arriving in Australia with her parents in 1960. She ...

, she started writing poetry in earnest in 2009.

Career

Chong was awarded the Poets Union Youth Fellowship in 2010. In 2011-12, Chong was an Australian Poetry Fellow, which led to the publication of her first book ''Burning Rice''. Chong was the poet-in-residence at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and the Bundanon Trust in 2016. Chong’s first book, ''Burning Rice'', is on the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

’ Higher School Certificate syllabus for English Extension from 2019-2023. This book was the first poetry collection by an Asian-Australian poet to be on the New South Wales’ English syllabus for the Higher School Certificate from 2019-2023. Chong’s poem, ‘My Hakka Grandmother’, is part of a suite of poems from ''Contemporary Asian Australian Poets'' on the NSW HSC syllabus for English, 2019-2023. Eileen Chong reflected on her upbringing and its influence on themes in her writing:

"To paraphrase
Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrians, Austrian-British people, British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy o ...
, the limits of the world I grew up in were very much defined by the language of food. Ancestor worship and veneration centred around food offerings; my grandparents and parents certainly never told me they loved me when I was growing up, but they would ask if I was hungry, and they would do whatever it took to feed me, and they fed me well."

Selected bibliography

* ''The Uncommon Feast'' (single-author essays, poems, and recipes) (2018) Introduction by Judith Beveridge, illustrations by Colin Cassidy. Recent Work Press, Canberra, Australia.

Poetry Collections

* ''Burning Rice'' (2012) Australian Poetry New Voices Series 2012, Melbourne, Australia. Reprinted 2013. Pitt Street Poetry, Sydney, Australia. * ''Peony'' (2014) Pitt Street Poetry, Sydney, Australia. * ''Painting Red Orchids'' (2016) Pitt Street Poetry, Sydney, Australia. * ''Another Language'' (2017) Foreword by Paul Kane; George Braziller, New York City, USA * ''Rainforest'' (2018) Pitt Street Poetry, Sydney, Australia. * ''Map-Making'' (2018), Photographs by Charlene Winfred; Potts Point Press, Sydney, Australia. * ''Dark Matter'' (2018) International Poetry Studies Institute, with Recent Work Press, Canberra, Australia. * ''A Thousand Crimson Blooms'' (2021) University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, Australia.

Anthologies

Awards

In 2017 Chong's collection ''Painting Red Orchids'' was shortlisted for the 2017

Prime Minister's Literary Awards The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.NSW Premier's Literary Awards, Multicultural Award.

References

External links

Official websiteInterview with Chong at Djed PressChong's poems at Glasgow Review of BooksEileen Chong on beauty and truth: a poetics of resistance
at Writing NSW {{DEFAULTSORT:Chong, Eileen Singaporean people of Hakka descent Australian people of Chinese descent Australian poets 1980 births University of Sydney alumni Living people Singaporean emigrants to Australia