2017 Asian American Poetry Books and Chapbooks

Having asked Asian American poets, scholars, publishers, and community builders across the country familiar with the academic, small press, mainstream, and underground Asian American literary scene, we identified over 60 books and chapbooks of Asian American poetry books and chapbooks published in 2017. My thanks to all of the wonderful people who chimed in with their exceptional suggestions and recommendations.

It was exciting to see many new faces making their debut this year, as well as many familiar voices among Asian American poets.

This list is subject to the addition of more titles in the future, but here’s a preliminary look at this year’s books known so far. A Flickr album has been set up with many of the covers, as well as on Facebook.

1. Babbage’s Dream by Neil Aitken
2. Calling A Wolf A Wolf by Kaveh Akbar
3. Go In Clean, Come Out Dirty by Kevin Minh Allen
4. The Flayed City by Hari Alluri
5. Object Permanence by Hosannah Asuncion
6. Some Say The Lark by Jennifer Chang
7. Barbie Chang by Victoria Chang
8. When I Grow Up I Want To Be A List of Further Possibilities by Chen Chen
9. Recombinant by Ching-In Chen
10. Book of Cord by Leona Chen.
11. Having a Coke with Godzilla by Kazumi Chin
12. The Yellow House by Chiwan Choi
13. Death by Sex Machine by Franny Choi
14. One Daughter Is Worth Ten Sons by Jiwon Choi
15. God’s Will for Monsters by Rachelle Cruz
16. A Mere Rica by Linh Dinh
17. I Wore My Blackest Hair by Carlina Duan
18. Not Elegy, But Eros by Nausheen Eusuf
19. Muslim Melancholia by Samina Hadi-Tabassum
20. Dovetail by Kimiko Hahn & Tamiko Beyer
21. To Whitey & The Cracker Jack by Hauntie
22. gospel of regicide by Eunsong Kim
23. Sky Country by Christine Kitano
24. Inherit by Ginger Ko
25. A Lesser Love by EJ Koh
26. No Comet, That Serpent in the Sky Means Noise by Sueyeun Juliette Lee
27. Threshold by Joseph O. Legaspi.
28. Goddess of Democracy by Henry Wei Leung
29. Day of Clean Brightness by Jane Lin
30. A House Made of Water by Michelle Lin
31. Light Into Bodies by Nancy Chen Long
32. Some Beheadings by Aditi Machado
33. The Cowherd’s Son by Rajiv Mohabir
34. from Some Girls Walk Into the Country They Are From by Sawako Nakayasu
35. Umbilical Hospital by Vi Khi Nao
36. A Bell Curve is a Pregnant Straight Line, by Vi Khi Nao
37. YOU THEN A DANG by Hoa Nguyen
38. The Spirit of the Staircase by Tiana Nobile
39. This is for the mostless by Jason Magabo Perez
40. From Unincorporated Territory [Lukao] by Craig Santos Perez
41. Thousand Star Hotel by Bao Phi
42. For Want of Water by Sasha Pimentel
43. Everyone Knows I Am a Haunting by Shivanee Ramlochan
44. Time Portal, by Jai Arun Ravine & Greg Wood
45. Invocation for Daughters by Barbara Jane Reyes
46. Love, Robot by Margaret Rhee
47. Fingerprints of a Hungerstrike by Tony Robles
48. Woman. Hand/Pen, by Zohra Saed
49. A Samurai’s Pink House by Sonia Saikaley
50. like a solid to a shadow by Janice Lobo Sapigao
51. Community Garden for Lonely Girls by Christine Shan Shan Hou
52. Gilt by Raena Shirali
53. Primate from an Archipelago by Irene Suico Soriano
54. Apsara in New York by Sokunthary Svay
55. Comprehending Mortality, et al by Eileen R. Tabios
56. Sonoma by Lehua Taitano
57. Not so dear Jenny by Jennifer Tseng
58. And So I was Blessed  by Bunkong Tuon
59. Afterland  by Mai Der Vang
60. Kith by Divya Victor
61. Rare Birds by Shelley Wong
62. Phrasis by Wendy Xu
63. How Do I Look by Sennah Yee
64. Ordinary Misfortunes by Emily Jungmin Yoon
65. Pop Verite by R. Zamora Linmark
66. نارنج ها, by Mina Zohal

This year, the July/August issue of Poetry also deserves special mention. It is notable as the largest issue of Poetry to date, and historically significant for its extensive range of Asian American poets presently writing today.

For those of you who are curious, here’s the list from 2016. What are some of the books you’re looking forward to in 2018?