Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency

Chen Chen's poetry collection explores the experiences of a gay Chinese American man navigating relationships, identity, and belonging in contemporary America. The poems track intimate moments with friends, family, and lovers while examining what it means to be an emergency contact - both literally and metaphorically. The collection moves between scenes of crisis and connection, from hospital visits to dinner parties to late-night text messages. Chen's writing style combines narrative elements with experimental forms to capture both everyday interactions and moments of profound change. These poems wrestle with questions of responsibility, care, and human bonds during difficult times, while considering how cultural and personal histories shape our responses to emergency. The work speaks to broader themes of chosen family, immigrant experience, and the ways people serve as anchors for each other in an unstable world.

Readers highlight Chen Chen's ability to weave grief, identity, and resilience into accessible poems that balance humor with heartache. Many note the collection feels more personal and intimate than his previous work. Liked: - Clear, conversational language that remains poetic - Use of repetition and recurring themes - Balance of playfulness and serious topics - Exploration of Asian-American and queer experiences - Format experiments that remain readable Disliked: - Some poems feel less polished than others - A few readers found certain pieces too long - References can be overly specific/personal Ratings: Goodreads: 4.34/5 (500+ ratings) Amazon: 4.7/5 (50+ ratings) Notable reader comments: "The emergency contact premise creates a through-line that ties everything together beautifully" - Goodreads reviewer "Manages to be both accessible and complex" - Amazon reviewer "Some poems meander more than necessary but the strong ones are unforgettable" - LibraryThing review

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong A collection of poems exploring grief, identity, and immigrant experiences through the lens of a queer Vietnamese American writer processing his mother's death.

Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky A poetry collection weaves together personal narrative and political resistance through the story of a town that becomes deaf when soldiers kill a child.

Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong These poems navigate the intersections of sexuality, violence, and cultural displacement through a Vietnamese American perspective.

The Carrying by Ada Limón Poems that examine the body, nature, and personal transformation while grappling with infertility and chronic pain.

100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell A series of linked stories chronicles queer relationships, desire, and identity through raw narratives of dating and connection.

🌟 Chen Chen wrote this collection of poems while processing both the COVID-19 pandemic and a wave of anti-Asian racism, transforming these difficult experiences into explorations of joy and resilience 📚 The book's unique title comes from a poem that explores what happens when the people we rely on for support are themselves in crisis 🌈 Chen Chen identifies as a gay Chinese American poet, and many poems in this collection examine the intersection of these identities through both humorous and serious lenses 🏆 The collection was named one of the "Most Anticipated Books of 2023" by multiple outlets, including The Millions and LitHub 🖋️ Several poems in the book pay homage to Chen's poetic influences, including Li-Young Lee and Allen Ginsberg, while reimagining their styles through a contemporary queer Asian American perspective