Stephanie Jean is the winner of BOMB’s Biennial Poetry Contest. She is a Cave Canem Fellow and a member of the NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. Her poems have appeared in the Journal of Poetics Research, [PANK], and The Southampton Review.
We would like stories that are joyous, horrific, hopeful, despondent, powerful and subtle. Write something that will take our breath away, make us yell and cry. Write unapologetically in your local patois and basilects in space; make references to local events and memes to your heart’s content. Write something that makes you laugh and cry. Indulge in all the hallmarks of your heritage that you find yourself yearning for in speculative literature, but know that we will not judge you based on your authenticity as a Southeast Asian.