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| Yi-Fen Chou: White author uses Asian pen name because it helps him get published more often | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A white author is under fire after using an Asian pen name in order to avoid rejection letters. | A white author is under fire after using an Asian pen name in order to avoid rejection letters. |
| The newly published The Best American Poetry 2015, an esteemed literary anthology, features a poem from "Yi-Fen Chou," the pen name of a white author named Michael Derrick Hudson. | The newly published The Best American Poetry 2015, an esteemed literary anthology, features a poem from "Yi-Fen Chou," the pen name of a white author named Michael Derrick Hudson. |
| Inside the 2015 edition, the author says that there's a "very short answer" for his reasoning. He's been rejected a "multitude of times" under his real name and using the Asian identity was a "successful" strategy for him. | Inside the 2015 edition, the author says that there's a "very short answer" for his reasoning. He's been rejected a "multitude of times" under his real name and using the Asian identity was a "successful" strategy for him. |
| "The poem in question, 'The Bees, the Flowers, Jesus, Ancient Tigers, Poseidon, Adam and Eve,' was rejected under my real name forty (40) times before I sent it out as Yi-Fen Chou (I keep detailed submission records). As Yi-Fen the poem was rejected nine (9) times before Prairie Schooner took it. If indeed this is one of the best American poems of 2015, it took quite a bit of effort to get it into print, but I'm nothing if not persistent," he writes. | "The poem in question, 'The Bees, the Flowers, Jesus, Ancient Tigers, Poseidon, Adam and Eve,' was rejected under my real name forty (40) times before I sent it out as Yi-Fen Chou (I keep detailed submission records). As Yi-Fen the poem was rejected nine (9) times before Prairie Schooner took it. If indeed this is one of the best American poems of 2015, it took quite a bit of effort to get it into print, but I'm nothing if not persistent," he writes. |
| "I realize that this isn't a very 'artistic' explanation of using a pseudonym. Years ago I did briefly consider trying to make Yi-Fen into a 'persona' or 'heteronym' a la Fernando Pessoa, but nothing ever came of it." | "I realize that this isn't a very 'artistic' explanation of using a pseudonym. Years ago I did briefly consider trying to make Yi-Fen into a 'persona' or 'heteronym' a la Fernando Pessoa, but nothing ever came of it." |
| Writers responded to Mr Hudson, shortly after poet Saeed Jones posted the excerpt to his Facebook page. | Writers responded to Mr Hudson, shortly after poet Saeed Jones posted the excerpt to his Facebook page. |
| Severely disappointed by @BestAmPo and many white members of the #writing community lately. Be ethical in your art. pic.twitter.com/OPle6eNXod | Severely disappointed by @BestAmPo and many white members of the #writing community lately. Be ethical in your art. pic.twitter.com/OPle6eNXod |
| although to be fair being Chinese is pretty awesome sad for him he has to just pretend | although to be fair being Chinese is pretty awesome sad for him he has to just pretend |
| Angry Asian Man/Twitter | Angry Asian Man/Twitter |
| The Angry Asian Man blog also accused Mr Hudson of yellowface in poetry and predicted that the author wouldn't be enjoying his newly discovered privilege much longer. | The Angry Asian Man blog also accused Mr Hudson of yellowface in poetry and predicted that the author wouldn't be enjoying his newly discovered privilege much longer. |
| "I have a feeling that this submission strategy isn't going to work much longer for Mr Hudson. Of course, thanks to his sh*tty racist pen name, now we're going to have editors raising and eye at the work of every poet with an Asian-sounding name that comes their way. Get the f**k outta here with that, 'Yi-Fen.'" | "I have a feeling that this submission strategy isn't going to work much longer for Mr Hudson. Of course, thanks to his sh*tty racist pen name, now we're going to have editors raising and eye at the work of every poet with an Asian-sounding name that comes their way. Get the f**k outta here with that, 'Yi-Fen.'" |
| The anthology's editor Sherman Alexie responded to his critics in a lengthy blog post. He explained why he chose to publish the "poetry colonist" after he discovered that the author was a white man. | The anthology's editor Sherman Alexie responded to his critics in a lengthy blog post. He explained why he chose to publish the "poetry colonist" after he discovered that the author was a white man. |
| "I only learned that Yi-Fen Chou was a pseudonym used by a white man after I'd already picked the poem and Hudson promptly wrote to reveal himself, "he began. | "I only learned that Yi-Fen Chou was a pseudonym used by a white man after I'd already picked the poem and Hudson promptly wrote to reveal himself, "he began. |
| "Of course, I was angry at the subterfuge and at myself for being fooled by this guy. I silently cursed him and wondered how I would deal with this colonial theft." | "Of course, I was angry at the subterfuge and at myself for being fooled by this guy. I silently cursed him and wondered how I would deal with this colonial theft." |
| "But I had to keep that pseudonymous poem in the anthology because it would have been dishonest to do otherwise. If I'd pulled the poem then I would have been denying that I gave the poem special attention because of the poet's Chinese pseudonym. | "But I had to keep that pseudonymous poem in the anthology because it would have been dishonest to do otherwise. If I'd pulled the poem then I would have been denying that I gave the poem special attention because of the poet's Chinese pseudonym. |
| "If I'd pulled the poem then I would have been denying that I was consciously and deliberately seeking to address past racial, cultural, social, and aesthetic injustices in the poetry world." | "If I'd pulled the poem then I would have been denying that I was consciously and deliberately seeking to address past racial, cultural, social, and aesthetic injustices in the poetry world." |
| Mr Alexie said that in keeping the poem he commit "an injustice against poets of color and against Chinese and Asian poets in particular." | Mr Alexie said that in keeping the poem he commit "an injustice against poets of color and against Chinese and Asian poets in particular." |
| The editor's response also came under heavy scrutiny from the the literary community. Writer Eve Ewing goes in: | |
| The essay that Alexie published basically renders the anthology as like an archive of the process rather than as the product itself. | |
| Alexie's essay presumes that part of the purpose of the anthology is to record HOW the work was chosen and thus omission is dishonest. | |
| The print anthology is the official version for posterity. In 100 years maybe no one will know Alexie wrote that essay. And that's trash. | |
| If your poem is racist it can't be the best 2015 poem. A poem not being racist has to be a prerequisite for its goodness. So there's that. — wikipedia brown (@eveewing) September 8, 2015 | |
| If your poem is racist it can't be the best 2015 poem. A poem not being racist has to be a prerequisite for its goodness. So there's that. | |
| The Independent's calls to Simon & Shuster and Michael Derrick Hudson were not immediately returned. | The Independent's calls to Simon & Shuster and Michael Derrick Hudson were not immediately returned. |