Sally Wen Mao

About the Author

Sally Wen Mao is an acclaimed poet whose work explores the intersections of identity, history, and the female gaze with unflinching precision and lyrical grace. Born in Wuhan, China, and raised in the United States, Mao draws from her bicultural experiences to challenge narratives of diaspora, Orientalism, and feminist reclamation in contemporary poetry. Her debut collection, Mad Honey Symposium, introduced a bold voice that reimagines mythological figures through a modern lens, while her sophomore effort, Occupy, confronts the violences of empire and gender with raw intensity. In her latest book, The Kingdom of Surfaces: Poems, Mao delves into the textures of memory and materiality, crafting a world where surfaces reveal profound depths of longing and resistance. A recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the MacDowell Colony, she continues to push the boundaries of poetic form, blending personal vulnerability with cultural critique to illuminate the unseen lives of Asian women.