A Cha Chaan Teng That Does Not Exist
Derek Chung’s poems capture the East-meets-West synergy of Hong Kong’s cosmopolitan culture, while tracking the city’s myriad transformations over the past two decades. Though his poems bear the influence of Anglophone poets such as Elizabeth Bishop and Seamus Heaney, Hong Kong is at the heart of his work. Writing through the lens of a father, restaurant-goer, dreamer, flaneur, protester, and more, Chung captures a city in motion—and the joy, loss, and heartbreak that comes with loving Hong Kong.
Derek Chung is an acclaimed poet, essayist, and critic from Hong Kong. The author of eight poetry collections, several short story anthologies, and a book of poetry criticism, he is a two-time winner of the Youth Literary Awards and five-time winner of the Hong Kong Biennial Awards for Chinese Literature, among other accolades. He has also been named Artist of the Year (Literary Arts) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. In 2019, Chung was a featured poet at the International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong (IPNHK), one of the most influential international poetry event series in Asia. His work has been translated into English and Japanese.
Award-winning translator and writer May Huang began translating Chung Kwok-keung’s poetry in 2018 and her translations have appeared in Exchanges, Circumference, The Common, World Literature Today, Los Angeles Review,Her writings on translation have appeared in Words Without Borders, Electric Literature, Hopscotch Translation, Hong Kong Review of Books, and Cha: An Asian Literary Journal.
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