Darien Hsu Gee

Writer-ish

News

Darien Hsu Gee is like no other writer working today. In her gorgeously lyrical, gratifyingly dense hybrid texts, she uses what seem at first like small stylistic decisions to offer startling and necessary social commentary.  Gee’s work makes expert use of postmodern forms and experimental techniques to raise questions about the philosophy of language, to present the self as a cultural construct, to showcase speech as an inherently shared endeavor.  Indeed, in these gorgeous and disruptive texts, the nuances of writerly technique are placed in service of entirely new definitions of community, otherness, and the self.

Kristina Marie Darling, Editor in Chief, Tupelo Quarterly

2023

  • 👩🏻‍🏫 Saturday, Mar 4, 2022 (10:00 AM – 2:00 PM PST): “Ancestors Calling” Writing Workshop. General: $120.00 | Member: $108.00  Do you speak to the dead? Just kidding, except… not really. As writers, our ancestral history breathes through our bodies and appears on the written page, whether we realize it or not. The stories of those who came before us—and the legacies they bear, for better or worse—are what we carry. We’ll explore ancestors both known and unknown through a series of micro narratives (300 word or less) and prose poems. No Ouija boards required. 
  • 👩🏻‍🏫 Tuesdays, Feb 14 – Mar 21, 2022 (6 sessions, 1:10 PM – 3:10 PM PST): “The Micro Prose Chapbook: Archetypes,” Writing Workshop, Hugo House,General: $305.00 | Member: $274.50. In this six-week generative workshop, we’ll write micro prose (300 words or less) with an eye to a finished chapbook draft by the end. The theme will be archetypes. In addition to writing, we’ll consider how these pieces may be submitted individually or organized as part of a more extensive body of work. For writers of all genres who crave completion and are open to seeing where their writing takes them.
  • 👩🏻‍🏫 Jan 17 – Feb 7, 2022 (6 sessions, 5:00-7:00 pm PST): “Writing about the Women in Your Family” Writing Workshop, Hugo House, General: $305.00 | Member: $274.50. Who are the women in your family? What stories need to be told? How have these women helped you claim your place in the world, or what secrets might be holding you back? We’ll explore the roles of these women in our lives and how they’ve shaped us by generating micro-narratives of 300 words or less. We’ll consider how pieces may be submitted individually or organized as part of a chapbook, memoir, or more extensive body of work. 

2022

  • Winter 2022: A MONTH OF MICRO. Daily prompts delivered straight to your inbox for 30 days! Work at your own pace or write daily for 15 minutes a day. Includes “Mastering Micro: How to Write Stunning Micro Prose” and a review of two micro pieces written during the month. Sign up now to be notified of when registration opens.
  • 👩🏻‍💻 October 30, 2022, 6:00 pm HST: Darien is moderating a panel at the Hawaii Book & Music Festival on “Researching, Writing, Editing, and Publishing Your Memoir.” Open to the public.
  • 👩🏻‍🏫 October 30, 2022, 9:00 am – 10:00 am HST (12:00 pm – 1:00 pm PST): “You Have New DNA Relatives: Micro Prose with Darien Hsu Gee.” Hugo House Write-O-Rama. Micro prose (300 words or less) provides an unexpected pathway into the narrative of our lives. You’ll learn about the micro prose form, then we’ll jump in with an in-class writing prompt on relatives known and unknown. We’ll discuss what to do with the work (stand-alone, chapbook or collection) and how to make it part of your writing practice.
  • 👩🏻‍💻 September 22, 2022: “won’t you celebrate with me: An Evening of Poetry and Prose – Virtual Reading Event,” hosted by the Creative Writing Department of Diné College and moderated by Shaina Nez and Darien Hsu Gee. Featuring 30 writers from Nonwhite and Woman: 131 Micro Essays on Being in the World reading their micro essays. Q&A. Watch the replay.
  • 👩🏻‍💻 September 19, 2022: Darien is featured on the Author’s Guild Member Spotlight, and shares some thoughts on writing, dealing with writer’s block, and the possibilities for new writers jumping into the literary landscape today.
  • 📖 🥳 September 6, 2022: Release Date: Nonwhite and Woman: 131 Micro Essays on Being in the World, edited by Darien Hsu Gee and Carla Crujido (Woodhall Press).
  • Editor’s Selection, Tupelo Quarterly TQ27. “Jade Woman,” “Pantoum for a Single Bowl of Jook,” “The Chicken is a Phoenix,” “Wuxi,” “Why Some Women Go to War” (August 14, 2022)
  • 👩🏻‍🏫 March 9, 2022 Webinar: “You Can’t Write About That: Permission, Privacy and Emotional Truth in Memoir.” Join Hali‘a Aloha series editor Darien Hsu Gee in conversation with program director Dawn Sakamoto, on what you can/cannot write about in your memoir, the line between public and private, and asking permission. We’ll talk about real-life legal concerns as well as the personal consequences of writing about the people and moments of your life. Please note: this webinar will not provide specific legal advice but discusses the literary risks and pitfalls common to memoir writers. Registered participants will receive a one-page cheat sheet PDF download.

2021

  • 👩🏻‍🏫 November 10, 2021 Webinar: “Memoir Methods & Structures: How to Discover the Stories of Your Life.” 11:30 am – 12:45 pm HST. Join Hali‘a Aloha series editor Darien Hsu Gee as she discusses the different ways you can structure your memoir, exploring traditional and innovative forms that reflect your life experiences. We’ll look at the use of family memorabilia and found objects, recipes, photographs, emails/letters, as well as when to use long-form narratives and short vignettes. Registered participants will receive a one-page cheat sheet PDF download.
  • November 2021: Featured as November’s “Woman. Warrior. Writer.“
  • 👩🏻‍💻 October 19, 2021: “Paths to Publication: Alternatives to Traditional Publishing,” presented by the Authors Guild as part of their Business Bootcamp for Writers series. With Tara Cremin (Director of Kobo Writing Life), Mark Leslie Lefebvre (author and publishing expert), L. Penelope (author), Brooke Warner (publisher of She Writes Press, and me. Moderated by Jane Friedman. The webinar is free and will be recorded.
  • 👩🏻‍💻 August 21, 2021: Woodhall Press Writers Conference. 11:00 am EST “Panel Discussion: The Future of Writing (and Publishing)” with Jane Friedman (publishing expert), Eugenia Kim (author), Jeff Palicki (IPG), Ahsleigh Renard (author), and me on what’s next for writers and publishing.
  • 👩🏻‍🏫 August 10, 2021 – August 31, 2021 (4 sessions, 1:10-3:10 pm PST): “Writing about the Women in Your Family” Writing Workshop, Hugo House
  • 🎧 Listen (August 2, 2021): Asian America Podcast with Ken Fong | Darien Hsu Gee: A Micro Essay Memoir
  • June 2, 2021: “Courtyard” featured on Poems.com as their June 2, 2021 Poetry Daily selection.
  • 📖 July – August 2021 Issue, Ke Ola Magazine | Darien Hsu Gee: Crafting Ideas into Captivating Stories by Fern Gavelek
  • 🥉 June 2021: ALLEGIANCE takes the Bronze Medal in the Essay category for the 2021 IPPY Awards!
  • 🎧 Listen (May 22, 2021): Cookbook Love Podcast l  Episode 142: Being a Cookbook Writer: Interview with Writer and Friendship Bread Expert Darien Gee
  • 👩🏻‍🏫 May 11, 2021 – June 1, 2021 (4 sessions, 1:10-3:10 pm PST, SOLD OUT): “Writing about the Women in Your Family” Writing Workshop, Hugo House
  • 📖 May 7, 2021: “What to Read When You Want Subversive Remakes,” The Rumpus: “Hsu Gee ultimately makes flesh her family, her history, and her complete self. These poems are a quiet but potent antidote to the willful erasure of women’s—and especially women of color’s—histories, agency, and truth.”
  • 👩🏻‍💻 April 22, 2021 12:00 pm HST – “Where We Find Our Stories and What to Do Next: Legacy, Obligation, and Inspiration in Personal Narratives,” Brown Bag Biography, Center for Biographical Research at the University of Hawai’i, Mānoa
  • 👩🏻‍💻April 1, 2021 4:00 pm PST – Warwick’s Presents “Gina Barreca in Conversation with Darien Hsu Gee” via Facebook Live
  • 👩🏻‍🏫 March 31, 2021 Webinar: “Writing Micro Memoirs” Join Hali‘a Aloha series editor Darien Hsu Gee for this one-hour webinar as she explains the what and how of writing micro memoir, offers tips for creating a writing practice, and answers your questions about the writing process and sharing the stories of our lives. Registered participants will receive a one-page cheat sheet PDF download.
  • March 22, 2021 2:00 pm HST – Q&A with Darien Hsu Gee on Facebook Live, 808 Writers
  • 📖 March 2, 2021 Release Date: “Lesson Plans 01-03: On Age Dropping, Botox, and Being an Asian-American Woman at Fifty” in Fast Funny Women: 75 Flash Essays of Flash Nonfiction, edited by Gina Barreca (Woodhall Press)
  • 👩🏻‍💻 March 1, 2021 8:00 -10:00 am EST – Darien is the Poet Laureate of the Day at The Brooklyn Rail (Zoom): “Artfare: Empowering Artists + New Ways of Discovering Art“
  • February 22, 2021 2:00 pm HST – “Inside the Writers Studio: A Conversation and Q&A with Darien Hsu Gee,” Hawaii Writers Guild on YouTube Live
  • 👩🏻‍💻 Darien interviewed on JaneFriedman.com on creative pivots, starting over, and crafting a literary life (January 19, 2021)

2020

  • 👏🏼 Review: Allegiance in SmokeLong Quarterly: “An elegant emotional truth.” (December 28, 2020)
  • 🎧 Darien featured on Hawaiʻi Public Radio, “The Conversation,” reading from Allegiance and talking about family ties, estrangement, and reconnection (December 17, 2020)
  • 🎧 Darien interviewed on Hawaiʻi Public Radio, “The Conversation,” about launching her micro memoir writing and hybrid publishing program, Haliʻa Aloha, and a new way of telling stories (December 15, 2020)
  • 📖 “Darien Hsu Gee: Making the Most Out of Micro” on creative pivots, reconnection, and writing small. Author spotlight in Writer’s Digest
  • 📖 “Providence” (from Allegiance) appears in The Common: “I know the many names one can be called.”
  • 🎧 Darien in a Salon Exclusive podcast episode on Damian Barr’s Literary Salon (UK)
  • 📖 Allegiance excerpted in HYPHEN: Asian American Unbridged: “[A] gorgeous narrative of Asian diasporic experiences.” –Grace Jahng Lee, Nonfiction Editor
  • 🎧 Listen: Darien reads from Allegiance and Other Small Histories, talks about writing and family secrets, and shares a playlist that includes the music that inspired her, at It’s Lit with PHDJ.
  • 🎧 Listen: Darien in conversation with Brad Listi on the popular literary podcast of OTHERPPL and featured on LitHub
  • 📖 Darien Hsu Gee on “Afterlife,” In Their Own Words, Poetry Society of America
  • 👏🏼 Review: “Taut and lyrical.” —Kirkus Reviews
  • 👏🏼 Review: “Arresting…this poignant, poetic memoir will draw readers in.” –Editor’s Pick, BookLife (Publisher’s Weekly)
  • November 13, 2020, 6:00 – 7:30 PM EST – (ZOOM) Darien is a featured guest for Friday Night salon with GIRLS WRITE NOW – “Amplifying Our Truth by Writing Micro Narratives” (includes three live writing prompts) – watch the full archive
  • November 12, 2020, 6:30 PM EST – Reading (ZOOM): Pacific Lutheran University
  • 📸 November 11, 2020 – November 17, 2020 – Author-in-residence on Instagram for the Chicago Review of Books, @chicagorevbooks @darienhsugee
  • October 26, 2020, 6:30 PM EST – Reading and Discussion (ZOOM): School of Humanities, Purchase College, SUNY
  • 📸 August 11, 2020 – Interview and conversation with David LeGere, publisher at Woodhall Press on writing, Fast Funny Women, and writing micro: PUBLISH THIS! (Instagram)
  • 2020 Pushcart Prize nomination, “A Great Grandmother, Name Unknown,” New Delta Review

2019

2018