Alexander Chee

Alexander Chee
Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0 · source
Name	Alexander Chee
Birth date	1957
Birth place	Rhode Island, United States
Occupation	Novelist, essayist, poet, teacher
Nationality	American

Alexander Chee Alexander Chee is an American writer, novelist, essayist, and teacher known for fiction, memoir, and poetry that explore identity, sexuality, and history. He has published novels, essays, and poems and has taught at institutions and workshops across the United States and internationally. His work engages with literary traditions, performance, and cultural history.

Early life and education

Chee was born in Rhode Island and grew up in Rhode Island and South Korea, experiences that shaped his perspectives on migration and diaspora. He attended Amherst College and later pursued studies that connected him with the literary traditions of United States writers and the wider transnational Asian diasporic community. During his early career he spent time in performance settings influenced by traditions from Korea and American urban arts scenes, and he trained in the craft of writing through associations with workshops such as Iowa Writers' Workshop-style programs and literary centers.

Literary career

Chee's literary career spans multiple genres including novels, essays, poetry, and literary criticism, with his work appearing in publications associated with institutions like The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and Granta. He has taught creative writing at universities and conservatories such as Brown University, Yale University, Wesleyan University, and the University of Iowa, and has participated in residency programs at organizations including MacDowell Colony and Yaddo. Chee has also been a judge and panelist for prizes and foundations like the National Book Foundation and the Pulitzer Prize committees, and he has delivered readings and lectures at venues such as Library of Congress, Harvard University, Columbia University, and international festivals like the Hay Festival and Sydney Writers' Festival.

Major works and themes

Chee's first novel, set in performance and urban milieus, received attention alongside contemporary works by authors such as Raven Leilani, Ocean Vuong, and Leslie Jamison. His best-known novel is a historical and psychosexual narrative that engages with 19th-century literary culture and queer performance history, drawing on figures and settings evocative of Paris, New York City, and transatlantic artistic networks. He is also the author of a memoir addressing trauma, survival, and the literary imagination, thematically linked to memoirists such as Jeannette Walls, Maggie Nelson, and Augusten Burroughs. Across his fiction and nonfiction Chee explores themes of sexual identity, memory, artistic labor, censorship, and the archive, intersecting with histories involving institutions like Metropolitan Museum of Art, theatrical traditions akin to vaudeville, and the cultural politics evident in debates around Stonewall riots-era memory. His poetry and shorter work engage with formal experimentation and narrative voice in ways comparable to poets and essayists associated with publications like Poetry Magazine and The New Republic.

Awards and honors

Chee's books and essays have been recognized by literary organizations and awards including nominations and prizes associated with the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Lambda Literary Awards, and fellowships from philanthropies such as the MacArthur Foundation-style programs and the National Endowment for the Arts. He has received fellowships, residencies, and honors from institutions like Guggenheim Foundation, Radcliffe Institute, and state arts councils, and his work has been included on lists compiled by media outlets such as The New York Times and The Guardian.

Personal life and activism

Chee has been an outspoken advocate on issues of sexual abuse survivors' rights, LGBTQ representation, and freedom of expression, aligning with organizations and movements including Human Rights Campaign, survivor advocacy groups, and literary freedom coalitions. He has participated in public conversations on cultural policy and publishing practices with entities such as Publishers Weekly, arts councils, and university initiatives, and he has mentored writers through programs connected to organizations like Lambda Literary Foundation, Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation, and community writing centers. Chee lives and writes in the United States and continues to teach, lecture, and publish across multiple platforms.

Category:American novelists Category:American poets Category:LGBT writers from the United States