Chungyen Chang is a Kentucky native, raised on the throes of his mom and his older brother. In the fifth grade he decided he wanted to be a writer. In 2006 he was accepted into the SCAPA art program at Lafayette Senior High School. A year later, he attended the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts and worked with Affrilachian and Cave Canem poets Kelly Norman Ellis, Mitchell Douglas, Ellen Hagan, Crystal Wilkinson, and Frank X Walker.
Frequently neurotic and always hopeful, Chungyen’s writing is a a freeverse blend of surreal imagery, social isolation, and sharp honesty. He draws from his experiences in eight different public schools over the course of twelve years, an intrinsic love of other people, and his lifelong battle with clinical depression. His influences include e. e. cummings, Jerry Spinelli, Alan Moore, Craig Thompson, and Stephen Chbosky.
Chungyen is currently surviving his first year in the dorms at Berea College, with plans to double major in English and Asian Studies. More of his writing can be found on his website, Weather for Headphones. He can be reached at cc@chungyenchang.com.
Chungyen’s contributions:
