Alan Chong Lau

Poet and visual artist Alan Chong Lau grew up in Paradise, California, the son of Chinese parents. He earned his BA from the University of California-Santa Cruz. Lau’s collections of poetry include Songs for Jadina (1980), which won the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation; Blues and Greens: A Produce Worker’s Journal (2000); and no hurry (2007). With Lawson Fusao Inada and Garrett Hongo, he authored The Buddha Bandits Down Highway 99 (1978). His work has appeared in anthologies such as From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas 1900–2002 (2002) and What Book!?: Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop (1998).
 
Lau’s many honors and awards include fellowships from the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, Seattle Arts Commission, California Arts Council, and Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan. Arts editor for the International Examiner, Lau coordinates the Asian review of books Pacific Reader, and the ArtXchange Gallery based in Seattle represents his visual work. He lives in Seattle, Washington.