Chrysanthemum Tran Explained

Chrysanthemum Tran is a Vietnamese American poet, writer, and performer based in Rhode Island.

In 2016, Tran became the first transgender woman to be a finalist at Women of the World Poetry Slam.[1]

In 2019, Tran was awarded $25,000 to complete her first collection of poems and develop a poetry symposium in Wakefield, Rhode Island.[2]

In 2022, she was featured in the PBS project, True Colors: LGBTQ+ Our Music, Our Stories.

According to The Simpson Center for the Humanities, Tran is currently working on "her new poetry manuscript, About Face, which dissects medical and legal definitions of sex to reveal often-contradictory histories of trans pathologies."[3]

Early life

Tran grew up the child of refugees in a conservative, religious, predominantly-immigrant neighborhood in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Due to learning English as a second language and having a lisp and a stutter, Tran was put into speech therapy as a child.[4]

Tran's father was a photographer and her mother retouched glamor shots, which inspired Tran to pursue photography as a form of expression. Growing up, she wanted to be a fashion photographer. Tran's photography mentor, Paul Tran, helped her to communicate beyond the medium through connecting her to poetry.[5] [6]

At age 18, Tran moved to Providence, Rhode Island, to attend Brown University. As a freshman at Brown, Tran involved herself in activism on campus, organizing students and activists against a lecture by NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who is known for his hyper-surveillance of Muslim people and for developing the stop-and-frisk policy. Tran represented Brown University at College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational for three years.[7]

Career

Anthem

In 2018, Tran, aged 22, and Justice Gaines, aged 23, opened for Kit Yan in the show Queer Heartache, which impressed artistic producer Mark Lunsford, who saw their potential to carry their own show.[8]

In 2019, Tran and Gaines were hired to star in and produce a spoken word show by the American Repertory Theater at the Oberon in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Together they created and headlined, Anthem, a show dedicated to humanizing transgender women in the arts and generally. WBUR called Tran and Gaines, "two of the most recognized trans poets of color on the local and national poetry scene". Tran and Ameer invited other artists, nearly all who identify as trans, queer, or non-binary, to join Anthems performances. The collaboration was an effort to give back to the LGBTQ community and to incorporate more than two transgender perspectives.

Commentary on Stonewall

Tran has written pieces on the Stonewall Uprising for them and The Nation, and has commented on Stonewall for a New York Times video. Tran argues that when Stonewall is discussed, the "lifelong care work of organizing and activism" of those involved is typically erased, especially the efforts of transgender women like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Miss Major Griffin Gracy.[9]

On Trans Day of Remembrance in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2017, Tran spoke about Stonewall and performed poetry with her longtime friend, poetry teammate, and Brown alumna, Justice Ameer Gaines. Gaines is a Black transgender women.[10]

Mural

In 2017, Brooklyn-based artist, poet, and filmmaker, Jess X Snow, painted a mural of Tran, in Rochester, New York at the annual WALL\THERAPY muralism festival. The 2017 festival prompt was to paint the best group or person improving the community. Snow and Tran attended Brown University together and later attended Rachel McKibbens' poetry retreat for women of color, The Pink Door, in 2016. The mural featured a quote from Tran's poem "Biological Woman", "I transcend biology / I'm supernova / an extraterrestrial gender / I drink all the water on Mars & rename that my blood." Snow said, "The magic of her words in the face of transphobia and misogyny is what directly inspired the mural." The piece is the first mural in the city to spotlight a person from a queer identity.[11] [12] [13]

Poetry competitions

By winning local grand slams, Tran earned herself spots at Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam, Feminine Empowerment Movement Slam (FEMS), Women of the World Poetry Slam (WoWPS), National Poetry Slam (NPS), and College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI)—more than once for the latter three competitions. She has performed on the final stages of Rustbelt and FEMS once, on teams that won the competitions. She's performed on the final stage of WoWPS twice, and has made it to the semi-finals at NPS twice and CUPSI three times.[4] [5] [6]

Online presence

Known for her witty and critical commentary, Tran's tweets often went viral in 2016 and 2017.[14] [15] [16]

Works

Shows

Essays

Poems

Anthologies

Speaking and commentary

Awards and honors

References

  1. Web site: Labra . Keana A. . 2019-08-22 . Chrysanthemum Tran, Vietnamese American poet. The First Trans Woman Finalist of the Women of the 20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525152732/https://www.chopsticksalley.com/post/2019/08/22/chrysanthemum-tran-vietnamese-american-poet-the-first-trans-woman-finalist-of-the-women-o . 2023-05-25 . Chopsticks Alley . en.
  2. Web site: Barnett . Chris . 2019-04-04 . SK writer wins $25,000 prize . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525153016/https://patch.com/rhode-island/narragansett/sk-writer-wins-25-000-prize . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . Narragansett-South Kingstown, RI Patch . en.
  3. Web site: Jhingran . Nanya . On "Asian/American Ecologies of Trans Care" Simpson Center for the Humanities . 2023-05-25 . The Simpson Center for the Humanities.
  4. Web site: Nagler . Brooke . 2018 . Chrysanthemum Tran Reclaims Her Roots Through Poetry . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525153355/https://chicagomaroon.com/25968/arts/chrysanthemum-tran/ . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . Chicago Maroon.
  5. Web site: Rodriguez . Caleb . 2018-12-06 . Chrysanthemum Tran . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525153643/https://beyondthesinglestory.wordpress.com/2018/12/06/chrysanthemum-tran/ . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . Beyond the Single Story . en.
  6. Web site: Gupta . Ananya . 2018 . Chrysanthemum Tran, Performer, Poet, Teaching Artist . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525153922/https://oberlinreview.org/16446/arts/chrysanthemum-tran-performer-poet-teaching-artist/ . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . The Oberlin Review.
  7. Web site: 2013-10-30 . NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly shouted down at Brown University lecture . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525154030/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/30/nypd-commissioner-ray-kelly-shouted-down-at-brown-university-lecture . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . the Guardian . en.
  8. Web site: Guerra . Cristela . 2019 . These Two Poets Of Color Reveal The Resilience, Joy And Messiness Of Being Trans . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525155525/https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/02/06/trans-poets-of-color-chrysanthemum-tran-justice-ameer-oberon . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . WBUR . en.
  9. News: Brockell . Gillian . 2019-06-27 . The transgender women at Stonewall were pushed out of the gay rights movement. Now they are getting a statue in New York. . en-US . Washington Post . 2023-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525164005/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/06/12/transgender-women-heart-stonewall-riots-are-getting-statue-new-york/ . 2023-05-25 . 0190-8286.
  10. Web site: Ahlquist . Steve . 2017-11-21 . The Trans Day of Remembrance celebrates history, mourns losses . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525160422/https://upriseri.com/2017-11-20-trans-day-of-remembrance/ . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-31 . Uprise RI . en-US.
  11. Web site: Rafferty . Rebecca . 2017 . WALL\THERAPY 2017: Jess X Snow, Chrysanthemum Tran, and the Queer Mother Earth . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525154152/https://www.roccitynews.com/ArtsBlog/archives/2017/07/31/wall-therapy-2017-jess-x-snow-and-the-queer-mother-earth . 2023-05-25 . 2023-02-08 . CITY Magazine . en.
  12. Web site: Rafferty . Rebecca . 2017 . WALL\THERAPY focuses on activism in 2017 festival . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525154412/https://www.roccitynews.com/arts-entertainment/muralism-as-activism-3872897 . 2023-05-25 . 2023-02-08 . CITY Magazine . en.
  13. Web site: 2017 . Kaleidescope Collective, Wall Therapy, Rochester NY 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525154635/https://www.jessxsnow.com/I-TRANSCEND-BIOLOGY . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . Jess X Snow . en.
  14. Web site: 2017-12-22 . Stock Images Of Bipolar Disorder Prove We Need Better Illustrations Of Mental Illness In Media . 2023-05-25 . HuffPost UK . en.
  15. Web site: 2023-05-25 . Solar Eclipse 2017: 20 funny memes ruling the internet . 2023-05-25 . The Indian Express. https://web.archive.org/web/20230525180659/https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/solar-eclipse-2017-funny-memes-ruling-the-internet-4807255/ . 2023-05-25 .
  16. Web site: 2017-06-27 . 10 tweets about 'Bachelorette' contestant Lee Garrett that deserve a retweet . 2023-05-25 . Fansided . en-US.
  17. News: Gaines . Justice . Tran . Chrysanthemum . 2019-06-27 . How Do You Create Community Out of a Rainbow of Difference? . en-US . 2023-01-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525160151/https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/stonewall-sisterhood-chosen-communities/ . 2023-05-25 . 0027-8378.
  18. Web site: 2018-06-11 . When Remembering Stonewall, We Need To Listen to Those Who Were There . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525155818/https://www.them.us/story/who-threw-the-first-brick-at-stonewall . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . Them . en-US.
  19. Web site: 2023-01-30 . Chrysanthemum Tran reads "I Don't Even Like Sports" . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525165317/https://www.poetryfoundation.org/video/158181/chrysanthemum-tran-reads-i-don39t-even-like-sports . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . Poetry Foundation . en.
  20. Web site: Binge . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525173329/https://www.muzzlemagazine.com/chrysanthemum-tran.html . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . Muzzle Magazine . en.
  21. Web site: 2016-02-24 . Two Micros . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525173532/https://theoffingmag.com/micro/two-micros-by-chrysanthemum-tran/ . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . The Offing . en-US.
  22. Book: Ink knows no borders : poems of the immigrant and refugee experience . 2019 . Patrice Vecchione, Alyssa Raymond . 978-1-60980-907-2 . New York . 1041767558.
  23. Web site: Ryce . Walter . 2019-03-28 . Poets wrestle with identity, ethnicity and borders in a book of poems. . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525174709/https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/entertainment/art/poets-wrestle-with-identity-ethnicity-and-borders-in-a-book-of-poems/article_1cdd1668-50f1-11e9-a03d-6f2d39ee99ff.html . 2023-05-25 . 2023-05-25 . Monterey County Weekly . en.
  24. Book: King . Amy . Tran . Chrysanthemum . 2017-09-25 . Bettering Books . 978-0-692-97959-4 . dodd . jayy . English . Rankine . Camile . Leung . Muriel . Clark . Sarah . Wasson . Michael . Espinoza . Joshua Jennifer . Ramirez . Hector . Akbar . Kaveh.
  25. News: O'Neill . Shane . 2019-05-31 . Who Threw the First Brick at Stonewall? Let's Argue About It . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-01-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525155938/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/31/us/first-brick-at-stonewall-lgbtq.html . 2023-05-25 . 0362-4331.
  26. Web site: List . Madeleine . Their stories matter . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525162610/https://www.providencejournal.com/story/entertainment/books/2019/02/22/25000-grants-will-help-three-rhode-island-women-keep-writing/5881365007/ . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . The Providence Journal . en-US.
  27. Web site: 2015-01-14 . Scores . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525154727/https://wowps2016.wordpress.com/tournament/scores/ . 2023-05-25 . 2023-01-30 . Women of the World Poetry Slam . en.

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