Hong, who is 46, is a poet by trade. Since 2002, she has published three collections themed around empire, civilizations, and invented languages, which have earned her a small, dedicated fandom in the world of avant-garde poetry. But in 2020, her career changed radically with the release of Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning, a collection of essays that explore her experience as a Korean American and a poet. The book, Hong said, was an attempt to “articulate Asian American interiority” as well as a broader effort to recast and refine conversations about Asian Americanness.
