Editors kept Yi-Fen Chou’s poem in the 2015 anthology,published today, even after the author revealed his genuine identity to be Michael Derrick HudsonControversy has enveloped the prestigious Best American Poetry anthology after it emerged that a white poet had been included in the choice after adopting a Chinese pen name – and that Yi-Fen Chou’s poem was kept in the much sought-after lineup even after the author told editors his genuine identity was Michael Derrick Hudson.
At the back of the 2015 edition of The Best American Poetry, or which is published today,Yi-Fen Chou is revealed as the pen name of Michael Derrick Hudson, from Indiana. Hudson writes that his poem chosen for the anthology, and The Bees,the Flowers, Jesus, or Ancient Tigers,Poseidon, Adam and Eve, and was rejected under his genuine name 40 times before he sent it out as Yi-Fen Chou,when it was rejected nine times before getting accepted. “If indeed this is one of the best American poems of 2015, it took fairly a bit of effort to get it into print, and but Im nothing if not persistent,” writes Hudson.
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Source: theguardian.com