Staceyann Chin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Staceyann Chin
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| Born | December 25, 1972 Spanish Town, Jamaica
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| Occupation | Poet, writer, performance artist |
Staceyann Chin (born December 25, 1972) is a talented spoken-word poet, a performing artist, and an activist for equal rights for all people. Her writings have appeared in famous newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post. She has also been featured on TV shows such as 60 Minutes and The Oprah Winfrey Show. On The Oprah Winfrey Show, she shared her experiences growing up in Jamaica and her journey to becoming an activist. Her first full book of poetry was released in 2019.
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About Staceyann Chin's Life
Staceyann Chin was born in Jamaica. She now lives in New York City, specifically in Brooklyn. Her family background includes both Chinese-Jamaican and Afro-Jamaican heritage. In 2011, she announced she was going to have a baby, and her daughter was born in 2012. She has openly shared her journey of becoming a parent through in-vitro fertilization. She also wrote about her experiences as a single parent in a guest blog for the HuffPost.
Staceyann Chin's Career and Activism
Staceyann Chin has been an active poet and activist since 1998. She is known for speaking out about important issues. She performed in and helped write Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, which was nominated for a Tony Award. She has also performed in her own one-woman shows and at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
Chin has led poetry workshops around the world, helping others find their voice. She often says that her grandmother's hard work and the absence of her mother helped shape her into the successful person she is today.
Published Works and Performances
Staceyann Chin's poetry can be found in her early collections, called chapbooks, like Wildcat Woman and Stories Surrounding My Coming. Her work is also in many anthologies, which are collections of writings by different authors. You can hear her voice on CD collections from various productions. In 2009, she published her autobiography, The Other Side of Paradise: A Memoir.
She has also been a host on online shows like Logo's After Ellen Internet show, "She Said What?". She was also a co-host for Centric's My Two Cents.
In 2009, Chin appeared in The People Speak. This is a documentary film that uses performances of letters, diaries, and speeches from everyday Americans. It is based on historian Howard Zinn's book, A People's History of the United States.
She also taught a class at the arts-focused Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn. In 2024, a documentary film about her, called A Mother Apart, was released. It was directed by Laurie Townshend.
Awards and Recognition
Staceyann Chin has won many awards for her poetry and activism. She won the Chicago People of Color Slam in 1999. She was also a finalist in the Nuyorican Grand Slam in 1999. She won "Slam This!" in both 1998 and 2000, and WORD: The First Slam for Television.
Her work has been shown on local TV programs in Brooklyn and Manhattan. She has also been featured on many radio stations. The Joseph Papp Public Theater has featured her performances multiple times. Staceyann has performed internationally in places like London, Denmark, Germany, and South Africa. She has also performed in New York's own Central Park Summer Stage. In 2015, she was recognized by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons for LGBTQ History Month.
Other Notable Awards
- Drama Desk Award (2003)
- Visionary-in-Residence Award from the Center for Women and Gender at Dartmouth College (2007)
- Human Rights Campaign Power of the Voice Award (2007)
- Lesbian AIDS Project Honors (2008)
- Safe Haven Award from Immigration Equality (2008)
- New York State Senate Special Human Rights Award (2009)
- American Book Awards (2020)
Staceyann Chin's Creative Works
Books
- The Other Side of Paradise - A Memoir. 2010. New York: Scribner. ISBN: 0743292901
- Crossfire: A Litany for Survival. 2019. Chicago: Haymarket Books. ISBN: 9781642590258
Chapbooks (Poetry Collections)
- Wildcat Woman (1998)
- Stories Surrounding My Coming (2001)
- Catalogue the Insanity (2005)
- Mad Hatter: Ramblings from the Attic Volume 1 (2007)
- Mad Hatter: Ramblings from the Attic Volume 2 (2007)
Theatre Performances
- Hands Afire (2000) (one-woman show) - Bleecker Theatre, New York
- Unspeakable Things (2001) (one-woman show) - Bleecker Theatre, New York
- Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway (2002-2003)
- Border/Clash: A Litany of Desires (2005) (one-woman show) - Bleecker Theatre, New York
- Motherstruck! (one-woman show) (2015-2016) (Performed in Chicago, DC, and NYC)
Anthologies (Collections with Other Authors)
- "Authenticity", in Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness. Edited by Rebecca Walker (Soft Skull Press, February 1, 2012)
Online Performances and Interviews
- Staceyann Chin: Performed Poems in Trikster - Nordic Queer Journal #3, 2009.
- Staceyann Chin & Ulrika Dahl: Articulating Honesty: A Conversation on Literature and Activism in Trikster - Nordic Queer Journal #3, 2009
See also
In Spanish: Staceyann Chin para niños
