Poetry · New Release · Pre-Order

Quintessential Earthly Activities

Ecstatic, elegiac, and erotic, the poems in Quintessential Earthly Activities form a constellation of mortal loves and contradictions. In ancient philosophy and medieval alchemy, quintessence referred to the fifth and highest element, thought to imbue all of nature and to constitute the heavenly bodies. Chen Chen’s third collection of poetry considers the quintessences—the core elements—of contemporary life, not as fixed characteristics, but as ever-evolving aspects of a soul, albeit an insistently queer and creaturely one that doubts the existence of souls.

Here, the celestial as well as the sacred are found in putting on a stunning jean jacket; speaking out against racism and homophobia; making a cup of tea, then promptly forgetting it; reconnecting with immigrant family; writing a letter by hand despite terrible handwriting; and asking a friend, “Have you eaten yet?"

Praise for Chen

"Throughout the collection, death, crisis and grief sit cheek by jowl with survival, resistance and glimpses of hard-won joy… With its exquisite blend of melancholy and exuberance, this is a life-affirming book for our troubled times." —Mary Jean Chan, The Guardian

"I revel in Chen’s capaciousness, his lightning-fast modulations between silly and sober, his capacity to make poetry that is no less serious for being fun."—Craig Morgan Teicher, NPR

"Chen has an avid eye for everyday details that bridge emotional, domestic, and cultural landscapes… It’s a bracingly wry meta-reflection on his story of identity—the loving particulars balanced by a dose of filial bitterness. Chen is a rarity among this new cohort of poets." —Jesse Lichtenstein, The Atlantic

"Moving between whimsy and sobriety, Chen both exhibits and defies vulnerability—an acute reminder that there are countless further possibilities." —Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

FormatPaperback, Hardcover

Pages160 pages

Publication DateApril 13, 2027

ISBN9781968507299

From $19.00

Note: This is a preorder. Book will ship prior to its publication date.

About the Author

Chen Chen is the author of two previous books of poetry, When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities (2017) and Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency (2022), both published by Boa Editions and by Bloodaxe Books in the UK. He has also authored a book of craft essays, In Cahoots with the Rabbit God (Noemi Press, 2026), and six chapbooks, most recently Love That For Us (& Change, 2026), a collaboration with Sam Herschel Wein. His work appears in many journals and anthologies, including Poetry and The Norton Introduction to Literature. A Kundiman community member, his honors include the National Book Award longlist, the Thom Gunn Award, three Pushcart Prizes, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and United States Artists. Chen teaches for the MFA program at New England College and lives in Rochester, New York with his partner and their pug, Mr. Rupert Giles.