Ziyi Yan | 闫梓祎

Ziyi yan (闫梓祎) is a Chinese poet and performer. Her work is published in American poetry review, Poetry Northwest, Rust and Moth, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Kissing Dynamite, Gigantic Sequins, grist: a journal of the literary arts and Peach Magazine, among others. A Best of the Net nominee, Ziyi has been recognized nationally and internationally by The Poetry Society, the National Foundation for the advancement of artists, The alliance for young artists & writers, Poetry Society of Virginia, Palette Poetry, Rider University, the Claudia Ann Seaman Awards, the America Library of Poetry, the Hillstead Museum, Connecticut Office of the Arts, the fitzgerald museum, Poetry Online, Marymount Manhattan college, BreakBread magazine, the Tom Howard and Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, the Brett Elizabeth Jenkins Prize, Frontier Poetry, and more.Ziyi serves as the current youth poet laureate for the state of Connecticut. She has been invited to perform and speak for over 20 events, including the "every tongue" white house workshop, the trinity international hip hop festival, "A Poetry Special" by the Connecticut Office of the Arts, Connecticut's annual Poetry Out Loud summit, BreakBread Literacy Project’s reading series, the connecticut survivors' art summit, the CT Youth Poet Laureate showcase with state poet laureate Antionette Brim-bell, the hudson-to-housatonic scholastic writing awards ceremony, and Erika Lutzner’s "Connecticut Poetry Salon."In 2022, Ziyi founded The Dawn Review, a literary magazine dedicated to supporting writers while promoting convention-defying work. An alumna of the Iowa Young Writers' Studio, Adroit Summer Mentorship, Sewanee young writers conference, and Kenyon Young Writers Workshop, Ziyi is a student at Princeton University, where she writes for the Daily Princetonian and the Nassau Weekly. She is currently working on a book manuscript titled, "Be the Wasteland."Email: [email protected]
Instagram and Twitter: @Ziyiyan___

• the dawn review

Ziyi Yan | 闫梓祎

poetry:

performances:

Interviews, reviews, & journalism

Ziyi Yan | 闫梓祎

honors:

winner for poetry. national youngarts competition 2025winner for spoken word. national youngarts competition 2024youth poet laureate. Connecticut 2024 - 2025commended poet. Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2024national gold medal, national silver medal, american voices nomination. Scholastic Writing Awards 2021-2024national silver medal and regional Gold Key for writing portfolio. Scholastic Writing Awards 202412 gold keys, 19 silver keys, 20 honorable mentions. Scholastic Writing Awards 2021-2024First Class. National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Awards in Writing 2023presenting feature. Poetry Northwest 2023, selected by senior editor Xavier CavazosBest of the Net nomination. the inflectionists review 2024, selected by editor John Sibley Williams1st place. Polyphony lit summer contest 20231st place. The Fitzgerald Museum literary contest 2023-2024Winner. Fresh Voices Poetry Competition 20241st place. Marymount Manhattan Poetry Contest 20221st place. Piedmont Institute Communications Contest 20211st place. Lillian Butler Davies Communications Contest 2022runner-up. united states northeast youth poet laureate 2025Runner-up.Jacklyn Potter Young Poets Competition 2024Runner-Up. Claudia Ann Seaman Awards for Poetry 2023Runner-Up. Claudia Ann Seaman Awards for Poetry 20242nd place. Rider University national high school writing contest 20232nd place. Poetry Society of Virginia Student Contest 20222nd Place. Connecticut Poetry Ourselves Slam contest state finals 2023Runner-Up. Connecticut Youth Poet Laureate 2023top 10 Commended Poet. Young Poets’ Network challenge 2022, judged by Khairani BarokkaFinalist. Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest 2023, judged by Michal Jones, Briana Grogan, and Dare WilliamsFinalist. Brett Elizabeth Jenkins Prize 2023, judged by Paul Hlava CeballosFinalist. Palette Poetry Grisly and Grotesque Challenge 2023Finalist. Villena-Aldama Poetry Contest 2022Semifinalist. Poetry Online Chapbook Fellowship 2024, judged by Tarik DobbsLonglist. Palette Poetry Chapbook Prize 2023, judged by Danez SmithLonglist. Frontier Poetry Hurt and Healing Prize 2023, judged by Andrés CerpaLonglist. Frontier Poetry Open prize 2023Presidents' volunteer service gold award 2021 and 2022

education:

"reading like a writer" 2025 with yiyun lipoetry workshop 2024 with Patricia smith"poetry en scéne" workshop 2025 with Cassandra quayson"Poetry and praxis" workshop 2024 with urban wordSewanee Young Writers' conference 2024 with christina olsonKenyon Review Young Writers Workshop 2023 with Paige Webb & Kirsten ogdenInterlochen Performance Poetry Intensive 2023 with Jax NealEllipsis Writing "Summoning the Intangible" workshop 2023 with Shangyang FangAdroit Journal Summer Mentorship 2022 with Jorrell WatkinsIowa Young Writers' Studio "Wild Things" workshop 2022 with Gilad Jaffe

Editorial work & teaching:

founder. the dawn review, 2022-presentPoetry Instructor. BeHASSTic, 2022-2024Senior Editor. Polyphony Lit, 2022- 2024fall contest judge. polyphony lit, 2023