NELLIE WONG celebrates her ninetieth birthday on September 12, 2024 with the publication of a new book of poetry, Nothing Like Freedom, Nellie’s fifth collection, after Dreams in Harrison Railroad Park (1977), Death of Long Steam Lady (1986), Stolen Moments (1997), and Breakfast Lunch Dinner (2012).
“Nellie Wong at Ninety” is a digital companion project centered around nine poems, chosen by Nellie to represent each decade of her storied life.
“As she marks her 90th birthday, the poet and activist Nellie Wong has given us a gift: a new collection of poems that bridges the decades of her remarkable career, with work that spans the 1970s to the present. In Nothing Like Freedom, Wong shares with us a lifetime of memories…”
Survival as a Work of Art: Nellie Wong at Ninety by Timothy Yu, Martha Meier Renk-Bascom Professor of Poetry and professor of English and Asian American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Upcoming Celebrations / Readings
© Fatima Ronquillo
“Brown Palms, Yellow Balms: Reinventing Caregivers of Color” Opening Reception
April 24, 2025 – 6pm – 9pm
SOMARTS Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Can brown palms and yellow balms cure the planet’s deepest wounds?
The Brown Palms, Yellow Balms: Reinventing Caregivers of Color exhibition unfolds in ever-expanding circles of caregiving, mirroring the Buddhist Metta practice—beginning with the body as the most intimate site of care and spiraling outward to embrace family, community, collective archetypes, deities, and the environment.
Exhibition co-presented by AAWAA & Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC) for the 28th Annual United States of Asian America Festival
–O.M. France Viana, Lead Artist & Curator
National Poetry Month: When Cherry Blossoms Fall
Reading by Genny Lim & Nellie Wong, with musical guest Hyeyung Sol Yoon
Wednesday, April 19, 2025, 2pm – 3:30pm
Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room, Lower Level
Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
SFPL’s Humanities Center celebrates National Poetry Month with a reading by Genny Lim, San Francisco’s 9th Poet Laureate. Cherry blossoms have long been a symbol of life’s brevity. Lim, together with poet Nellie Wong, will address themes of life, death and renewal in the historical and personal contexts of their poems, accompanied by Del Sol String Quartet violinist Hyeyung Sol Yoon.
Nothing Like Freedom Bookstore Launch
Reading by Nellie Wong, with special musical guest Destiny Muhammad
Wednesday, November 6th – 7pm – 8:30pm
Bird & Beckett Bookstore, 653 Chenery Street, San Francisco, CA 94131.
Chinese American revolutionary feminist poet Nellie Wong, joined by special musical guest, singer and harpist Destiny Muhammad, will read selections from “Nothing Like Freedom.”
Asian American Literature Festival 2024, Kearny Street Workshop & Chinese Cultural Center present AALF SF Bay Area Book Fair
Saturday, September 14, 2024, 4pm – 7pm; Chinese Cultural Center, 750 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco
The Asian American Literature Festival Collective (AALFC) will be presenting Cosmic Kinship, the 2024 Asian American Literary Festival from September 14th to 22nd. This festival aims to make literature accessible to all through inclusive and hybrid events, fostering a literary constellation that spans the globe.
On September 14 from 4-7pm, Kearny Street Workshop and Chinese Culture Center hosted the first AALF SF Bay Area Book Fair to great success, helping readers discover some of the incredible emerging local authors who have released books recently! This event featured a keynote address by Nellie, and readings by participating authors.
Learn more about the 2024 Asian American Literary Festival at https://www.asianamericanliteraturefestival.org.
The Freedom Socialist Party hosts Nellie Wong’s 90th Birthday Bash
Sunday, September 15, 2024, 12:30pm – 4pm; East Bay Community Center, 507 55th St. (off of Telegraph Ave.), Oakland, California
Celebrate the birthday of Asian American poet, rabble rouser, feminist activist, revolutionary leader, and now nonagenarian Nellie Wong! Festivities include readings, tributes, music, and the release of her new book of poetry, Nothing Like Freedom.
For more info, please call 415-864-1278 or email BayAreaFSP@socialism.com
In lieu of gifts, Nellie would appreciate donations towards Bay Area FSP projects. If you can’t make the party, you’re welcome to make a gift online (please specify that it is in honor of Nellie’s birthday): San Francisco – Freedom Socialist Party (socialism.com)