Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Jennifer Wong, "Light Year" (Nine Arches Press, 2025)
Date: April 5, 2026
Host: New Books
Guest: Jennifer Wong

Overview

This episode features an in-depth and intimate conversation between the host and acclaimed poet Jennifer Wong about her latest poetry collection, Light Year. The discussion centers on major themes from her work: hope, memory, silence, motherhood, the dynamics of language and diaspora, and the role of poetry in processing personal and collective history. Through close readings, poem recitations, and reflection, Wong offers insight into her creative process, cultural identity, and how poetry allows space for healing, resistance, and communication amid silence.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Opening Imagery: The Ocean and Gatsby

The episode begins with the last lines from the book’s first poem:
“In the room, we could hear the ocean waves breaking against the history of ourselves.”
The ocean is a recurring motif throughout the collection, serving as a metaphor for memory, hope, and the ongoing formation of identity.
Wong references The Great Gatsby as an inspiration for this motif — specifically the green light as a symbol of unreachable hope and the remaking of the self.
- [02:14, Jennifer Wong]:
  “I thought a lot about the sea and the ocean and water, qualities of water and so on ... it's a very Gatsby like imagery... what it means to me to ... fall in love with the world or to embrace worlds.”
- [02:59, Jennifer Wong]:
  “I've always been very fascinated with ... how a person can reach for success ... or shape his own life ... And ... that sense of history, you know, Gatsby has this old history, personal history that is sometimes a bit dubious to others. And so, like, you know, how do you see yourself like your past self and how do you continuously remake your own identity?”

Poetry and Hope

The host asks about the relationship between poetry and hope, touching on Wong's line “being in love with hope itself”.
For Wong, poetry is a "malleable" and "free" form that allows the expression of a full emotional spectrum, including hope and grief.
- [04:25, Jennifer Wong]:
  “I certainly see it as a very malleable form. ... I don't particularly feel very, you know, hopeful, to be honest. I was going through a lot of personal challenges ... But ... poetry was my hope when I was writing this...”
Poetry is depicted as a universal resource, especially necessary in times of adversity:
- [06:22, Jennifer Wong]:
  “We all need to clutch onto or cling onto what we think gives us joy or gives us hope ... poetry ... even when you use language in a poem, everything is packed inside it ... it's kind of like a riddle or like a person that is wrapped up with ribbons. And you just untie the ribbon and you've got something beautiful inside.”

The Power of Compression and Intimacy in Poetry

Wong’s poems are concise, typically fitting on one page, capturing “so many things in as few lines as possible”.
- [08:04, Jennifer Wong]:
  “It’s just my natural way of, like, condensing things ... That's the power of poetry ... it's not a complete story, but the poem itself reveals a lot.”
The host notes the poems’ “intimate register” and “messages in a bottle” effect—personal yet highly crafted.

Poem Reading: “You Stop Speaking to Me for a Year”

[10:49] Jennifer Wong reads the poem.
- Recalls a period when her mother stopped speaking to her during the pandemic, bringing together fragmented memories and reflections on silence, culture, and generational understanding.
On the process of writing:
- [14:02, Jennifer Wong]:
  “It was quite a fragmentary process... scribbling here and there, like, some phrases or some memories from different episodes... not linear at all.”

Silence as Generative

Silence, both unwanted and inevitable, becomes a catalyst for memory, introspection, and poetry:
- [16:45, Jennifer Wong]:
  “I think definitely. I don't think it was a silence that I welcome or create ... silence does become generative ... you start thinking about what does silence mean? ... there were lots of different silences ... cultural silence ... lots of taboo that I'm not supposed to talk about at the dinner table.”
Host and guest reflect on how poetry can bridge or illuminate silences in family, culture, and the self.

Forgiveness, Letters, and the Limits of Communication

Many poems take the form of unsent letters; forgiveness is explored as a bridge across silence.
- [22:26, Host]:
  “Forgiveness as a way to bridge the silence ... But the poem you just read ... the final line is a phone call away from forgiveness.”
Wong discusses real-life grief, regret, and the impossibility of resolution after losing a friend:
- [23:23, Jennifer Wong]:
  “When you don't communicate or when you're in that middle of... silence or absence, then this ... there's nothing to forgive, but there's also no way to forgive anyone.”

Motherhood, Change, and Identity

Host reads “Weight,” a poem about motherhood, body, and time lost/gained.
Poems function as letters to multiple selves (mother/daughter), reflecting ambivalence and joy.
- [27:30, Jennifer Wong]:
  “It's like a letter to myself ... or my younger self ... and also at the same time to my daughter... I was fascinated by the fact that like the mother and the daughter, sometimes they have such different perspectives.”
The sea returns as an image of transformation and the so-called “hinterland of giving”.

Languages, Diaspora, and the In-Between

The collection uses English, some Chinese, and even a Japanese word as poem titles.
Wong reads “Komorebi” and discusses the beauty and untranslatability of certain words, as well as the impossibility of fully knowing another.
- [33:36, Jennifer Wong]:
  “I was just trying to think about translation... words that can't be easily translated... It's almost impossible to understand anyone completely because you don't know them ... you can only appropriate or ... translate how each other is like.”

Space: Domestic, Cosmic, and Diasporic

The concept of “space” recurs: domestic, cosmic (galaxies, light years), and diasporic in-between.
- [36:32, Jennifer Wong]:
  “There was, like, the domestic space ... there's the star ... the kind of cosmic space ... then there's ... diasporic space ... I try to bridge, like, who I am or where I am now with ... what I feel more anchored to.”
Music (Canto-pop) is mentioned as a way of filling emptiness and connecting to heritage.

Reading and Discussion: “Because”

A direct, refrain-driven poem contemplating microaggressions, belonging, and exclusion as a migrant in the UK.
[41:41, Jennifer Wong reads the poem.]
Discussion of form: the poem’s refrain, “Because I wasn’t born here,” creates a deliberate structure that subverts the typical ambiguity of poetry and asserts cause-and-effect in identity and discrimination.
- [42:54, Jennifer Wong]:
  “I had quite a lot of fun writing it... I realized how angry I was ... it's all these things that, like maybe what you call microaggression... they all accumulate.”
- [45:45, Jennifer Wong]:
  “Poetry should not be just beautiful... it's definitely a powerful tool for honesty or truthful justice... subversion is a part of the process as well.”

Writing Process: Resistance, Identity, and Labels

Wong resists simplistic labeling in her poems, even around issues like sexuality or friendship.
- [47:41, Jennifer Wong]:
  “I also feel very resistant against labeling people... I also resist writing certain poems that touch on, for example, my queer identity. I don't even want to put that word in... I just trust that those poems can deliver whatever complexity that I want...”

Pain, Healing, and the Function of Poetry

The host asks about a line: “How do you measure pain? Do the needles of an acupuncturist give pain or does it bring healing?”
Wong suggests poetry may capture and transform pain, but isn’t (for her) a straightforward tool for catharsis.
- [57:41, Jennifer Wong]:
  “Maybe after all, I do agree that they bring healing at this moment ... But I think like, the pain comes first. ... If it heals, it's good ... but I think it's not totally cathartic... I'm just contented that you can put down those painful, painful moments... whether it brings healing or not, it doesn't really matter.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Compression in Poetry:
“I like kind of putting messages inside a very small container.” — Jennifer Wong [08:04]
On Poetry and Hope:
“Poetry is very universal.” — Jennifer Wong [04:25]
On Silence as a Source:
“You start thinking about what does silence mean? Or what is that space between the words or what are the missing words and things?” — Jennifer Wong [16:45]
On Letters & Forgiveness:
“You might not be able to send them, but you can try to write. That's what. And try to put down in your thoughts.” — Jennifer Wong [21:08]
On the Diasporic Experience:
“Every time I pick up my daughter from school I think how lucky she is to know as much as they do. ... Because I wasn't born here...” — Jennifer Wong, reading “Because” [41:41]
On Poetry’s Transformative Power:
“Poetry should not be just beautiful ... It's definitely a powerful tool for honesty or truthful justice.” — Jennifer Wong [45:45]
On Healing and Catharsis:
“The pain comes first... if it heals, it's good... but I think it's not totally cathartic...” — Jennifer Wong [57:41]

Timestamps of Key Segments

01:24 – Introduction, opening lines, ocean motif
02:14 – Gatsby imagery and hope
04:25 – Poetry as hope and container for emotion
08:04 – On compression and the power of brevity
10:49 – Wong reads “You Stop Speaking to Me for a Year”
14:02 – Fragmentary writing process & relationship with mother
16:45 – Silence as generative for poetry
22:26 – Letters, forgiveness, unsent communications
26:01 – Host reads “Weight”; discussion of motherhood and time
32:27 – Wong reads “Komorebi”; discussion on translation and knowing others
36:32 – The importance of different types of “space”
41:41 – Wong reads “Because”; discussion on migration, racism, poetry as resistance
47:41 – On resistance and complexity of identity
49:46 – On measuring pain and poetry's role in healing
53:10 – Specificity vs universality in poetry; writing cinematically
57:41 – Final reflection: healing vs catharsis in poetry

Conclusion

Jennifer Wong’s Light Year is a nuanced, intimate collection that traverses personal memory, generational wounds, cultural migration, and the spaces—cosmic, domestic, and in-between—that shape identity. Through the conversation and poem readings, Wong illuminates how poetry acts as both a vessel for hope and an act of resistance: compressing multitudes into a single image, articulating pain, and forging connection amid silence.
The episode is rich in literary references, emotional honesty, and memorable poetic moments—an essential listen for poetry lovers and anyone interested in diasporic experiences, motherhood, and the universal power of art.