Shangyang Fang grew up in Chengdu, China, and composes poems both in English and Chinese. While studying civil engineering at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, he realized his bigger passion lies in the architecture of language and became a poetry fellow at Michener Center for Writers. He is the recipient of the Joy Harjo Poetry Award and Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Prize. His name, Shangyang, originating from Chinese mythology, was a one-legged bird whose dance brought forth flood and rain. His debut is Burying the Mountain from Copper Canyon Press.

This week's Southword poem is ‘The Last Kodak Moment’ by Timothy McBride, which appears in issue 41. You can buy single issues, subscribe, or find out how to submit to Southword here.