Remembering Nellie Wong
Nellie Wong delivering the keynote address at the 2024 Asian American Literary Fest
We want to extend our condolences to the friends and family of Nellie Wong. Nellie was such an important and beloved voice as an artist, activist, and advocate for our community. We were fortunate to have been able to feature her at KSW over the last couple of years at the Asian American Lit Fest in 2024 where Nellie delivered the keynote address and with her literary collective, Last Hoisan Poets, in 2023 at the SF Library during our intergenerational panel and performances during our Dreaming People’s History exhibition run. Nellie has had a long history with Kearny Street Workshop and we are so grateful for all the support, love, and care she’s given us throughout the years.
Nellie has gifted us with so many years of incredible poetry and art with her most recent publication, Nothing Like Freedom, releasing in 2024. There was also the groundbreaking documentary Mitsuye and Nellie, Asian American Poets (1981) which you can watch on her website. We’ve also linked a copy here of her keynote address from AALF, for those looking to sit and reflect with her words during this time.
Our deepest thanks, Nellie, our deepest gratitude.
“This world heads nowhere and everywhere
This world belongs to every body
Where else can we go?
Where else can we go?”
— Nellie Wong from Fourteen-Line Poem on the World
Nellie and her fellow Last Hoisan Poets, Genny Lim and Flo Oy Wong, at Dreaming People’s History (2023), photo by Caitlin Lee