Queer poets had a good year in 2026. New books by Dan Vera (“Celestial Fire: Song for a Love That Dares”), Bryan Borland (“Listen, Kid: Selected & New Poems”), Ed Madden (“I Asked Him What He Needed”), Richie Hoffmann (“The Bronze Arms” which was longlisted for the National Book Award), and the long-awaited third book by Hieu Minh Nguyen, “Staying Still” (Tin House, 2026), all served to remind readers of the necessity of poetic voices at this time. Oakland-based poet Nguyen’s book is a collection of accessibly rendered poems that linger long after the book is closed. Standouts include “Powderhorn Park,” “Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, San Francisco,” “Crisis,” “Away Message,” “Saint Paul,” and “Reunion Speech.”
Hieu graciously made time for an interview in advance of his appearance at the Miami Book Fair.
Hieu, I like to begin interviews with poets by asking them to say something about the first poet or poem they read that sparked their interest in poetry.
I actually don’t know if my memory can credit just one poet, or one poem, though Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” and Langston Hughes’s “Mother to Son” were taped up in my locker.
What poets do you currently read?
The poets currently keeping me company are Linda Gregg and Vievee Francis.
Your second book, “Not Here,” won the Publishing Triangle's Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry in 2019. What did that honor mean to you?
It was the only post-publication award I’ve ever won, so that was pretty cool and affirming, but also, for my own sanity, I try to release any expectations for my books once they are published.
Your new book, “Staying Still” (Tin House, 2026), was published in September. What was involved in the process of selecting poems for the book?
A lot of waiting. The book is made up of poems I’ve slowly written for the last eight years, and sometimes I felt like I was waiting to write the right poem to give the already finished poems direction.
“Staying Still” is your third collection. How would you say that your creative process has changed over the course of three books?
More patience for sure. Unlike my experience with writing my last two books, rarely would I finish a draft of a poem in one sitting. Especially post pandemic. Lines came in fragments at random times and I would just hold on to them and try to assemble them into something that resembled a draft of a poem.
“Staying Still” contains the long poems “Come On Over,” “Looking,” “Portrait with Self-Portrait,” and “Notes on Beauty.” Were any or all of these poems written in one sitting or were they written over an extended period?
I think the only poem on that list that was written in one sitting is “Portrait with Self-Portrait.” It is also the only poem written pre-pandemic.
“Come On Over” is the book’s centerpiece, and Shania Twain figures prominently in the poem. Do you know if Shania is aware that she’s in the poem?
I wish. I would lose my mind if she read it.
Your mother is also a strong presence in the book, in poems including “The Dress” and “Assisted Living.”
While it’s true that my poems draw on autobiographical material, I think it’s important for me to emphasize that the poem is also the boundary between the life and the art, the writer and the speaker. The speaker is not me, they are a drag version of me.
I’m going to be moderating a panel on writing about place at the 2027 Saints and Sinners LGBTQ Literary Festival in New Orleans. It’s a subject in which I am interested, and you write about a variety of places including San Francisco, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Brooklyn and New Orleans. Please say a few words about the role place plays in your work.
The central questions in the poetry collection are centered around belonging. Place has a huge role in that inquiry. My poems are always considering what it means to leave and what it means to stay.
You will be at the Miami Book Fair in November. What are you most looking forward to about that?
I am excited to hang out with other writers while we eat our weight in ceviche.
