Marilyn Chin is a self-described "hyphenated American poet," a Chinese-American deeply engaged in the cultural processes of exile, loss, and assimilation. Her poems are influenced materially, technically, and thematically by such diverse sources as the classical Chinese tradition and the epigrams of Horace. Chin has published three collections, most recently Rhapsody in Plain Yellow, and received many awards, including a Stegner Fellowship, two NEA Fellowships, and four Pushcart Prizes. She teaches in the MFA program at San Diego State University.