In(tima) Moralia

An ongoing poetry series subtitled “reflections of shattered life”

Stephen grew up queer, critical and creative in a repressive and conformist “meritocratic” Asian society, and eventually ended up living in exile in North America. Wrestling with Bipolar Depression and Schizoid Disorder, he started writing poetry (gradually finding resonance in the haiku form) to release, to cope, to express what was suppressed to maintain and fit in the facade of “normalcy’ in order to survive.

This poetry grew over the years to comprise over 1200 entries and was collected in 10 volumes and published for the first time. Available at Lulu and Barnes & Noble

• Psychedelic Dreams (Personal, Puerile or Poetic) is the first volume that collects poems written between ages 18 to 28 which covers the onset of Bipolar Disorder to his escape to the Pacific Northwest.
• Dying Prayers (Deep, Desperate or Delusional) is the second volume that collects poems written in 2004 while he was living in the Pacific Northwest.
• Sacrificial Trees (Unusual, Unhinged or Unctuous) is the third volume that collects poems written after he moved to Ontario and struggled as his residency application was frozen in the wake of 9/11.
• Terrible Sanities (Innocuous, Impervious or Insidious) is the fourth volume that collects poems written in his early 30s.
• Fallen Angels (Restless, Reviled or Resigned) is the fifth volume that collects poems written in his mid-30s.
• Ascetic Fugitive (Collected, Callous or Consoled) is the sixth volume that collects poems written in his late 30s.
• Futile Overtures (Transient, Tangential or Trapped) is the seventh volume that collects poems written as he attempts to restructure his life approaching 40.
• Overt Fetishes (Pissed, Polemic or Pitiful) is the eight volume that collects poems written after he turned 40 and returned to full-time work.
• God Farts (Deep, Delightful or Deviled) is the tenth volume that collects poems written in his early to mid 40s.
• Gone Dyke – Queer(y)ing the Klondike is the eleventh volume that collects 91 geo-located haikus/senryus composed over 17 days, a form Stephen pioneered while he hiked or traversed Klondike gold rush routes in Alaska and Yukon. [see: GONE DYKE, and its spiritual successor nūbēs obscura]
• We’re Made of Clay is the twelfth volume that collects site-specific poems written when Stephen undertook a trip to visit Native American places that Trump administration removed from protections. [see: WE’RE MADE OF CLAY]
• Destiny Repeating (Empathize, Effect or Endure) is the thirteenth volume that collects poems written during triggered bipolar relapses.

CREATED BY: Stephen Chen | COMPLETED: 21/12/2022

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