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Sun Yung Shin

サン・ヨン・シン

Sun Yung Shin

Aliases: Shin Sun-yung / Sin Seonyeong

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
Seoul, South Korea
Nationality
United States, South Korea (birth)
Languages
English, Korean
Residence History
Seoul (birth) → Chicago (raised) → Minneapolis–St. Paul (resides)

Career

Occupations
poet, writer, editor, educator, consultant
Active Years
2000-
Affiliations
Perpich Center for Arts Education, University of Minnesota, Macalester College, Hamline University, University of St. Thomas, The College of St. Catherine (St. Catherine University), The Loft Literary Center, Intermedia Arts / SASE: The Write Place
Influenced By
Wang Ping, Mark Nowak, John Fenn
Influenced
Asian American writers community and emerging poets

Education

Boston University
Period: 1年在籍
Country: United States
Attended one year before transferring to Macalester College
Macalester College
English
Degree: 学士 (cum laude)
Year of Graduation: 2005
Country: United States
Graduated cum laude with a degree in English
University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)
Education (teaching)
Degree: 修士（教職）
Country: United States
Completed master's coursework in teaching; encouraged to continue poetry while enrolled

Awards

Asian American Literary Award
2008
Work: Skirt Full of Black
Organization: Asian American Literary Award committee
Result: 受賞
Minnesota Book Award
2017
Work: Unbearable Splendor
Organization: Minnesota Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Carter G. Woodson Book Award (Elementary Level)
2023
Work: Where We Come From
Category: 児童書（Elementary Level）
Organization: National Council for the Social Studies
Result: 受賞
MacDowell Residency Fellowship
2022
Organization: MacDowell
Result: 受賞
Bush Foundation grant
Organization: Bush Foundation
Result: 受給
McKnight Foundation artist grant
Organization: McKnight Foundation
Result: 受給
Minnesota State Arts Board grants (multiple)
Organization: Minnesota State Arts Board
Result: 受給

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Cooper's Lesson

2004 Children's book (English/Korean bilingual, illustrated)

A bilingual (English/Korean) illustrated children's book exploring adoption and cultural connection.

adoptioncultural identityfamily

Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption (editor)

2006 Essay/Anthology (editor)

An edited international anthology on the politics of transracial adoption, compiled by transracial adoptees.

transracial adoptionraceidentity
Translations
  • Korean edition (KoRoot Press, 2012)

Skirt Full of Black

2007 poetry

A poetry collection addressing personal and political themes—memory, adoption, ethnicity, and family.

memoryidentitymigration

Rough, and Savage

2013 poetry

Poems exploring globalization, violence, and tensions between the individual and community.

globalizationviolencecommunity

Unbearable Splendor

2016 poetry

A poetry collection that weaves language, landscape, and personal memory; winner of the 2017 Minnesota Book Award.

memorylandscapelanguage

A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota (editor)

2016 Essay/Edited anthology

An edited collection of essays on race in Minnesota.

racecommunitypublic dialogue

The Wet Hex

2022 poetry / experimental

A recent collection combining formal experimentation with personal and social concerns.

formal experimentationself and society

Where We Come From

2022 children's literature

A children's book about origins and roots; winner of the Carter G. Woodson Book Award (Elementary Level).

rootsidentityfamily

Bibliography

  • Cooper's Lesson (2004)
  • Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption (2006)
  • Skirt Full of Black (2007)
  • Outsiders Within (Korean edition, 2012)
  • Rough, and Savage (2013)
  • A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota (editor, 2016)
  • Unbearable Splendor (2016)
  • The Wet Hex (2022)
  • Where We Come From (2022)

Translations by Author

  • Cooper's Lesson: English/Korean bilingual edition

Translations of Works

  • Outsiders Within (Korean edition, KoRoot Press, 2012)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
personal and political voiceformal experimentationimage-driven poetry
Recurring Motifs
adoption and rootsrace and identitymemory and landscapefragments of family

Legacy

Sun Yung Shin is a Korean American poet and editor known for her incisive work on adoption, migration, and race. She has influenced regional public discourse and emerging poets, receiving multiple awards and engaging broad audiences through editing and children's literature.

Archives

Trivia

  • Adopted at 13 months and raised in Chicago.
  • Author of the bilingual children's book Cooper's Lesson.
  • Outsiders Within is an early international anthology by transracial adoptees on the politics of adoption.