Sherman Alexie. Photo from Facebook
Sherman Alexie was "angry" after being fooled by a White poet who used a Chinese pseudonym in hopes of getting published. But Alexie is defending the inclusion of Michael Derrick Hudson -- who submitted his work under the name Yi-Fen Chou -- in The Best American Poetry 2015
. He explained his thinking in a blog post about the controversy.
"Of course, I was angry at the subterfuge and at myself for being fooled by this guy," Alexie, who edited the 2015 anthology of poems, wrote. "I silently cursed him and wondered how I would deal with this colonial theft."
Alexie acknowledged that he could have pulled the poem, which was one of 75 selected for the collection, after learning of Hudson's true identity. But doing so would have only benefited his ego, he wrote.
"If I'd pulled the poem then I would have been denying that I was consciously and deliberately seeking to address past racial, cultural, social, and aesthetic injustices in the poetry world," Alexie said.
"And, yes, in keeping the poem, I am quite aware that I am also committing an injustice against poets of color, and against Chinese and Asian poets in particular. But I believe I would have committed a larger injustice by dumping the poem."
In the biographical notes of the collection, Hudson said he chose a Chinese pseudonym because works submitted in his own name have been rejected. The Associated Press, however, said Hudson has been published under his own name.
Get the Story:New anthology includes poem by white man using Chinese name (AP 9/8)
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