Interviews & Features

“River 瑩瑩 Dandelion on Poetry, Community, and Resourcing Ourselves,” Interview, Pine Meadow Center for Arts & Agriculture, The Roundhouse Foundation, 2026.

Fifth-generation New Yorker, River 瑩瑩 Dandelion, is integrating his poetry, energy work, and teaching to bring about cultural remembrance and well-being for himself, his communities, and future generations.

“Atmosphere Press: An Interview with River 瑩瑩 Dandelion,” Interview, Atmosphere Press, 2025.

“A Companion to Where Else, Hong Kong Literature’s newest addition; interviews with contributors,” by Elizabeth E. Chung, Writing Chinese: A Journal of Contemporary Sinophone Literature, 2(1), p.123-143, 2023.

Given the growing interest in Hong Kong and the region’s literature which provides insight into the experiences of one of Britain’s last colonies, Elizabeth E. Chung interviewed River 瑩瑩 Dandelion, as well as editors and contributors to the new Where Else: An International Hong Kong Poetry Anthology. The ensuing interviews are included here and result in a companion to the anthology: a revelatory insight into the transnational attention to Hong Kong, its history, and its future.

“That Which You are Afraid to Write, Write It,” Article, The Margins, 2022.

Former Open City fellow River 瑩瑩 Dandelion answers ten questions, plus one open-ended one, about his writing life.

"Global Chinatowns: Histories of Resistance & Community,” Podcast Feature, Asian American Writers’ Workshop, 2020.

Writer and organizer River 瑩瑩 Dandelion traveled to Chinatowns in eight different countries, as well as his ancestral villages, documenting global stories of migration and resilience across the diaspora. That same year, artists and scholars Diane Wong and Mei Lum, went on a West Coast Solidarity tour to connect with tenants, organizers, workers, and artists in Chinatowns in San Francisco, LA, Vancouver, and Seattle. In this podcast interview, they talk about the formation of Chinatowns across the world, how the pandemic is affecting Chinatowns, and make important connections between gentrification in immigrant communities across the U.S.

Story Corps: “On Home, Family History, and Remembering for Future Generations,” Interview, Story Corps, 2020.

In this interview conducted by Tara Mei Smith, River 瑩瑩 Dandelion reflects on home, Chinatown, family history, and how racism in the U.S. impacts one’s sense of belonging. River discusses his ancestral lineage, as well as how present-day anti-Asian racism is connected to racism across centuries.

Wellesley College Alum Spotlight, Interview, Wellesley College, 2020.

In light of an increase of reported anti-Asian hate crimes, Wellesley’s Advisor for Students of Asian Descent hosted a panel called “Building Resilience: Addressing Anti-Asian Racism During COVID-19.” The goals of the event were to empower people of Asian descent with strategies for navigating racism, violence, harassment, and discrimination in the midst of COVID-19; offer advice to allies who want to better support Asians and Asian Americans; and share historical context & raise awareness about the dynamics of anti-Asian racism. River 瑩瑩 Dandelion, was one of the panelists, and was gracious enough to spend an afternoon with us to discuss what that event meant to him.

Press for Homeward Bound: Global Intimacies in Converging Chinatowns Exhibitions

How ‘Homeward Bound’ Came to Be: A Discussion with Curators, Artist Spotlight Interview, Pearl River Mart, 2019.

Around Towns, World of Chinese Magazine, 2019.

Exhibit Explores Asian Identity in Global Chinatowns, The Ink.NYC, 2019.