ABOUT ME
Emma Wu (she/they) is a writer and activist originally from Houston, Texas. They hold an MFA in Fiction from Rutgers University-Camden. Their work has been published in Gulf Coast, New Delta Review, Blue Mesa Review, and elsewhere. They have participated in writing residencies, such as Wildacres Artist Residency, Art Farm Nebraska, and Soaring Gardens Artists Retreat, and were shortlisted for the DISQUIET 2024 Literary Prize in Fiction. Currently residing in Philadelphia, Emma is a Post-Graduate Research Faculty Fellow in the English Department at George Washington University where they teach at the intersection of digital storytelling and carceral justice.
ABOUT MY WORK
LITERARY PRACTICE
My literary practice explores the tension between reverence for and dissent from my Chinese-American heritage. Through contemporary fiction, I explore themes of matrilineage, the efficacy of memory, and cultural transformation. How does our behavior, identity, and performance—the very essence of who we are—relate to our ancestry, our heritage? What does it mean for a shift in that essence to feel less like progress and more like deceit? Can we ever truly let go of what is passed down?
COMMUNITY ENGAGED ART
My experience includes designing and facilitating community input processes for public art projects, such as schoolyards and murals. The undergraduate coursework I teach typically contains a focus on practices of ethical community engagement in the literary arts. Currently, I'm facilitating a co-created storytelling project that bridges incarcerated individuals at DC's correctional treatment facility with GW undergraduate students.
JUSTICE ORIENTATION
I believe that the narratives we capture in our personal writing and larger collective art projects form the foundation for narratives possible in the world. By being intentional in our creative work, we can actively contribute to social change. My focus is on harnessing the power of storytelling to shape a more just and equitable society.