Yaya Yao was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Yao is a writer, performer, and educator. In addition to poetry, Yao has written a short play and co-authored the Educator’s Equity Companion Guide.
Poetry
Flesh, Tongue: Poems
Toronto: Mawenzi House, 2015.
PS8647 .A69 F55 2015
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
In this brilliant and provocative first collection, Yaya Yao confronts her inherited fragmented self and her hunger for a home, using scraps of personal and communal memory to bridge languages, worldviews, and physical distance from her ancestral homeland. Bits of Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, and Shanghainese are translated and altered to explore the dynamics between language and identity. In this collection, Yaya Yao has created a unique and authentic voice.
Anthology (Poetry)
Tok. Book 7
Yao, Yaya. “Poems.” In Tok. Book 7, edited by Helen Walsh. Toronto: Zephyr Press, 2012, 31-35.