Đỗ Nguyên Mai


Mai Nguyen Do, also known as Đỗ Nguyên Mai, is a Vietnamese American poet and activist from Santa Clarita, California. She attended College of the Canyons from where she received her associate degrees in history and the liberal arts and sciences.
Her 2016 debut poetry collection Ghosts Still Walking was nominated by the members of the international Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association for an Elgin Award for Book of the Year in 2017. She is the winner of the 2019 Locked Horn Press Publication Prize.

Writing

Đỗ's poetry is influenced by her Vietnamese American identity and by her deep spiritual faith. When asked about influences on her writing, she has responded with several different sources of inspiration, including the words of ancient Vietnamese female writers and political figures like the Trưng sisters and writers such as Lady Murasaki and Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Her debut poetry collection, Ghosts Still Walking, was published by in 2016. Her second poetry collection, Battlefield Blooming, is scheduled to be released in spring of 2019 by Sahtu Press. The release of Ghosts Still Walking was noted by Vietnamese language newspaper Viet Bao for its timely release on the anniversary of the Fall of Saigon.

Political involvement

Aside from being a poet, Đỗ has been an ardent advocate for the arts and for Vietnamese American political and cultural development. She often combines these lines of advocacy not only through community organizing and writing poetry, but also by being vocal on how issues such as immigration policy and police brutality have impacted the Southeast Asian American community.