Brandon Som

Brandon Som serves as an Associate Professor of Literature in the Department of Literature at the University of California, San Diego’s School of Arts and Humanities, a position he has held since 2016. As a Chicano and Chinese American poet, Som’s academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California (2014), an M.F.A. in Creative Writing—Poetry from the University of Pittsburgh (2002), and a B.A. in English from Arizona State University (1997). He was the first in his family to graduate from college. His research specializations include literary arts and creative writing, 20th and 21st century poetry, transpacific and border studies, Asian American and Chicanx-Latinx literary and cultural studies, human rights, labor injustice, environmental racism, and elevating narratives from transnational communities often overshadowed or erased.

Som’s poetry collections have garnered significant acclaim. Tripas (University of Georgia Press/Georgia Review, 2023) received the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and was a finalist for the National Book Award. The work chronicles the voices of his Chicana maternal grandmother, Nana Pastora, who labored for three decades on a Motorola factory line, and his Chinese paternal grandmother, Ng Ng, who managed the family’s corner store, examining labor’s imprint on personal histories and weaving transnational arcs through multilingual expressions. His debut, The Tribute Horse (Nightboat Books, 2015), winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, reflects on his paternal grandfather’s journey from China through Angel Island. In 2025, Som was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship as part of the 100th class of fellows, supporting his forthcoming book exploring intersections of caregiving and artmaking, influenced by American modernist Ruth Asawa’s transnational experiences. At UCSD, he teaches the Intercultural Writing Workshop, where students engage with Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian American writers reclaiming cultural traditions and vernaculars to innovate in verse, providing vital spaces for bilingual students to explore their heritages.

Professional Email: bdsom@ucsd.edu