About But I Don’t Feel Empowered

In But I Don't Feel Empowered, poet and artist Suri Chan harnesses the power of beautiful language and whimsical illustrations to speak on both the lighthearted and heartbreaking experiences that bind us.

But I Don't Feel Empowered is Suri Chan's debut collection of honest, free-verse and whimsically illustrated poems. She explores themes of heartbreak, womanhood, and trauma from the lens of a queer Asian woman coming of age.

This collection is earnest in its belief that healing is about accepting your emotions as they are. And in a world that asks you to be empowered at all times, it asks you to just be.

Deeply moving and thought-provoking, But I Don't Feel Empowered solidifies Suri as an artist to watch and a voice to root for.

Suri Chan is a queer, prize-winning poet who writes about the Asian experience. Her poems touch on womanhood, generational trauma, and living between cultures. She's known as @poemsbysuri on Instagram. 

Her work is inspired by her ancestors – the ones who created food that tasted like home with the herbs of their new land. Their ingredients were simple: nuts, shredded veggies, sweet sauce. But the resulting meal was always grand. Suri likes to think she does the same with everyday words.