About Carrie Chang

Welcome to a celebration of Carrie C. Chang (1970 — 2024), a writer, poet and artist whose creative spirit never wavered throughout her 53 years. This space is dedicated to her enduring legacy. Carrie passed away on April 19, 2024, from congestive heart failure at her home in Sunnyvale, California, but her voice and vision continue through her prolific work.

Born in 1970 in Syracuse, New York, but then transplanted to California, Carrie experienced a quintessential Silicon Valley Chinese American childhood. From early on her artistic bent was apparent, in the flair she brought to her creative writing and the expressivity of her piano and violin performances. Outwardly shy but warm and witty with her close friends, she was a standout student who blossomed as a writer on her high school newspaper, where she made her first forays into wielding the written word to tackle thorny issues of racial identity and U.S. politics. She continued to engage with Asian American issues for the Stanford Daily (explore her Stanford articles here).

Carrie’s passion for language and literature drove her to obtain a trifecta of degrees: a BA/Master’s in English from Stanford University, a Master’s in Journalism from UC Berkeley and a Master’s in Fine Arts (Creative Writing) from New York University. But she truly found her voice when she launched Monolid, an Asian American political and literary magazine. As editor, journalist and poet, Carrie delighted in provoking people with trenchant opinions on controversial topics, bringing uniquely Asian American issues to the fore while blurring the bounds of poetry and prose. Her work in bringing Monolid to a national audience remains a significant part of her legacy.

Carrie navigated challenges with mental health throughout her life, but she continued to write prolifically, publishing multiple novels and volumes of poetry. In recent years she founded an annual poetry magazine, Lotus. She also explored a new avenue of artistic expression through painting. Her legacy of words and images stands as a powerful testament to her inexhaustible creative energy, idiosyncratic style and fearless desire to share her art. (See here to learn more.)

Carrie’s generosity, wit and creative fire are deeply missed and lovingly remembered by her parents, I-Cheng and Phoebe; her siblings, Nancy and S.; her nieces, Nora and Nina; and the many friends, family members and colleagues whose lives she touched. Her spirit lives on through the community she built and the art she created.