Basalt Hsu (they/them) is a queer and trans poet, researcher, and organizer who grew up in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley. They arrived in the United States via Chinese diasporas, shaped by escalating arms races across the Pacific, mandatory conscription policies developed during the Cold War, and the codependent relationship between research universities and defense technology.
Originally developed as a dissertation project while pursuing a PhD at Columbia University’s English & Comparative Literature Department, their first manuscript-in-progress EARTH INTELLIGENCE is borne out of this attention to war infrastructure. Excerpts from EARTH INTELLIGENCE have been published in Seventh Wave, TriQuarterly, and No, Dear; and have been performed at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Singapore Writers’ Festival, and New York City-based readings. The project was named a finalist for Wendy’s Subway’s Carolyn Bush Prize in 2025, and has been supported by the Tin House Scholarship in 2024.