Nellie Wong

Poet and activist Nellie Wong was born in Oakland, California. She was the daughter of Chinese immigrants, and in her poetry and through her community activism, she confronted social problems such as racism, sexism, and labor issues. Her collections of poetry included Dreams in Harrison Railroad Park (Kelsey Street Press, 1977), TheDeath of Long Steam Lady (West End Press, 1986), Stolen Moments (Chicory Blue Press, 1997), and Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Meridien Press, 2012), and Nothing Like Freedom (HoongHoongLookLook Press, 2024). With Merle Woo and Mitsuye Yamada, Wong coauthored 3 Asian American Writers Speak Out on Feminism (Red Letter Press, 2003). She was one of the founding members of the writing collective Unbound Feet, and her poems have been installed in public sites in the San Francisco area.

Wong was a member of various literary, artistic, and political groups, including Radical Women, the Freedom Socialist Party, and the National Asian American Telecommunications Association. In 1989, she received a Women of Words award from the Women’s Foundation California. With Yamada, she was the subject of the documentary Mitsuye & Nellie, Asian American Poets (1981). In 2011, a building at Oakland High School was named after Wong.

Wong died on January 2, 2026 in San Francisco.