C. E. Gatchalian is a Filipino-Canadian author, playwright, poet, editor, dramaturge, teacher, and consultant whose work explores queer identity, race, memory, theatre, family, beauty, and diaspora. Born and raised in Vancouver and now based primarily in Toronto, he has written across poetry, drama, memoir, criticism, and anthology work.
His books include the poetry collection tor/sion, the plays Falling in Time and Motifs & Repetitions, and the memoir Double Melancholy: Art, Beauty and the Making of a Brown Queer Man. He is also a co-editor of Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino-Canadian Writing.
C. E. Gatchalian in Shampoo
Shampoo published Gatchalian in Issues 19 and 25. Issue 19 lists “2 Poems,” while Issue 25 publishes evasions. These appearances place an early portion of his literary work inside Shampoo’s archive of contemporary poets.
The two appearances also connect his work with the magazine’s wider field of experimental poetry, where lyric compression, dramatic address, altered voice, and hybrid literary forms often overlap.
Poetry and theatre
Gatchalian’s writing moves readily between page and stage. His plays have been produced in Canada and internationally, while his poetry and prose bring theatrical attention to voice, gesture, role, and self-presentation.
That movement across genres allows recurring concerns—desire, family, race, queer life, shame, beauty, and memory—to appear through different formal pressures.
Double Melancholy
Double Melancholy: Art, Beauty and the Making of a Brown Queer Man extends Gatchalian’s work into memoir and cultural criticism. The book considers art, beauty, racialization, sexuality, and the formation of self through a personal and critical lens.
Filipino-Canadian literary work
Gatchalian has also worked as an editor and literary organizer. Magdaragat, published in 2024, brings together Filipino-Canadian writing across genres and generations. This editorial work places his individual writing within a broader literary and cultural conversation.
His career gives him a distinctive place within contemporary poetry and Canadian literature, where theatre, memoir, poetry, editing, and community work remain closely connected.
Further reading
The Filipino-Canadian Book Festival provides a current biography and publication record. Stop Asian Hate Canada documents Gatchalian’s literary and theatre work.