Lit Mags

I May Be a Snake But I’ll Never Become Your Purse

Three anagram poems by Jia-Rui Cook

I May Be a Snake But I’ll Never Become Your Purse

The Zodiac Placemat Says Snakes Are ‘Wise and Intense With a Tendency Towards Physical Beauty, Vain and High Tempered.’

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Chinese-American

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It Is Faster to Get to No Than Yes

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About the Author

Jia-Rui Cook is a Chinese American writer, editor, and producer in Los Angeles. She is the 2025 winner of the Philip Levine Prize for Poetry, awarded by Fresno State’s Master of Fine Arts Program. Black Lawrence Press will publish her debut poetry book, Soft Beasts, in 2027. Jia-Rui is a 2026 Periplus Fellow and won the 2013 Zócalo Public Square Poetry Prize. Her poetry has recently appeared in Black Fox Literary Magazine, Mom Egg Review, Missouri Review, Puerto del Sol, SWWIM Every Day, and ONLY POEMS. Once a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, she is currently a senior communications officer at the California Wellness Foundation. Jia-Rui can be found on Instagram @funjiable.

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About The Commuter

The Commuter, arriving every Wednesday morning, is our home for poetry, flash prose, and graphic narrative. Sign up for The Commuter newsletter to get every issue straight to your inbox, or join our membership program for access to year-round submissions. EL’s lit mags are supported by the Amazon Literary Partnership Literary Magazine Fund and the Community of Literary Magazines & Presses, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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