Transcrição completa de Creating Space for Marginalized Voices in Poetry

create house? of Poetry. 37 00:04:55,901.27794139 --> 00:05:04,951.27794139 And gosh, I can't even remember when that idea came into my head, but I thought of it and I realized yeah, I'll make this work for sure. 38 00:05:04,961.27794139 --> 00:05:06,571.27794139 This is something I really want to do. 39 00:05:06,571.37794139 --> 00:05:14,184.651666 Yeah, some of New York's scenes in the 90s. 40 00:05:14,631.27794139 --> 00:05:16,111.27794139 That's actually extremely funny. 41 00:05:16,151.27694139 --> 00:05:25,751.27794139 Um, so House of Poetry, I initially started House of Poetry um, well I'll take you back to the roots of Staten Island. 42 00:05:25,751.27794139 --> 00:05:33,586.27794139 In Staten Island there's a big Homeless Shelter or Homeless Donation Center called Project Hospitality. 43 00:05:33,636.27794139 --> 00:05:39,6.27794139 That's something I initially had a great interest in even before, you know, I founded House of Poetry. 44 00:05:39,786.27794139 --> 00:05:47,26.27794139 So my initial plan was to start a literary organization and publish homeless people's writings. 45 00:05:47,366.27794139 --> 00:05:48,866.27794139 You know, give them a voice. 46 00:05:49,186.27794139 --> 00:05:51,536.17794139 Um, but you know, that didn't happen. 47 00:05:52,536.27794139 --> 00:05:54,646.27794139 I'm working on that still, obviously. 48 00:05:55,76.27794139 --> 00:05:58,426.27794139 Um, but initially, that's why it's called House of Poetry. 49 00:05:58,756.27794139 --> 00:06:06,366.27794139 Because, you know, I love the thought that homeless people aren't, um, real homeless people. 50 00:06:07,146.27794139 --> 00:06:08,756.27694139 You know, they have their home. 51 00:06:08,776.27794139 --> 00:06:09,846.27694139 It's within their community. 52 00:06:09,846.27694139 --> 00:06:10,976.27794139 It's within their shelter. 53 00:06:10,986.27694139 --> 00:06:12,826.27694139 What they're really lacking is a house. 54 00:06:13,266.27694139 --> 00:06:15,616.27794139 And House of Poetry is there to provide that. 55 00:06:17,64.652666 --> 00:06:23,196.27794139 That's a feeling that most of us get, even if we already have houses, right? It's a Mm hmm. 56 00:06:23,854.652666 --> 00:06:26,856.27794139 Poetry does offer that to folks For sure. 57 00:06:27,64.652666 --> 00:06:30,964.652666 this feeling of like, Okay, I'm hugged by this writer. 58 00:06:31,284.652666 --> 00:06:35,204.652666 I'm hugged by someone who gets this experience that I have as well. 59 00:06:36,689.652666 --> 00:06:42,189.652666 You also, so you reach out to two populations, it seems, and they do have a lot of overlap among them. 60 00:06:42,729.652666 --> 00:06:44,959.652666 Marginalized folks and homeless people. 61 00:06:45,49.652666 --> 00:06:51,639.651666 You mentioned that it's been a little bit more difficult to get the latter of those two groups to contribute or to participate in this project. 62 00:06:51,649.652666 --> 00:07:01,26.27794139 What challenges have you encountered there? Um, definitely the biggest challenge there would be just contact in general. 63 00:07:01,556.27794139 --> 00:07:17,876.27794139 You know, just being able to say, Hey, let's go up to a really busy homeless shelter and ask them if they have any writers in there? And that itself is, you know, such a big task, not only for me, but for obviously the people who run the shelter there. 64 00:07:18,266.27794139 --> 00:07:30,156.27694139 So I've spent a lot of time volunteering at homeless shelters instead, and I'm trying to make that into my gateway into spreading that literary mission into homeless shelters. 65 00:07:30,839.651666 --> 00:07:37,459.652666 It sounds as though part of the project is not just identifying writers, but also soliciting them, inviting them to write. 66 00:07:37,516.27794139 --> 00:07:44,249.652666 Mm hmm, mm that sound right? I mean, there are folks who might be writers until they find out that they could be. 67 00:07:45,126.27794139 --> 00:07:50,836.27794139 Right, it's really just that thought of self expression, of giving everybody that opportunity no matter what. 68 00:07:52,689.652666 --> 00:08:08,636.27694139 What writers are you inspired by? Ooh, um, The big two standouts when it comes to my voice, when it comes to my activism, there are, it is Toni Morrison and Ocean Vuong, are my two ultimate favorites. 69 00:08:09,176.27794139 --> 00:08:25,151.27794139 Um, Toni Morrison, like, I think when I was a, when I was 15 or 16, I read jazz, and that was like, you know, as readers and as writers, we have these books that kind of just, Like, milestone books, almost. 70 00:08:25,181.27794139 --> 00:08:31,611.27694139 Like, when it comes to, like, contributing to our voice overall, we just have these specific books that we can recall. 71 00:08:31,621.27694139 --> 00:08:34,721.27794139 We're like, yeah, that was the book that made me into the writer that I am. 72 00:08:35,271.27794139 --> 00:08:40,701.27794139 That would have been Toni Morrison's Jazz, and I think Ocean Beyond's Night Sky with Exit Wounds. 73 00:08:41,119.651666 --> 00:08:43,509.652666 Mmm, his first book, not the second. 74 00:08:43,519.652666 --> 00:08:44,359.652666 That's radical. 75 00:08:44,611.27794139 --> 00:08:47,161.27794139 I'm actually a big fan of his poetry. 76 00:08:48,769.651666 --> 00:08:50,999.652666 So, let's go to the first one of those two books. 77 00:08:51,9.652666 --> 00:09:03,371.27794139 What was it about jazz that, you know, took you by was Yeah, it was the fact that Toni Morrison, like again, we're going back to the fact that Toni Morrison didn't comply with grammar. 78 00:09:03,861.27794139 --> 00:09:06,51.27794139 The type of writing, the type of voice she uses. 79 00:09:06,111.27794139 --> 00:09:08,61.27794139 If she wants to say something, she'll say it. 80 00:09:08,661.27794139 --> 00:09:13,671.27694139 Like, no matter if there's commas in the way, if there's periods in the way,

she will say it. 81 00:09:14,41.27794139 --> 00:09:18,631.27794139 And that just makes writing all the most, all the more interesting. 82 00:09:19,141.27794139 --> 00:09:20,281.27794139 Yeah. 83 00:09:21,19.652666 --> 00:09:23,19.652666 And Ocean Vuong's poetry. 84 00:09:23,289.652666 --> 00:09:28,371.27794139 So his second book is the one that, you know, launched him to fame on Earthward Briefly Yeah. 85 00:09:28,451.27794139 --> 00:09:28,961.27794139 Mm hmm. 86 00:09:29,249.652666 --> 00:09:34,209.652666 prose, although it has some sections that are, you know, dabble with poetry or that trouble the boundary between the two. 87 00:09:34,519.651666 --> 00:09:59,881.17794139 What was it about his poetry that interested you? Well, I think it was just the fact that I discovered his poetry first, And that became, you know, such a huge part of my life to say, Hey, there's an Asian American writer right here, right now, using that kind of voice, talking about his kind of experiences, non about, mm hmm, right, exactly, and about, mm hmm. 88 00:10:00,311.27794139 --> 00:10:02,791.27794139 You know, raised by a single mother and everything. 89 00:10:04,131.27794139 --> 00:10:08,41.27794139 Um, it was just that quality of his that really resonated with me. 90 00:10:08,371.27794139 --> 00:10:13,901.27794139 And it was the type of poetry that, again, it comes to the voice I've never heard before. 91 00:10:14,331.27794139 --> 00:10:17,101.27794139 And that ended up influencing my own voice. 92 00:10:17,121.27794139 --> 00:10:20,201.27694139 You know, his metaphors are insane. 93 00:10:21,981.27694139 --> 00:10:28,731.27694139 Really everything, you know, his formatting, his metaphors, his language, dialogue, it's everything. 94 00:10:29,489.652666 --> 00:10:38,409.651666 One of the things that I remember most about his book is the, at the end of it, in the acknowledgment section, which is generally this like, you know, pretty boring, like, addendum to a book. 95 00:10:38,549.652666 --> 00:10:41,231.27794139 Do you remember that section? The acknowledgment It's huge. 96 00:10:41,251.27794139 --> 00:10:42,611.27794139 It's extensive. 97 00:10:42,771.27794139 --> 00:10:45,891.27694139 And there's authors, there's friends, there's family. 98 00:10:46,581.27694139 --> 00:10:48,131.27794139 And I was like, Yeah. 99 00:10:48,131.27794139 --> 00:10:51,671.27694139 if I was to write an acknowledgements list, I'd write something like that. 100 00:10:51,989.651666 --> 00:10:52,679.651666 Totally. 101 00:10:52,719.652666 --> 00:11:04,291.27794139 And it's such a, it's like, it pays homage to just all these people who have shaped him, which is such a humbling thing for a writer to do, to say like, oh my god, all these people, I would not be here if it weren't without them, you know? Yeah. 102 00:11:04,394.652666 --> 00:11:10,664.652666 he cites Lady Gaga too, or just like these folks that you're like, Wow, thank you so much for saying that. 103 00:11:12,336.27794139 --> 00:11:22,266.27794139 You know, it's just so refreshing to see someone really just talk about their entire life in terms of influences. 104 00:11:22,476.27694139 --> 00:11:25,166.27794139 And essentially, like, that is everybody's life. 105 00:11:25,176.27694139 --> 00:11:29,326.27794139 You know, everything we write is some interpolation of something we've read. 106 00:11:29,336.27794139 --> 00:11:32,186.27794139 Everything we say is some interpolation of what we've heard. 107 00:11:32,856.27794139 --> 00:11:36,856.27744139 Everything we do is made up of influences from people that. 108 00:11:36,856.27744139 --> 00:11:37,776.27794139 came before us. 109 00:11:39,194.651666 --> 00:11:43,264.652666 That's a, it's a thought that might bring some people down, but I'm with you. 110 00:11:43,264.652666 --> 00:11:47,621.27794139 I don't think it's a, I don't think it's a Yeah, it's meant to be inspirational. 111 00:11:47,621.27794139 --> 00:11:50,551.27694139 It's meant to say, geniuses came before you. 112 00:11:50,561.27794139 --> 00:11:52,561.27794139 You're made up of, you know, genius. 113 00:11:52,561.27794139 --> 00:11:55,771.27794139 You're made up of everyone that has come before you. 114 00:11:56,449.652666 --> 00:11:56,959.652666 Totally. 115 00:11:56,959.752666 --> 00:12:11,831.27794139 And then you're the new amalgam of all of them, right? You're in your specific point in time, in the world, in your own space, and you bring whatever they gave you and apply it to your own context, to your own background and family, as And that still makes you unique. 116 00:12:11,851.27794139 --> 00:12:13,741.27794139 You're not, you know, not unique because of that. 117 00:12:14,301.27794139 --> 00:12:18,981.27794139 You're just, you're what everyone has given you. 118 00:12:19,839.652666 --> 00:12:20,889.651666 You're part of a lineage. 119 00:12:20,949.651666 --> 00:12:21,419.651666 Totally. 120 00:12:21,419.751666 --> 00:12:34,771.27794139 You cite Kendrick Lamar as another influence? Yeah, I think hip hop is, you know, a huge thing when it comes to writing. 121 00:12:35,121.27694139 --> 00:12:42,791.27794139 In fact, you know, like rappers blow me away because hip hop just uses such complicated, like, rhythm. 122 00:12:44,326.27794139 --> 00:12:48,466.27794139 Um, you know, I think hip hop is so underrated when it comes to poetry. 123 00:12:48,836.27794139 --> 00:12:59,166.27794139 When we come to learning about rhythm, when we come to learning about intonation, the biggest, I think, rapper that influenced my voice was Miss Lauryn Hill. 124 00:12:59,826.27694139 --> 00:13:11,446.27794139 And, you know, at first, like, I listened to Fugees, the score by the Fugees, and You know, I heard the way she said things. 125 00:13:11,466.27794139 --> 00:13:13,286.27794139 I heard the way she enunciated things. 126 00:13:13,636.27794139 --> 00:13:19,926.27794139 I heard the words she used, and I was like, I can't

understand it yet, but I really, really want to. 127 00:13:21,379.652666 --> 00:13:22,679.652666 That's such a beautiful feeling. 128 00:13:23,56.27794139 --> 00:13:23,696.27794139 Mmhmm. 129 00:13:24,644.652666 --> 00:13:33,876.27694139 You're alluding to the fact that there's not too big of a separation between a songwriter and a poet, or, and songwriter broadly interpreted, Yeah. 130 00:13:34,496.27694139 --> 00:13:34,886.27694139 Mmhmm. 131 00:13:35,484.652666 --> 00:13:42,384.652666 they just mix the two mediums, but, but we don't often think of musical artists as poets, too. 132 00:13:42,976.27794139 --> 00:13:43,446.27794139 Mmhmm. 133 00:13:44,414.652666 --> 00:13:58,14.651666 I think of Leonard Cohen, who wrote these beaut who was a poet first, you know, uh, And I don't think he, maybe he wasn't making it as a poem, maybe I'm making that up, but he just kind of like went this other direction and said, okay, these are my poems, now let me sing them. 134 00:13:58,616.27794139 --> 00:14:18,466.27794139 Right, when it comes to like poets who became singers, I think of a really recent singer that I'm a huge fan of, Kara Jackson, who used to be, you know, the National Youth Poet Laureate, and last year she dropped an album, you know, Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love, and it was this folk album that I absolutely loved. 135 00:14:18,486.27794139 --> 00:14:25,886.27794139 You know, I love her poetry, and she dropped that album, and it was It's so beautifully written. 136 00:14:25,886.27794139 --> 00:14:27,296.27794139 It's so beautifully crafted. 137 00:14:27,866.27794139 --> 00:14:33,426.27794139 And I just think, like, the instrumental of music itself is almost poetry. 138 00:14:33,826.27694139 --> 00:14:35,86.27794139 It tells its own story. 139 00:14:35,96.27794139 --> 00:14:36,646.27794139 It creates its own feeling. 140 00:14:37,46.27794139 --> 00:14:38,416.27794139 It has its own rhythm. 141 00:14:39,126.27794139 --> 00:14:40,636.27794139 You know, it's its own language. 142 00:14:41,26.27694139 --> 00:14:42,836.27794139 As well as the lyrics themselves. 143 00:14:42,876.27794139 --> 00:14:48,896.27794139 And I think Kara Jackson's music just really displays that. 144 00:14:50,174.652666 --> 00:14:53,804.652666 I'd love to ask you about the process that you share with some of your writers. 145 00:14:54,74.652666 --> 00:14:56,474.652666 You offer the opportunity for feedback. 146 00:14:56,704.652666 --> 00:15:00,504.652666 It's not, as I understood it, it's not a mandatory element of the process. 147 00:15:01,674.652666 --> 00:15:11,936.27794139 What is that, what is that process of guidance like with them? Ooh, so, yeah, that's a really good question and ultimately it depends on the writer. 148 00:15:11,936.37794139 --> 00:15:22,726.27794139 Um, but, what I think, what, what, what's, what the point of writing is, is to make you feel something. 149 00:15:23,446.27794139 --> 00:15:42,41.27794139 And personally, I think, like, as long as writing makes you feel something as the reader, Poetry or writing has done its job, and so that's what I really prioritize when kind of quote unquote critiquing poems first or providing feedback. 150 00:15:42,791.27794139 --> 00:15:57,531.27794139 And then, you know, when you feel something because of a poem, it naturally draws you back into reading it again, thinking, you know, Oh, what does this mean? What does that mean? And, you know, so I start with the big picture, and then I move on. 151 00:15:58,276.27794139 --> 00:16:02,696.27794139 To those, you know, small lines, to those small images and work on that. 152 00:16:04,29.652666 --> 00:16:15,169.652666 How do you help folks write in a way that leads to the poem being, being one that makes them feel something, makes readers feel something? I think that's a beautiful definition of a poem. 153 00:16:16,866.27794139 --> 00:16:23,706.27794139 I think ultimately, just write what you feel down first. 154 00:16:24,246.27694139 --> 00:16:32,436.27794139 I think that's the most important part is to write your emotions as rawly as you feel them in that moment. 155 00:16:32,776.27794139 --> 00:16:47,316.2779414 And then afterwards, if you want to make that language beautiful, I You know, if you want to turn that into something that even if even things you want other people to read, sometimes you write poetry that you want to keep to yourself because it's just that meaningful. 156 00:16:47,906.2779414 --> 00:16:58,246.2779414 Um, so yeah, once again, you have to prioritize your feelings and your emotions when it comes to writing and then, you know, you polish it. 157 00:16:58,909.652666 --> 00:17:00,666.1779414 Sure, then the Mm hmm. 158 00:17:00,666.2779414 --> 00:17:01,106.2779414 Yeah. 159 00:17:01,106.3779414 --> 00:17:05,176.1769414 Mm hmm. 160 00:17:05,339.651666 --> 00:17:08,86.2769414 of all ages, is that right? Yes. 161 00:17:08,494.652666 --> 00:17:25,306.2779414 How different is working with someone who's 14, as some of your cover artists have been, and someone who's, I don't know, what's the oldest writer you've worked with? Maybe you don't even ask for their I think, I do, I never ask, I never publish them unless they willingly include it into their biography. 162 00:17:25,926.2779414 --> 00:17:29,656.2769414 I think the oldest was 69 years old. 163 00:17:30,884.652666 --> 00:17:53,366.2779414 Why is that a piece that you need them to openly share? Um, well, apart from being just a part of House of Poetry's demographics, just understanding what kind of audience I, You know, maintain or I attract in order to, you know, understand what I'm marketing to, what kind of vision I'm trying to create. 164 00:17:54,926.2779414 --> 00:18:11,26.2779414 Um, it's just having people know that their age is not, you know, something to feel, I guess, ashamed of because I think in the context of the society we live in right now. 165 00:18:11,476.2779414

--> 00:18:13,566.2779414 Everybody has to do everything while they're young. 166 00:18:13,946.2779414 --> 00:18:21,816.2779414 Everybody has to be a prodigy, you know, because, you know, once you pass like, who knows, 20 years old, you're no longer a prodigy. 167 00:18:22,176.2779414 --> 00:18:24,989.652666 You're no longer you know, You're no longer relevant. 168 00:18:25,376.2779414 --> 00:18:29,696.2779414 right? It's like everybody's scared of that plateau when they get older. 169 00:18:31,236.2779414 --> 00:18:37,926.2769414 And the whole point of House of Poetry is just to say, you know, no one's too old to be a poet. 170 00:18:37,926.2779414 --> 00:18:40,316.2779414 No one's too different to be a poet. 171 00:18:41,246.2779414 --> 00:18:42,146.2779414 It doesn't matter. 172 00:18:43,289.652666 --> 00:18:48,709.652666 Your plateau is non existent, or at any age, you're full of possibility. 173 00:18:49,776.2779414 --> 00:18:50,786.2779414 Absolutely, yeah. 174 00:18:51,649.652666 --> 00:18:52,329.652666 So that's cool. 175 00:18:52,339.651666 --> 00:18:58,309.652666 It doesn't, it would also serve as a, as an aid for those who are below the 20 year mark. 176 00:18:58,309.652666 --> 00:19:07,759.652666 I think a 14 year old might not have felt worthy enough of being the cover artist, for instance, and yet this beautiful, this beautiful illustration. 177 00:19:08,116.2779414 --> 00:19:20,706.2769414 you know, It's just about uplifting people of all ages, everybody with, you know, their own struggles, whether about age or ethnicity, or the way they express themselves. 178 00:19:21,541.2779414 --> 00:19:34,631.2779414 House of Poetry is meant to be a place and, you know, a safe place for everybody to kind of achieve the dreams, You know, that they wanted when they're, that they wanted when they were younger or that they want to achieve when they're older. 179 00:19:34,631.3779414 --> 00:19:46,581.2779414 Mm about the, the urge to achieve at an early age, and I think there's no place where that's more hmm. 180 00:19:46,934.651666 --> 00:19:54,571.2779414 in a fierce and, I would only imagine, kind of uncomfortable way than in an American high school right Yeah. 181 00:19:55,14.651666 --> 00:19:59,24.652666 I'm a few years out of high school, um, more than if, probably like 10. 182 00:19:59,264.652666 --> 00:20:00,244.652666 Let's say, let's say 10. 183 00:20:00,756.2779414 --> 00:20:03,511.1779414 hmm. 184 00:20:03,574.652666 --> 00:20:18,291.2779414 it like to be in high school in America right now? What's it like to be a It, of course, for one, it depends on the environment you're in, kind of maybe the region you're in. 185 00:20:19,121.2779414 --> 00:20:32,861.2779414 But I think America's a place where creative expression is so valuable, um, and is so uplifted and recognized. 186 00:20:33,391.2779414 --> 00:20:37,301.2779414 And I guess that's both a good thing and a bad thing. 187 00:20:37,711.2779414 --> 00:20:44,296.2779414 Because You know, then creative expression is almost sometimes to a point commodified. 188 00:20:45,186.2779414 --> 00:20:57,236.2779414 Where it becomes a competition to say, Hey, who can, you know, express themselves the best? Who can express themselves in a way where, you know, eventually you're going to have to make money when you graduate and you're going to have to get that job. 189 00:20:58,536.2779414 --> 00:21:35,916.2779414 And so, it's, um, It's like, you want to have a hobby, but like, There's kind of this feeling almost that that hobby is gonna have to become monetized one way or another and that's a big pressure of just living in an American society as a whole and I guess, you know, this capitalist society where a lot of it it's about money making in terms of, you know, if I want to do something it means I'm going to eventually have to be a professional at that when that's not always the case where you sometimes you just want to creatively express yourself. 190 00:21:36,966.2779414 --> 00:21:39,646.2779414 For the, you know, sole purpose of expressing herself. 191 00:21:41,124.652666 --> 00:21:44,334.652666 Yeah, and we don't even have to go to the monetizing aspect of it. 192 00:21:44,334.652666 --> 00:21:57,244.651666 It has to help you get into college, right? The skill, this hobby that you're passionate about, uh, that's great, but how will you describe it, you know, in your application? It's also part of the pressure. 193 00:21:58,746.3106081 --> 00:22:09,184.651666 would among high school students right now? Uh, is, is there more than there once was? I remember it being pretty incessant then, too. 194 00:22:09,544.651666 --> 00:22:19,246.2779414 You know, A feeling of having to build up your curriculum to, to get into colleges, is it still that fierce? so. 195 00:22:19,266.2779414 --> 00:22:38,796.2769414 I'm definitely like, no college, you know, guidance counselor, but for what I, can say as a high schooler, um, you know, there's a big culture around ivy leagues or, you know, top 10 schools or whatever that a lot of high school kids end up dedicating their entire lives striving for. 196 00:22:40,156.2769414 --> 00:22:51,376.2779414 And it becomes, it kind of sets that mentality that I have to kind of market myself into something that other people want. 197 00:22:52,766.2779414 --> 00:23:00,166.2779414 When at the end of the day, the Ivy League is not to choose you because, you know, they love you, which is a hard truth. 198 00:23:00,606.2779414 --> 00:23:02,696.2779414 They choose you because they want to brand you. 199 00:23:03,206.2769414 --> 00:23:07,506.2774414 And they want you to be successful because that way you can recommend them to other students in the future. 200 00:23:07,506.2774414 --> 00:23:10,6.2769414 And, ultimately, they can make more money. 201 00:23:10,26.2779414 --> 00:23:14,546.2779414 And that is the hard truth to accept as an overachieving high schooler. 202

00:23:14,576.2779414 --> 00:23:21,856.2779414 Is that, ultimately, You have to understand that your self worth comes from yourself. 203 00:23:22,176.2779414 --> 00:23:24,496.2779414 That these Ivy Leagues want you. 204 00:23:24,536.2779414 --> 00:23:27,936.2779414 You don't want You're not supposed to want these Ivy Leagues. 205 00:23:28,596.2779414 --> 00:23:30,366.2779414 You know, if that does make sense. 206 00:23:30,366.3779414 --> 00:23:33,137.1779414 Right. 207 00:23:33,184.652666 --> 00:23:50,864.651666 I reached myself like at this point at one, you know, having strived to be accepted by top colleges, once you either you gain those, those admissions or you, you don't, there, there is a day after that where then you have been taught to strive towards the acceptance of some entity above you. 208 00:23:51,674.652666 --> 00:23:57,524.652666 And then it's like, what entity do I strive for? Now if there, you don't, you know, you don't apply to college anymore after you've done it. 209 00:23:57,824.652666 --> 00:24:10,274.652666 You can apply to grad school and employers and this and that, but that, that, that upwards drive towards acceptance by this supposedly powerful and prestigious entity is kind of like drops away. 210 00:24:10,364.652666 --> 00:24:13,94.652666 And you're like, and you're, and you're thinking about that self worth. 211 00:24:13,94.652666 --> 00:24:13,334.652666 Go ahead. 212 00:24:13,371.2779414 --> 00:24:13,381.2779414 hmm. 213 00:24:14,101.2779414 --> 00:24:32,371.2779414 And it's just that, again, that feeling of having to be a prodigy, being scared of plateauing, you know, thinking that high school is going to be your peak because of, almost like, the image that top schools have set and the way top schools have marketed themselves to define you. 214 00:24:33,549.652666 --> 00:24:33,839.652666 Yeah. 215 00:24:34,81.2779414 --> 00:24:36,921.2779414 very easy to, you know, be trapped in that. 216 00:24:39,219.652666 --> 00:24:39,799.652666 Totally. 217 00:24:40,69.652666 --> 00:24:51,796.2779414 How do you non trap yourself? It sounds like you're pretty, pretty well, um, informed about this potential path that you're, you've decided you're not taking, you Uh, I mean, I'm self aware, but it doesn't mean that I'm not trapped. 218 00:24:51,916.2779414 --> 00:24:53,376.2779414 I can say that for sure. 219 00:24:53,706.2779414 --> 00:25:07,976.2779414 Um, there's definitely still that feeling, and, you know? but I think starting organizations such as House of Poetry, that's something I can continue in college no matter what college I go to. 220 00:25:08,226.2779414 --> 00:25:13,761.1779414 That's something that I've put into myself rather than what something a college has put into me. 221 00:25:14,231.2779414 --> 00:25:15,1.2779414 Put into me. 222 00:25:15,511.2779414 --> 00:25:23,661.2779414 I know I have the capability of keeping House of Poetry and keeping that mission alive no matter, you know, what.

223 00:25:23,671.2779414 --> 00:25:38,11.2779414 So really it's my own initiative that keeps me going knowing that I can do this all on my own, you know, and that's is what is going to get me into a college rather than having a college put that in me. 224 00:25:39,269.651666 --> 00:25:40,79.652666 That's beautiful. 225 00:25:40,371.2779414 --> 00:25:41,401.3112747 Mm hmm. 226 00:25:41,401.3112747 --> 00:25:42,501.1779414 Mm hmm. 227 00:25:43,149.652666 --> 00:25:46,199.652666 You wore and you still wear a lot of hats within the organization. 228 00:25:46,229.652666 --> 00:25:50,849.652666 I think you're outreach manager and editor and social media managers at once. 229 00:25:51,289.652666 --> 00:25:53,209.652666 I think you're hiring for those positions right now. 230 00:25:54,69.652666 --> 00:26:13,446.2779414 How did you acquire all those skills? Do you find yourself pretty savvy with the social medias? Um, with social media, I mean, I think I've had to pick up a lot of skills while doing this, and that essentially has been extremely beneficial to me. 231 00:26:14,806.2779414 --> 00:26:23,826.2779414 When it comes to social media, like, I mean, I'm a high schooler, So I'm kind of on that every single day, almost every single hour, I have to say. 232 00:26:24,326.2779414 --> 00:26:37,271.2779414 Um, and it's kind of That I've grown to cultivate myself as someone who runs House of Poetry, you know, an organization with a specific mission in mind. 233 00:26:38,811.2769414 --> 00:26:48,191.2779414 So it really comes down to interacting with a lot of people, and luckily with House of Poetry, I've managed to interact with many brilliant people. 234 00:26:49,331.2779414 --> 00:27:00,121.2779414 And, you know, even in real life, like, I've You know, I've seen events on social media and I went to them in real life, and there I met tons of brilliant people, you know, in New York. 235 00:27:00,391.2779414 --> 00:27:07,371.2779414 So yeah, social media is a great place if you know how to use it responsibly, I'll say. 236 00:27:08,289.652666 --> 00:27:26,851.2779414 So you use it to meet your writers and then do you guys have video calls? Or how does the interaction work with them? Um, so we communicate most often through emails, and I mean, yeah, when it comes to, you know, say questions. 237 00:27:27,376.2779414 --> 00:27:39,836.2779414 Or, in fact, there was an artist that I recently just called back or emailed back because they submitted an art cover for my second issue and they weren't selected at the time. 238 00:27:40,196.2779414 --> 00:27:43,756.2779414 But just now, I was like, that was a brilliant artist. 239 00:27:44,146.2769414 --> 00:27:51,776.2779414 And, you know, I, I emailed them back and they responded and I won't spoil, but they're going to be the cover for issue three. 240 00:27:53,6.2779414 --> 00:28:03,866.2779414 So it's really, like, It's just really amazing to be able to communicate with a lot of people and understand their experiences, for sure. 241 00:28:04,804.652666 --> 00:28:13,336.2779414 Does your high school have publications that you have either written for or participated with? Yeah, so my high school has two publications. 242 00:28:13,386.2779414 --> 00:28:16,376.2779414 One is called The Quill, the other is called Images. 243 00:28:16,886.2769414 --> 00:28:34,81.2769414 And You know, both of them run with a very similar mindset, and it's just to, you know, really identify campus life, identify who's doing what, you know, who can we really lift up, Yeah, kind of organizations, you know, can we talk about. 244 00:28:34,91.2769414 --> 00:28:45,271.2769414 So it's, like, all a matter of uplifting others and being, binding ourselves to a community that we're all respected and loved in. 245 00:28:45,954.652666 --> 00:28:50,101.2779414 Yeah, so have you, um, contributed to either of these Mm hmm. 246 00:28:50,141.2779414 --> 00:28:53,551.2779414 So, some things I've written. 247 00:28:53,551.2779414 --> 00:28:58,771.2779414 Currently, I'm in the process of writing a article about the Wish and Crane Project. 248 00:28:58,811.2779414 --> 00:29:01,741.2779414 As I mentioned, another organization I was part of. 249 00:29:01,841.2769414 --> 00:29:06,671.2779414 But besides that, I think one thing what we do is really fun is we interview new teachers. 250 00:29:07,411.2779414 --> 00:29:12,861.2779414 And we're able to grasp, you know, what kind of their lifestyle is like or what their beliefs are like. 251 00:29:13,271.2779414 --> 00:29:16,406.1779414 And, so that in itself is just such a fun thing. 252 00:29:16,706.2779414 --> 00:29:25,756.2779414 You know, not only a great way to understand, but a fun way to understand new teachers, and that becomes, you know, publicized. 253 00:29:26,176.2779414 --> 00:29:31,126.2769414 So, yeah, it's a great way to understand not only students, but faculty as well. 254 00:29:32,164.652666 --> 00:29:32,714.652666 Totally. 255 00:29:32,904.652666 --> 00:29:57,149.652666 I was part of publications in high school as well and they definitely give you this sense of You know, being able to participate in whatever the environment is around you, interviewing mayors or principals or whatever it might be, folks with, folks in positions of power, but then you're reminded that you as well, you know, as a, as an asker, as a question asker, as a journalist in, in, in quotes, but also not in quotes, you're a seeker of information in your community. 256 00:29:57,389.652666 --> 00:30:02,589.652666 It's a pretty empowering thing to find out that you It definitely, participate that way. 257 00:30:04,479.652666 --> 00:30:04,839.652666 Yeah. 258 00:30:06,269.652666 --> 00:30:08,289.652666 So, I Go ahead. 259 00:30:08,486.2779414 --> 00:30:11,526.2769414 oh, I was gonna say, definitely, you know, definitely. 260 00:30:12,161.2779414 --> 00:30:19,811.2779414 You know, being in a room of creatives in your own school,

and being in a room of people who have the same goal as you. 261 00:30:19,811.2779414 --> 00:30:23,361.2779414 And this applies to every organization, not just necessarily a magazine. 262 00:30:24,31.2779414 --> 00:30:32,231.2779414 But with magazines, you're allowed to be creative, you're allowed to contribute your own thoughts and then lead on your own thoughts, act on your own thoughts. 263 00:30:32,281.2779414 --> 00:30:40,891.2769414 And so, it's just that feeling of, you know, everybody has, as you said, that kind of participation, and that feels good. 264 00:30:41,901.2779414 --> 00:30:46,491.2779414 You know, powerful to have a voice like that, especially in your school community. 265 00:30:47,729.652666 --> 00:30:59,471.2779414 If someone wanted to find your writing online, where might they go? And also, do you happen to have anything with you now that you'd like to read? Um, as a matter of fact, I do. 266 00:30:59,901.2779414 --> 00:31:00,831.2769414 I don't know. 267 00:31:01,431.2769414 --> 00:31:05,81.2769414 I can't, off the top of my head, tell you where you could find my writing. 268 00:31:05,111.2779414 --> 00:31:07,761.2769414 I don't think I necessarily publish them online. 269 00:31:08,411.2769414 --> 00:31:13,921.2779414 If they were, a journal would have published them online because I constantly, constantly submit. 270 00:31:14,931.2769414 --> 00:31:22,456.2779414 Um, But I was definitely thinking of incorporating my own writing into House of Poetry, maybe displaying some of that. 271 00:31:23,586.2779414 --> 00:31:32,109.652666 You know, but at the moment, I think even I as a creative, I'm almost too shy to share that poetry with a large feel that. 272 00:31:32,539.652666 --> 00:31:33,189.652666 I feel that. 273 00:31:33,989.652666 --> 00:31:35,719.652666 You said you have something with you here. 274 00:31:36,19.652666 --> 00:31:46,116.2779414 I'd love Yeah, so, yeah, this is a recent poem I've written, and it's kind of about a toxic relationship. 275 00:31:46,161.3779414 --> 00:31:51,991.2779414 Um, or like power indifference between a man and a woman in a relationship. 276 00:31:53,221.2779414 --> 00:31:55,361.2779414 And it's called Breaching the Waters. 277 00:31:56,631.2769414 --> 00:31:57,731.2769414 Um, okay. 278 00:31:58,461.2779414 --> 00:32:05,671.2779414 First season clings to us like the aroma of sickness, and we are a grapevine of bombs churning wine between bedsheets. 279 00:32:06,171.2779414 --> 00:32:17,276.2779414 Damp enough to ferment, but two fingertips away from love Her shoulder blades melt first, waiting to, die in order to stay, everything opened but her hair tucked. 280 00:32:17,906.2779414 --> 00:32:23,846.2769414 There are splinters on the headboard where bite marks should be, echoes instead of footprints. 281 00:32:24,566.2779414 --> 00:32:30,306.1779414 There are walls instead of skin, hairs instead of rivers, she is bent like the word if. 282 00:32:31,806.2779414 --> 00:32:35,256.2779414 Her flesh softens like mercury, giving way to fingernails. 283 00:32:35,266.2779414 --> 00:32:36,976.2779414 Her mouth drops like sand. 284 00:32:37,286.2779414 --> 00:32:40,596.2779414 She breathes to speak, but only her chest answers. 285 00:32:41,751.2779414 --> 00:32:47,91.2779414 Across the ocean, meet a fortress instead of a church where the last man simmers. 286 00:32:47,521.2779414 --> 00:32:53,851.2769414 He guards his back instead of preying on a set of lips, his hair a mirror of waves, blacker than silence. 287 00:32:54,401.2779414 --> 00:33:02,551.2779414 He molds with stolen hands and ribboned mouths, jerking love because he cannot thirst for long, much less drink, much less swim. 288 00:33:04,1.2779414 --> 00:33:06,691.2779414 We are drunk off names we cannot pronounce. 289 00:33:06,731.2779414 --> 00:33:08,901.2779414 Lord, forgive us, we are sinners. 290 00:33:09,376.2779414 --> 00:33:11,446.2779414 But the water is cleansing him already. 291 00:33:12,246.2779414 --> 00:33:16,106.2779414 In the night's climax, nobody surrounds us but our memories. 292 00:33:16,766.2779414 --> 00:33:19,336.2779414 Daggers of light zip as we cry. 293 00:33:19,346.2769414 --> 00:33:21,336.2769414 Fire flies from our tongues. 294 00:33:21,636.2769414 --> 00:33:24,266.2779414 Two flames, hoping to kill to survive. 295 00:33:24,596.2769414 --> 00:33:27,216.2769414 Watching as our tears fly like sparks. 296 00:33:32,469.652666 --> 00:33:33,139.652666 Thank you. 297 00:33:33,986.2769414 --> 00:33:34,836.2769414 No problem. 298 00:33:34,836.3769414 --> 00:33:38,786.1779414 Yeah. 299 00:33:38,999.652666 --> 00:33:41,574.652666 just The third person. 300 00:33:43,254.652666 --> 00:33:46,794.652666 The third person observer of this toxicity. 301 00:33:47,264.652666 --> 00:33:50,14.652666 And the toxicity on the body, too. 302 00:33:50,24.651666 --> 00:33:51,806.2779414 So much carnal Yeah. 303 00:33:52,406.2779414 --> 00:33:58,656.2779414 A lot of skin, You know, being compared to like inanimate objects. 304 00:33:59,116.2779414 --> 00:34:04,926.2779414 It's kind of this dehumanization of people and toxic relationships, especially the victim. 305 00:34:04,926.3779414 --> 00:34:06,794.3379414 Right. 306 00:34:06,794.3379414 --> 00:34:12,889.652666 Mm he, we structure, where it's a lot of she's, a lot of he's, and we's. 307 00:34:13,159.652666 --> 00:34:17,549.652666 I wonder, I'd love to see this written eventually, but to see how it looks on the page. 308 00:34:17,959.652666 --> 00:34:22,769.651666 I heard you say it, and it's a different experience we know to read and to hear poetry. 309 00:34:23,59.652666 --> 00:34:26,499.651666 What does it look like on the page? Tell me about the grammar, the capitalization. 310 00:34:27,986.2779414 --> 00:34:37,406.2779414 Yeah, um, so, you know, you've heard that I switch a lot between You know, third person and first person. 311 00:34:37,866.2779414 -->

00:34:51,56.2769414 And so, that essentially Is a gap between, you know, maybe there's a group of stanzas in third person, then, you know, a break, a physically written break, and then, you know, we switch to we. 312 00:34:51,956.2779414 --> 00:35:05,6.2779414 And essentially what I hope to do with that is, Be able to highlight the difference between someone who's outside and observing a toxic relationship, knowing it's toxic, and what the people within that relationship feel. 313 00:35:05,476.2779414 --> 00:35:10,626.2769414 Because most people in toxic relationships, they might not truly understand the extent of what that is. 314 00:35:11,226.2779414 --> 00:35:15,116.2779414 And so it's really about conveying both perspectives at the same time. 315 00:35:16,749.651666 --> 00:35:21,746.2779414 Is it a common feature in your poetry that you might change perspectives? Uh, yeah. 316 00:35:23,6.2779414 --> 00:35:30,266.2769414 I definitely love, you know, writing from different voices at the same time regarding the same, you know, matter. 317 00:35:31,214.652666 --> 00:35:31,754.652666 Yeah. 318 00:35:31,904.652666 --> 00:35:40,94.652666 Well, it, it's proof of the fact that once we look through different eyes, we do see a different shade of that, of that relationship, of that reality, whatever it might be. 319 00:35:40,724.652666 --> 00:35:46,754.652666 Uh, it also lends distrust in a very beautiful sense to any one narrative or any one view. 320 00:35:47,986.2779414 --> 00:35:59,336.2779414 Yeah, it's so important to understand perspective And voice when you're writing poetry and I, you know, it's fun to really play around with that, to really create different characters. 321 00:36:00,426.2779414 --> 00:36:04,126.2779414 All in the same, you know, poem or writing. 322 00:36:05,939.652666 --> 00:36:09,384.652666 And the capitalization, uh, and the sentence structure. 323 00:36:09,384.652666 --> 00:36:14,606.2779414 Do you have periods there or not really? So I do have periods. 324 00:36:14,656.2779414 --> 00:36:30,76.2779414 I think, you know, this is, I write this, you know, and I capitalize everything because I really? want this to be almost like a matter of factly poem because it's meant to display something that's, you know, real. 325 00:36:30,86.2779414 --> 00:36:42,496.2779414 Something that's, you know, when people tend to, Um, You know, make everything lowercase, remove punctuation, which I do that a lot and I love doing that and I think it creates a really unique voice. 326 00:36:42,986.2779414 --> 00:36:59,876.1779414 But in matters such as this poem, you know, it's meant to be what reality is and I think I try to use grammar as as correctly as I can to say it. 327 00:37:00,94.652666 --> 00:37:00,904.652666 appreciate that. 328 00:37:00,904.652666 --> 00:37:06,484.652666 You want to just state things as they happened, right? Matter of fact, a period works great for that. 329 00:37:06,634.652666 --> 00:37:08,284.652666 It's it's declarative. 330 00:37:08,614.652666 --> 00:37:11,636.2779414 It just says this is what happened Mm hmm. 331 00:37:11,794.652666 --> 00:37:16,444.652666 with that face, you know, just kinda like, here's the, here's the, here's the facts. 332 00:37:20,604.652666 --> 00:37:26,424.652666 What's it like being a poet in New York especially? I think it's such a, such a city for, for poetry. 333 00:37:27,224.652666 --> 00:37:29,174.652666 And you're instead an island specifically, I think. 334 00:37:29,616.2769414 --> 00:37:30,36.2769414 Mm hmm. 335 00:37:30,66.2779414 --> 00:37:30,556.2779414 I am. 336 00:37:31,56.2779414 --> 00:37:42,346.2769414 Um, One thing about being a writer, and I don't know if it's like that writer gene in me or that kind of writing personality that I have, I love being in the city. 337 00:37:42,836.2779414 --> 00:37:43,216.2779414 I think. 338 00:37:43,216.2779414 --> 00:37:53,476.2779414 it's such, It's like, You know, to a lot of people it's overwhelming, and, you know, at some point I do agree that sitting can be overwhelming, but at the same time there's so much to take in. 339 00:37:54,136.2779414 --> 00:38:00,946.2779414 There's so much, you know, information to see, and as a writer, that's something that, you know, I love. 340 00:38:00,946.2779414 --> 00:38:02,776.2769414 There's so much to take in. 341 00:38:04,236.2769414 --> 00:38:12,126.2779414 And as a writer who loves to write about everything all the time, that is something that's, you know, really important to me. 342 00:38:12,824.652666 --> 00:38:14,184.652666 It's stimulating. 343 00:38:14,391.2779414 --> 00:38:14,961.2779414 hmm. 344 00:38:15,354.652666 --> 00:38:27,284.651666 The same thing that folks sometimes dislike about a big city, that's chaotic, it's uh, and I've said these things so I don't want to mock those folks, but like, it's chaotic or Mm noisy, uh, you find inspiration in that. 345 00:38:28,81.2779414 --> 00:38:28,561.2779414 Yeah. 346 00:38:29,261.2779414 --> 00:38:36,561.2779414 I think, you know, and also New York is just kind of this huge, I guess, melting pot of cultures. 347 00:38:37,91.2769414 --> 00:38:41,781.2779414 And especially when it comes to writing, culture is a really important thing, and identity is a very important thing. 348 00:38:42,431.2779414 --> 00:38:46,871.2769414 And, you know, New York City just has so many different types of people. 349 00:38:46,871.2779414 --> 00:38:46,936.1779414 Mm hmm. 350 00:38:47,676.2779414 --> 00:39:16,906.1779414 I've been to Slam Poetry in Manhattan before and, you know, it has some of the most talented people I've ever heard there when it was just a small like poetry event and yet some of the most talented people there, you know, I heard and it was so inspirational to be able to just be there for like a few hours Yeah. 351 00:39:16,954.651666 --> 00:39:17,844.651666 some computer work. 352 00:39:18,989.652666 --> 00:39:25,139.652666 You know, and my house

is sufficiently stimulating between the cat and the tree and the wind and poetry is everywhere we know. 353 00:39:25,149.652666 --> 00:39:33,459.652666 But when I finally left and got on the bus and went out to a yoga class, I enjoyed the ride thoroughly. 354 00:39:34,89.652666 --> 00:39:37,689.552666 Just to see thousands of people around me. 355 00:39:38,409.652666 --> 00:39:40,996.2779414 Moving at such speeds, with Yeah. 356 00:39:41,219.652666 --> 00:39:43,69.652666 and different lives all around you. 357 00:39:43,139.652666 --> 00:40:02,844.652666 It's, recently I was reintroduced to this beautiful reminder by Einstein, who we don't think of as a poet, but this reminder definitely fits within the characteristics of poetry, that you can choose whether to see life, Completely as a miracle or entirely not as a miracle. 358 00:40:02,854.652666 --> 00:40:06,564.652666 So like, everything as a miracle or nothing as a miracle are the two options there. 359 00:40:06,574.652666 --> 00:40:09,984.652666 And poetry invites us to see the whole city as a miracle. 360 00:40:10,336.2779414 --> 00:40:10,346.2779414 hmm. 361 00:40:10,356.2779414 --> 00:40:31,96.2779414 Yeah, like, Poetry, it's just, you know, where other people may see things as stimulating, overstimulating, you know, I see it as immersive and, you know, diverse and it's just such a lively environment to be in. 362 00:40:33,654.651666 --> 00:40:41,421.2779414 Do you have a sense of what you'd like to study in college? Um, I think a blend between English and psych. 363 00:40:42,321.2779414 --> 00:40:47,591.2779414 Two things that I think are kind of connected to a point. 364 00:40:47,591.2779414 --> 00:40:50,1.2779414 Just understanding the way the human mind works. 365 00:40:50,31.2769414 --> 00:40:51,831.2779414 How perspective works. 366 00:40:52,761.2769414 --> 00:40:54,641.2769414 So, yeah. 367 00:40:54,841.2769414 --> 00:41:01,61.2779414 And I think, you know, those two things really came hand in hand as an interest or as interests to me. 368 00:41:01,824.652666 --> 00:41:03,144.652666 you see them as connected. 369 00:41:03,821.2769414 --> 00:41:04,161.2769414 Mhm. 370 00:41:05,811.2779414 --> 00:41:16,241.2779414 I think, like, essentially, poetry is almost like, if you try hard enough, that is a gateway to understanding psychology, understanding the way people think. 371 00:41:16,831.2769414 --> 00:41:32,431.2779414 And obviously there are different types of, you know, psychology, but what I think of when I think of psychology is, I think of understanding personality, and understanding traits, And understanding, you know, how people choose to act, how people choose to think. 372 00:41:33,191.2779414 --> 00:41:37,941.2779414 And, um, That's just something you see so often in writing. 373 00:41:38,281.2779414 --> 00:41:40,991.2779414 Like, not only poetry, but writing of all types. 374 00:41:42,74.652666 --> 00:41:48,709.652666 And you would hear a similar being made on the side of of psychology. 375 00:41:48,709.752666 --> 00:41:51,299.652666 And you're, as you said, there are so many different types. 376 00:41:51,689.652666 --> 00:41:58,339.652666 Um, but one school among many psychoanalysis sees us as the product of our words. 377 00:41:58,639.652666 --> 00:42:03,399.652666 That the ways that we speak are the ways our minds have been structured. 378 00:42:03,699.651666 --> 00:42:05,919.652666 That the language is the origin of the self. 379 00:42:06,171.2779414 --> 00:42:06,711.2779414 Mm hmm. 380 00:42:07,909.652666 --> 00:42:12,519.652666 it's a completely, uh, thorough link between those two. 381 00:42:12,961.2779414 --> 00:42:14,311.2769414 Yeah, I love that. 382 00:42:14,381.2779414 --> 00:42:22,661.2779414 You know, just knowing that everything you say is something that you've just, part of who you are. 383 00:42:22,681.2779414 --> 00:42:26,366.2779414 Everything you say is Just makes up yourself. 384 00:42:26,366.2779414 --> 00:42:32,206.2779414 And I think language, like you said, is just such a big part of society. 385 00:42:32,216.2779414 --> 00:42:50,196.2779414 In fact, if not the backbone of society and the way people think, you know, you look at activists, you look at, you know, speakers and you realize language is what's behind every action we make as a society and as people. 386 00:42:52,644.652666 --> 00:42:53,164.652666 Totally. 387 00:42:53,254.652666 --> 00:42:57,64.652666 It makes or breaks a system, or a movement, or a person. 388 00:42:57,524.652666 --> 00:42:58,524.652666 Yeah, for sure. 389 00:42:59,214.652666 --> 00:43:10,741.2779414 So, uh, what's your vision for House of Poetry further down the line? You guys have your third issue coming out soon, I think? Uh, maybe in April, since submissions are closing on the 10th. 390 00:43:11,584.652666 --> 00:43:12,234.652666 Okay. 391 00:43:12,374.652666 --> 00:43:12,904.652666 Well, okay. 392 00:43:13,24.652666 --> 00:43:19,114.652666 I don't think this show will be out by then, but maybe for the fourth issue, folks can be invited to contribute. 393 00:43:19,114.652666 --> 00:43:21,964.652666 So tell me about the game plan for the next couple months. 394 00:43:22,631.2779414 --> 00:43:27,581.2779414 Uh, I'm really hoping to create a team for myself. 395 00:43:27,621.2779414 --> 00:43:35,191.2779414 As you said before, you know, I'm doing all this stuff, and I would love to just have a team of brilliant people, you know. 396 00:43:35,526.2779414 --> 00:43:45,316.2779414 Not to like work for me, but to work with and be able to understand their contributions and understand what other people want in terms of the future of House of Poetry. 397 00:43:46,816.2769414 --> 00:43:50,526.2779414 And also hopefully introduce themes into each issue. 398 00:43:50,536.2779414 --> 00:43:52,946.2779414 So far, everything's been on themes. 399 00:43:52,946.2789414 --> 00:44:03,666.2779414 We've been, um, I've been accepting

poetry of all themes, but hopefully, you know, I can create a strong body of work that really just works. 400 00:44:03,696.2779414 --> 00:44:07,501.2779414 And, you know, You know, it's cohesive, but unique at the same time. 401 00:44:08,564.652666 --> 00:44:25,81.2779414 How do you think you might choose those themes later on? And are you thinking nouns, verbs, sentences as themes? I'd love definitely, um, it could even come down to like current events or current feelings, especially, you know, the world. 402 00:44:25,621.2779414 --> 00:44:29,571.2779414 Right now we have conflict going on in so many places. 403 00:44:30,431.2779414 --> 00:44:34,881.2779414 Um, really I've been thinking just feeling. 404 00:44:36,36.2779414 --> 00:44:42,506.2779414 You know, just the sort of feeling, you know, whether it can be liberation or chaos. 405 00:44:44,76.2779414 --> 00:44:47,896.2779414 Even, you know, which you could say they're almost the same thing at some point. 406 00:44:48,596.2779414 --> 00:44:52,726.2779414 It just, yeah, I think it has to do with the way people are feeling. 407 00:45:00,966.2779414 --> 00:45:19,336.2774414 Yeah, so, I think, you know, um, I guess not to digress too much, but almost the fact that, yeah, but almost like the fact that people want to be free. 408 00:45:19,336.2774414 --> 00:45:21,986.2769414 And I think language wants to be free. 409 00:45:22,906.2779414 --> 00:45:34,546.2769414 I think there's, you know, especially when it comes to poetry, you could write messy poetry and that ultimately still becomes beautiful because that's your liberated thoughts. 410 00:45:34,766.2779414 --> 00:45:36,491.1779414 You know, that's beautiful. 411 00:45:36,831.2779414 --> 00:45:45,891.2779414 How you openly express yourself without any fear and You know, that can, be just as chaotic, but what it is, is liberating when it comes to language. 412 00:45:46,121.2779414 --> 00:45:50,71.2779414 When it comes to poetry, that's, you know, it's such an abstract form of writing. 413 00:45:51,719.652666 --> 00:45:52,109.652666 yeah. 414 00:45:52,169.652666 --> 00:46:00,489.652666 Visuals come to mind as I hear you say that, of chaos assembling into shapes or shapes disassembling into chaos and, and vice versa. 415 00:46:00,609.652666 --> 00:46:06,609.652666 There is, there, there is that, that original spilling out that you mentioned as the, the, the origin of a poem. 416 00:46:06,789.652666 --> 00:46:08,109.652666 Just write how you feel. 417 00:46:08,499.652666 --> 00:46:16,539.652666 But of course it's, it's the, the, uh, the famous shitty first draft is what results the chaos, the chaotic and uncontrolled. 418 00:46:18,949.652666 --> 00:46:33,549.652666 Spillover of all the contents of the mind, which then need to be organized, um, as part of that process of not liberation, I guess, but, but synthesizing, organizing towards some sort of product that can be shared. 419 00:46:33,971.2779414 --> 00:46:34,421.2779414 Right. 420 00:46:34,881.2779414 --> 00:46:35,591.2779414 Absolutely. 421 00:46:35,591.2779414 --> 00:46:36,11.2779414 Yeah. 422 00:46:37,529.652666 --> 00:46:44,409.652666 And event spaces and beyond, you know, bringing, bringing House of Poetry into the physical world. 423 00:46:44,801.2779414 --> 00:46:45,271.2779414 Mm hmm. 424 00:46:45,921.2779414 --> 00:46:55,741.2779414 Yeah, so hopefully, you know, soon, I'll be able to establish, um, printed versions of House of Poetry. 425 00:46:56,421.2789414 --> 00:47:08,551.2779414 Um, it came down to, like, ultimately, at the moment, it's about, you know, making sure I have the author's consent, the artist's consent of publishing, and I introduced that into my new form. 426 00:47:09,436.2779414 --> 00:47:13,556.2779414 So, I'm confident in Issue 3 being published physically. 427 00:47:14,266.2779414 --> 00:47:19,46.2769414 So, that is something That's definitely going to come in the near future. 428 00:47:19,369.652666 --> 00:47:20,409.651666 That's super exciting. 429 00:47:20,576.2779414 --> 00:47:24,236.2779414 right, and hopefully Issue 1, Issue 2 as well. 430 00:47:24,506.2779414 --> 00:47:28,406.2769414 But there's still maybe some kinks that, you know, has to be worked out first. 431 00:47:28,879.652666 --> 00:47:31,266.2769414 In order to print them, you mean? Mhm. 432 00:47:32,859.652666 --> 00:47:43,221.2779414 What does that mean? That there are certain pages that are unprintable? Or, what does that, Um, I guess it just has to do with the transparency between the publisher and the author. 433 00:47:43,841.2779414 --> 00:47:52,121.2779414 I guess when it came to, you know, making issue one and two, I'd only really thought of online publishing. 434 00:47:53,151.2779414 --> 00:47:59,511.2779414 So, I wasn't sure if that transparency completely came through in terms of the authors that I chose to submit. 435 00:48:01,11.2779414 --> 00:48:14,11.2779414 But yeah, I'm also hopefully going to publish Issue 1 and Issue 2 physically because I know there are authors that are also asking for that and a lot of authors just want to be able to hold their work. 436 00:48:14,151.2779414 --> 00:48:16,71.2779414 So, that's one thing for sure. 437 00:48:16,649.652666 --> 00:48:21,479.652666 I appreciate how much you involve the writers and whatever their original intentions might have been. 438 00:48:21,499.652666 --> 00:48:22,489.652666 That's really noble. 439 00:48:23,169.652666 --> 00:48:27,39.652666 Um, and so, printing the third issue soon, that's cool. 440 00:48:27,49.651666 --> 00:48:28,39.652666 Well, in April. 441 00:48:28,109.652666 --> 00:48:43,571.2779414 And as far as, you know, institutional backing, is that something you're interested in acquiring? Uh, or, you know, how does one sustain a project like this? that's a good question and it's funny you mentioned backing because currently I attend a business class. 442 00:48:44,431.2769414 --> 00:48:48,126.2779414 It's called

um, Young Entrepreneurs Academy. 443 00:48:48,496.2779414 --> 00:49:15,626.2779414 And, you know, I'm, I'm learning there on behalf of my project, House of Poetry, and eventually at the end of that program, there will be, you know, an investor panel, kind of like a Shark Tank thing, but on a much smaller scale, but an investor panel that I hope will, you know, help fund House of Poetry, you know, hopefully keep it running for the next, you Gear, even. 444 00:49:16,226.2779414 --> 00:49:34,126.2769414 Um, and a second thing is also implementing a small submission fee for authors because I, with a submission fee and I'm going to introduce a fee waiver as well in order to not, you know, compromise the circumstances of some writers who may not have that money. 445 00:49:34,746.2779414 --> 00:49:53,281.2779414 Um, but hopefully with the submission fee, with that investor money, um, You know, as a non profit, I hope that I can pay all that back towards the authors and say, you know, and hopefully House of Poetry will be able to establish a pay for authors who are published in each issue. 446 00:49:54,479.652666 --> 00:49:56,869.652666 The future seems really bright for House of Poetry. 447 00:49:56,899.652666 --> 00:50:14,924.652666 I mean, an investor would be very bright to Decide that this is a project worth investing in for all the reasons that you've described, you know, elevating the writing of folks who might not otherwise have a platform and encouraging expression from folks that were not necessarily given that that platform before. 448 00:50:15,534.652666 --> 00:50:17,64.652666 Yeah, that's beautiful. 449 00:50:17,384.652666 --> 00:50:24,201.2779414 Is there is there anything I haven't asked you Brian or anything else you'd like to say? Oh, um, let me think. 450 00:50:26,711.2779414 --> 00:50:44,146.2779414 Um Well, one thing I just want to reiterate is that it's so, like, I don't even feel like I've said this enough, but it's so amazing to see people of different cultures really just come together into one body of work. 451 00:50:44,726.2779414 --> 00:50:57,136.2779414 And one thing I'd like to point out is that on the House of Poetry, like, submission form, I, like, make it a required question that people, you know, tell me why. 452 00:50:57,566.2779414 --> 00:51:02,66.2779414 They pursued writing in the first place, what made them want to become a writer in the first place. 453 00:51:02,646.2779414 --> 00:51:15,366.2779414 And I have people from, you know, all walks worldwide telling them their own story and I think that's one thing that really means a lot to me and that's like all I could say. 454 00:51:15,366.2779414 --> 00:51:19,86.2779414 That's like, those are the only words I can use to express that. 455 00:51:19,96.2779414 --> 00:51:25,186.2779414 it's just so overwhelming having people, you know, tell their story in a Google form. 456 00:51:26,161.2779414 --> 00:51:28,61.2779414 People from any country and any culture.

457 00:51:29,224.652666 --> 00:51:35,809.652666 a feeling you've invited, right? Mm hmm, You don't just write that story if you don't feel welcomed to. 458 00:51:35,871.2779414 --> 00:51:51,891.2779414 right, What types of stories you don't have to reveal specifics but, you know, what are the stories that you hear that move you so? Oh gosh, um, there are, and I think it has to do a lot with age, the way we discussed earlier. 459 00:51:52,371.2779414 --> 00:52:03,251.2779414 Um, a lot of it has to do with, you know, people who consider themselves ordinary people, like parents, or, you know, at the same time, children, just saying. 460 00:52:03,896.2779414 --> 00:52:08,666.2779414 like oh, I live this normal life, but I want to become a writer so badly. 461 00:52:09,446.2779414 --> 00:52:15,756.2769414 Or I want to have that place to express my ideas or my poetry or, you know, any, any form of writing. 462 00:52:16,786.2769414 --> 00:52:24,46.2779414 And, you know, it's just a place to make them feel unique because they are. 463 00:52:24,656.2779414 --> 00:52:33,86.2769414 In a society that, like, in a society that values so much, I guess, Extraordinance. 464 00:52:34,166.2779414 --> 00:52:43,99.652666 You know? Okay, I'm glad you brought this up, thank you. 465 00:52:44,269.652666 --> 00:52:48,239.652666 Brian, I have a couple lightning round questions, unless there's anything else you'd like to say before that. 466 00:52:48,716.2779414 --> 00:52:49,206.2779414 that's it. 467 00:52:49,246.2769414 --> 00:52:50,66.2779414 I'm, I'm ready. 468 00:52:52,509.652666 --> 00:52:54,299.652666 A skill you're currently working on. 469 00:52:55,726.2779414 --> 00:53:00,946.2769414 I've been playing the bassoon for the past few years, and I have to keep on. 470 00:53:00,946.2779414 --> 00:53:02,566.2779414 doing that, and I have to keep on improving. 471 00:53:02,636.2769414 --> 00:53:03,246.2779414 That's one. 472 00:53:05,94.652666 --> 00:53:06,524.652666 A favorite way to relax. 473 00:53:07,436.2779414 --> 00:53:09,376.2779414 Listening to music, for sure. 474 00:53:09,426.2779414 --> 00:53:11,96.2779414 I have a bunch of vinyls behind me. 475 00:53:11,96.2779414 --> 00:53:14,486.2779414 You can see a lot of R& B, a lot of rap. 476 00:53:14,906.2779414 --> 00:53:15,336.2779414 Yes. 477 00:53:15,654.652666 --> 00:53:17,754.652666 I'm gonna ask you again about that in a second. 478 00:53:18,144.652666 --> 00:53:22,21.2779414 Where did your name come from? I don't know. 479 00:53:22,21.2779414 --> 00:53:23,521.2779414 It's not even my real name. 480 00:53:24,111.2779414 --> 00:53:30,531.2779414 Um, Brian? Like, that's my English name, but I was born with a Chinese name. 481 00:53:31,291.2779414 --> 00:53:31,901.2769414 I have no idea. 482 00:53:31,911.2769414 --> 00:53:32,771.2779414 I have to ask my mom. 483 00:53:32,771.3779414 --> 00:53:44,191.2779414 Oh, Um, I like Twizzlers. 484 00:53:47,34.652666 --> 00:53:47,804.652666 Fantastic. 485 00:53:48,111.2769414 --> 00:53:49,91.2779414 I like chewing on them. 486 00:53:49,156.3779414 --> 00:53:53,444.652666 Like, 100%. 487 00:53:53,494.652666 --> 00:53:55,674.652666 A book that left a lasting impression on you. 488 00:53:57,76.2779414 --> 00:54:08,616.2779414 I've said, you know, jazz, Toni Morrison, but I'll also say, um, what else do I have If I can say Percy Jackson, I will. 489 00:54:08,646.2779414 --> 00:54:12,566.2779414 As a child, Percy Jackson was like my book series for sure. 490 00:54:12,566.3779414 --> 00:54:17,989.652666 Um, see some influences there in your own writing, too. 491 00:54:18,509.652666 --> 00:54:33,741.2779414 Um, something people get wrong about you? tend to be really introverted when I meet someone for the first time, and I think Almost like, they have to open up to me first. 492 00:54:34,431.2779414 --> 00:54:38,281.2779414 So usually like, people might see me as kind of a shy, reserved person. 493 00:54:38,281.2779414 --> 00:54:40,221.2779414 But, no, I have thoughts. 494 00:54:41,319.652666 --> 00:54:42,439.652666 Yeah, that's fair. 495 00:54:42,479.652666 --> 00:54:45,49.651666 Oh, that's, I'd love to talk more about that one at some point. 496 00:54:45,99.652666 --> 00:54:48,499.651666 Um, I'm figuring that out on this, you know, show as well. 497 00:54:48,699.651666 --> 00:54:53,169.652666 How to, how to open myself up such that others also feel invited to do so. 498 00:54:53,581.2779414 --> 00:54:55,841.2779414 I can tell you like, I feel great. 499 00:54:55,891.2779414 --> 00:54:56,571.2779414 on this show. 500 00:54:56,996.2779414 --> 00:55:04,676.2779414 Or on this podcast, it's been really amazing to be able to talk with you and to answer questions and to really have this conversation going. 501 00:55:05,159.652666 --> 00:55:07,806.2779414 Yeah, you're doing a great job, I can tell you for sure. 502 00:55:08,399.652666 --> 00:55:09,299.652666 That's sweet of you. 503 00:55:09,559.652666 --> 00:55:23,679.652666 Um, no, I, I feel, I feel a lot of kindred, um, thoughts and, and journeys with you, also, you know, been dabbling in letters since high school and not having had the courage to, to create something like what you have. 504 00:55:24,249.652666 --> 00:55:26,129.652666 Lots of, lots of respect, really. 505 00:55:26,729.652666 --> 00:55:27,249.652666 Um, okay. 506 00:55:27,249.652666 --> 00:55:31,329.652666 And, and, uh, the one that I promised you we'd get to a song or album you would recommend. 507 00:55:31,329.752666 --> 00:55:34,634.552666 Yeah. 508 00:55:35,46.2769414 --> 00:55:36,736.2769414 I'm gonna think of an obscure one. 509 00:55:37,6.2769414 --> 00:55:40,921.1779414 As I said, Kara Jackson's Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love. 510 00:55:41,451.2779414 --> 00:55:43,681.2779414 Um, and also little sins. 511 00:55:43,691.2779414 --> 00:55:45,271.2779414 Sometimes I might be introvert. 512 00:55:45,801.2779414 --> 00:55:48,851.2779414 Those two are so good, so underrated too. 513 00:55:49,804.652666 --> 00:55:50,474.652666 Fantastic. 514 00:55:50,684.652666 --> 00:55:51,214.652666 Thank you. 515 00:55:51,404.652666 --> 00:55:53,644.652666 Brian, thanks so much for this conversation. 516 00:55:54,931.2769414 --> 00:55:57,421.2779414 Thank you so much for, you know, inviting me here. 517 00:55:57,421.2779414 --> 00:56:00,561.2779414 It's so much more than I could have ever imagined. 518 00:56:05,20.861637 --> 00:56:06,70.861637 Thanks for being here. 519 00:56:06,640.861637 --> 00:56:14,170.861637 If this conversation resonated with you, consider reviewing therapy for the world or sharing the link with someone who might appreciate it. 520 00:56:14,830.861637 --> 00:56:18,280.861637 Until next time, speak with care and listen deeply.