I’M CURIOUS WHAT YOUR PATH INTO PROSE POETRY LOOKED LIKE. WAS THERE ANY PARTICULAR MOMENT OR IMPULSE THAT SPARKED YOUR INTEREST IN PROSE POETRY? AND WHAT’S KEPT YOU FOCUSED ON IT?

A few years ago, I remember discovering Jose Hernandez Diaz’s prose poetry on Twitter. Prose poems from his poetry book, The Fire Eater, intrigued me; his book inspired me to learn more about writing prose poetry. I went on to find other prose poets, like Charles Rafferty, whose prose poems I greatly admire, too. After buying Jose’s and Charles’s books, I decided to take Jose’s class on writing prose poems. Through his class and connecting with him on Twitter, the world of prose poetry opened up more to me, in terms of discovering other prose poets and learning more about the craft. Ever since, I fell in love with writing prose poems, especially surrealist ones. There’s something exciting, challenging, and just fun about writing them.

HOW HAS YOUR RACIAL AND CULTURAL IDENTITY IMPACTED YOUR WRITING JOURNEY?

My racial and cultural identity had, and continues to have, a huge impact on my writing journey. It definitely helped me focus on what and who I wanted to write about. When I first started out, I was a freelance writer, mostly writing entertainment and cultural pieces. I knew I wanted my focus to be on BIPOC, especially APPI, individuals. I was the entertainment editor for the now defunct Asiance; I wrote for international publications, like Bangkok Post and Fah Thai; and when I could, I showcased BIPOCs in the also defunct OC Weekly. When I started writing personal essays, I wrote about my experiences growing up as a Thai-Vietnamese American rubbing up against the backdrop of American culture and society. Now, as a poet, I want to showcase the love I have for my heritage and my ongoing experiences as an AAPI.

“THE CAT’S POETRY MANUSCRIPT” PLAYS, IN ONE SENSE, WITH THE COMMON SAYING “CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT.” HOW DOES CURIOSITY PLAY INTO YOUR OFTEN SURREAL POEMS?

Quite a lot! Most of my surrealist poems start as a kernel of curiosity for a subject or thought I had while running errands, sitting at my desk, on my walks, being online, or talking with people.

DO HOW DO YOU FIND (OR MAKE) CONNECTIONS BETWEEN YOURSELF AND OTHER UNCONVENTIONAL SUBJECTS, SUCH AS COCKROACHES AND CATS AND BALLOON ARTISTS? GIVE US, IF YOU WOULD, A PEEK INTO YOUR PROCESS.

I believe there is a relatable aspect to all things, whether they’re inanimate or not, whether they’re unconventional or not. Of course, I also try to imagine what it would be like to be the subject of my poems. What is that they have to say? What is that they would like others to know or would be interested in hearing from them about? Circling back to what I was saying about how all things have a relatable aspect to them, I firmly believe that they have their stories to tell. It’s just a matter of who can help tell their stories. In this case, it would be me!

IN “THE COCKROACH”, YOU WRITE, “EVERYONE STEREOTYPES COCKROACHES AS DIRTY, DISEASED, AND DISGUSTING. I’M THE EXACT OPPOSITE.” HOW DO STEREOTYPES AND DISCRIMINATION PLAY INTO YOUR WRITING JOURNEY? HOW DO YOU RESIST THEM IN YOUR POETRY?

Not a unique experience, but I’ve had my share of being discriminated and stereotyped since I was a kid. Now as an adult, I’m still experiencing that, unfortunately. Some of my poems have been influenced by my own experiences. In those poems, I throw away stereotypes and discrimination and show readers an interesting or unique, positive aspect of the subject in the poem; I try to help provide a new (and sometimes weird) perspective. And that is reflective of how I’ve dealt with discrimination situations since I was a kid: trying to be positive in a sometimes cruel world.

With writing, whether it’s short stories, essays poems, etc., a writer can help dismantle discrimination and stereotypes through writing. Writing is a powerful tool.

HOW HAS POETRY IMPACTED YOUR LIFE MOST SIGNIFICANTLY, AND ALSO MOST SURPRISINGLY?

Most significantly, writing poetry has been a deeply therapeutic, especially during the tumultuous periods in my life. Most surprisingly, reading and learning about poetry has helped me connect with so many wonderful (and, of course, talented) people/poets through the online poetry community, especially on Twitter. I’m very much an introvert so I never thought I would be establishing such amazing connections and friendships in that way. I love it. Personally, poetry is important to me because it has been my way of not only expressing myself but also helping heal myself, discover myself, and connect with others. Generally, poetry is very important; it has saved people, it has helped people, it has inspired people, and, like I mentioned before, it has helped create meaningful connections among people.

YOU ALSO DABBLE IN TECHNICAL WRITING. DO YOU FIND THE PROCESS OF SIMPLIFYING COMPLEX TECHNICAL CONCEPTS THROUGH LANGUAGE SIMILAR TO THE PROCESS OF WRITING POETRY? HOW ARE THESE PROCESSES SIMILAR TO OR DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER?

I would say in technical writing and in poetry, you are distilling high-level ideas and concepts into easy-to-understand language, to a certain degree. However, that’s where the similarity ends. In technical writing, there’s no use for figurative language, imagery, etc. since the aim in technical writing is to write concepts, instructions, processes, etc. in plain language. In poetry, you need imagery, figurative language, sound, diction, attention to the line, rhythm, etc. to write a poem. Personally, the process of writing poetry is more involved and abstract; in technical writing, writing technical documents is a direct process (for the most part); it’s easier to write a complete, detailed, and concise technical document in less time than you would a poem (in my personal opinion).

WHAT ARE THREE POEMS OR BOOKS ALL WRITERS AND READERS SHOULD KNOW?

This is always a difficult question to answer. Honestly, I’m not sure. However, what I do tell people when they ask me this is question is that I believe the most important books you should read are those that enlighten you, that inspire you, that teach you, and that make you love reading. You can never go wrong with those books.

FINALLY, DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR YOUNG BIPOC WRITERS LOOKING TO INITIATE WRITING JOURNEYS OF THEIR OWN?

My advice is to find books, publications, etc. by writers they like or love. Take a writing workshop or class; these days a lot of organizations offer scholarships and/or fee waivers for BIPOC writers. Read books about writing. Look for free writing resources online; you can learn about the writing craft at your own pace! Connect with the writing community, whether it’s online or locally; you’d be surprised how many connections you can make and how much you can learn from the community. Lastly, have fun and enjoy the journey!