Wenqi Yeh
ORP: Does writing or creating energize or exhaust you? What aspects of your artistic process would you consider the most challenging or rewarding?
Wenqi Yeh: Writing has always been an outlet for me, both an avenue for emotional processing and a distraction from the other stressors at the time. I journal often, and my poetry is the result of a few pieces of that life-long habit. Most of what I write never makes it into a poem or a finished work. The most challenging aspect of the process is the choosing of a phrase or an idea to make into a poem, and the cycle of rewriting and refining, but it is also the most rewarding part.
ORP: Do you know more than one language? How does this influence your art and/or writing?
WY: My mother tongue is Mandarin, and while I still speak both languages fluently, I have since become much more comfortable in English than in my native language. Writing is a way for me to enjoy an intentional experimentation of language. For example, I often attempt to replicate, in English, the density of imagery and lack of transitions characteristic of Chinese poetry. I think that this helps create interesting moments of unconventional phrasing in my poetry. Language is a playground that shapes us with its context, but we also shape it with our actions. As such, I am always excited to see artistic uses of language, specifically those that bridge cultural and linguistic gaps.
ORP: What does vulnerability mean to you as an artist and/or writer?
WY: As someone who grew up with perfectionistic tendencies, vulnerability is the willingness to tell a flawed story. I used to be terrified of an empty page, writing and erasing over and over because the first line was never quite right. Now, I choose to write with pen rather than pencil, so I am not tempted to erase what I have written, and this willingness to be imperfect, to write every poem with mistakes, is what keeps me writing.
ORP: What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing or creating? What advice would you give to another writer or artist?
DM: I don't think there is a shortcut to writing well. I"m not even sure that I do write well now. I used to collect pages and pages of writing advice, tips and tricks from the internet, or techniques from well-known authors. However, since then, I think the truest advice I've received regarding writing is to 1) write a lot and 2) read even more.