Yanyi .'s Blog, page 3

Tidying up the limiting beliefs

Letter: ‘Why Do You Write?’

I have been impatient at work for some time, and I work for myself. I would go to my office regularly, but when I arrived there, I would feel rushed to get my tasks of the day done, but the list was interminable, so I would rush even more, to no relief.

I had been rushing because I wanted to write. I was unhappy because I told myself that writing was a pleasure, and for some reason I had gotten it into my head that pleasures, like desserts, always come at the end of a m...

‘Am I Just Too Lazy to Be a Writer?’

Hi there,

Dream of the Divided Field comes out in one short week. The process has been very different this time around for obvious reasons, but also unexpected ones.

I did not expect to be grieving, again, in such short time after Michelle Go, for Christina Yuna Lee. It is still too much to talk about, but HK encouraged me to light a candle for her the night the news came out. That helped.

I’m holding Writing Space on Monday (2/21) again from 13:00–15:00 EST (this month’s member code is at the end ...

‘How Do I Dream Bigger for My Writing?’

Welcome back to The Reading, an advice column for creative writers.

Hi there,

Happy Year of the Tiger! I’ve had some fabulous students both for my documentary poetry and lyric essay class (that continues next Saturday) since last month. For Dream of the Divided Field, I recorded my audiobook, you can now read two new poems at Granta, and sometime today sinθ magazine will be releasing their latest issue, where you can read an interview I did with them on the book and writing in general. Check back ...

Limitations of the phantom “we”

Letter: ‘How Do I Dream Bigger for My Writing?’

A culture that believes a single person could save the world also believes its opposite: that if you’re not saving the world, one wrong decision of yours can also destroy it. Couple personal experience and collective beliefs like this in the middle of climate change, pandemics, and worldwide uprisings, and you’ve got major tensions between taking action for the life you want and taking action on behalf of your phantom “we.”

‘Why Do I Want to Amount to Something So Much?’

Hi there,

I held the first Writing Space of the year yesterday and I have to say it felt so good to see several of you—some of you repeat participants!—and write together again. I have been thinking a lot about what community can look like in the COVID world, really. Travel is hard; in-person events seem dangerous. Sometimes there are three of you; other days there have been ten or more. Each time, it does not fail to feel intimate and friendly. I am grateful to those of you who showed up for you...

The optional notebook

Letter: ‘I Haven’t Had a New Idea in a Year. How Do I Think Again?’

January is the month of taking on others’ plans—sobriety plans, fitness plans, and, for writers, the determination to finally pin down that writing plan for the year.

My offering to you today comes from years now of my own practice. I have fallen on and off the train of doing it myself. I have not be faithful, trying out five-year journals and attractive blank notebooks from Muji between books. Yet, I keep coming back to it. It do...

‘I Haven’t Had a New Idea in a Year. How Do I Think Again?’

Welcome back to The Reading, an advice column for creative writers.

Hi there,

Happy Gregorian New Year. This month, I’m teaching a documentary poetry class at Williams, recording the audiobook for Dream of the Divided Field, and planning the book launch and tour (if you’re a book reviewer, events organizer, or otherwise interested in collaborating for it, get in touch).

Writing Space this month will be Saturday, January 22, from 12:00–14:00 EST.

Last, but not least, I’m offering my lyric essay class...

2021 in Letters: The Reading in Review

Thank you to every one of you who has supported The Reading this year: all of you who have read these letters, subscribed, and who have attended Writing Space and Hotpot events. All of you who supported me in my departure from Substack in March and who have followed me on this adventure until now. I am wishing each of you rest, jubilation, and time with your loved ones. The first letter of 2022 will come out the second Sunday of January. Until then!

The Reading‘How Do I Rediscover the Joy of Writ...

On difficulty in poetry

Letter: ‘Does My Poetry Have to Be Difficult to Be Real?’

In responding to this week’s letter, I was of two minds on how to respond, and decided, as I’m discovering I do, to respond mostly to the emotional dilemma at hand for the letter-writer. However, I didn’t want to drop the other thoughts entirely, so I wanted to speak more broadly on the idea of difficulty in poetry in a few ancillary notes.

For purposes of example, I will limit my thoughts here to poetry that works in one primary language. ...

‘Does My Poetry Have to Be Difficult to Be Real?’

Welcome back to The Reading, an advice column for creative writers.

Hi there,

It’s hard to believe that 2021 is almost over. What a rollercoaster of a year it’s been. Now, it’s a rush to hibernate.

For those of you who don’t follow me on social media, I’m giving away six (6) early galleys of my forthcoming collection, Dream of the Divided Field! Check out my Instagram post for more details and a chance to win. I’ll select the winners after 11:59 EST on 12/7/21. :)

All things come to a close, and las...