12 or 20 (second series) questions with Allison Thung
Allison Thung is a Singaporean poet and project manager. She is the authorof Reacquaint (kith books, 2024) and the forthcoming Things Ican only say in poems about/to an unspecified ‘you’ (Hem Press,2025). Her poetry has been published in ANMLY, Heavy Feather Review,Cease, Cows, The Daily Drunk, and elsewhere, and nominated for Bestof the Net, Best Microfiction, and Best Small Fictions.Allison reads poetry for ANMLY. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @poetrybyallison, or at www.allisonthung.com.
1 - How did your firstbook change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous?How does it feel different?
Although it’s only beena little over a month since its official release, Reacquaint (kith books, 2024) hasbeen several years in the making, plus I’ve known since I was fourteen that Iwanted to someday see my words in print, so it’s definitely felt like alongtime dream fulfilled. More practically, it is tangible assurance that mywords have a place in the world; a reminder to keep writing.
2 - How did you cometo poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
I actually started writing prose before Ifound my way to poetry. Growing up, I mostly read short story collections,young adult novels, and comic books, and so I naturally tended towards fictionwhen I began writing. It wasn’t until I returned to the written word after ahiatus of eight years, saturated with emotions I couldn’t fully access viaprose, that poetry became my genre of choice.
3 - How long does ittake to start any particular writing project? Does your writing initially comequickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to theirfinal shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?
It really depends. Reacquaint took memaybe 18 months, but that’s because it started as standalone pieces that I laterbrought together to create a coherent manuscript and narrative. Things I canonly say in poems about/to an unspecified 'you', which is forthcoming with HemPress in 2025, as well as two other chapbook manuscripts I have out onsubmission, were each completed within a few months; the poems for those werewritten with the inherent understanding that they were meant to be part oflarger manuscripts.
Save for two or three, I don’t think I’veever significantly changed any poem between their first and final drafts. Mostof the time, my poems appear close to their final form, and editing focuses onflow, grammar, and specific word choices.
4 - Where does a poemusually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combininginto a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the verybeginning?
Poem: Often from the middle of a sentence Iam saying to someone else, which I imagine is kind of annoying for the otherperson, because then I stop talking to make a note. Sometimes from a longtime ruminationsuddenly become coherent and distinct from the rest of the noise inside my head.Occasionally from a dream.
Approach: These days I prefer to work on a“book” from the start, though it’s important to me that the individual poemscan stand on their own. That said, I do still write standalone pieces thatdon’t fit into a larger theme if I think them necessary to exist.
5 - Are publicreadings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort ofwriter who enjoys doing readings?
I do enjoy readings, but it’s something Ireserve for after the work has been officially published. My creative process ismostly an exercise in solitude, save for the very occasional times I sharepieces about which I have doubts, or for which I have particular affection,with trusted individuals.
6 - Do you have anytheoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions are youtrying to answer with your work? What do you even think the current questionsare?
At its core, my poetryseeks greater meaning in the mundane, and to finally put into coherentsentences the many ruminations and emotions that bounce around inside myhead. I spent much of my life worryingthat I had lived too underwhelmingly for me to have something worth writingabout, and every poem is a much-needed reminder that it’s less about whatyou’ve experienced, and more about how you perceive and process saidexperiences.
7 – What do you seethe current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one?What do you think the role of the writer should be?
I don’t know if “role” is the word I’d use.Maybe concerns? But to answer the question, I think it would vary greatly basedon the type of writer you are. A journalist, for example, would have verydifferent concerns from a novelist.
At the personal level, I write to tellstories, make sense of my interior and exterior worlds, and defy mortality insome small way.
8 - Do you find theprocess of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
Essential and appreciated.
9 - What is the best pieceof advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
“Forgive yourself”, specifically said to me. It’snot something I’m good at.
10 - What kind ofwriting routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does atypical day (for you) begin?
I tend to alternate between phases of unshakeablewriter’s block and intense creativity, and my writing practices—I wouldn’t usethe term routine—differ accordingly. In the former phase, I focus on taking detailednotes whenever ideas or lines come to me; in the latter, I try to draftsomething daily, even if it’s just a few words.
Generally, when I can write, I prefersilence, solitude, and to be at my desk on my own laptop.
11 - When your writinggets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word)inspiration?
Talking to other people, exercising, andgetting out of the house can be helpful with idea generation, but I’ve come toaccept that there isn’t very much I can do to affect the larger cycle that Imentioned in my response to the previous question.
12 - What fragrancereminds you of home?
Homemade lotus root or watercress soup,bubbling away in the slow cooker until its aroma permeates every inch of thehouse.
13 - David W. McFaddenonce said that books come from books, but are there any other forms thatinfluence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?
Neither nature nor music feature heavily inthe work itself, nor do I tend to create in their midst—I’m very much a poetwho prefers to write indoors at my desk, in absolute silence—but both areprimary sources of inspiration.
14 - What otherwriters or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside ofyour work?
Iconsider the work of Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Richard Siken, and Chen Chen to beutterly essential. And then outside of the literary world, I have a lot of loveand respect for Hozier’s lyricism and how he’s able to embody an entire worldin just a few lines of lyrics.
15 - What would youlike to do that you haven't yet done?
I’d love to travel through Europe for a yearor so, and then settle down in Ireland for a couple. Less ambitiously, I’d liketo meet and hang out with a capybara or a wallaby.
16 - If you could pickany other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do youthink you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?
Realistically, I’d probably still be aproject manager, which is my current day job. Unrealistically, I’d be anarchitect, lawyer, or singer-songwriter.
17 - What made youwrite, as opposed to doing something else?
It’s just what came most naturally to me wheneverI needed to express myself or make sense of the world, and brought me the most satisfaction/fulfilment.Throughout my life, I’ve tried and enjoyed various forms of creativity, includingart, craft, and music, but none of those have felt entirely “right” the waywriting does.
18 - What was the lastgreat book you read? What was the last great film?
Book: Kerry Trautman’s Irregulars.
Film: I’m less a film and more a seriesperson, so let’s go with Grace and Frankie.
19 - What are youcurrently working on?
I’m currently working on a hybrid chapbookmanuscript, and I’ve also got two more completed poetry chapbook manuscriptsout on submission.
