dragon boat racing / INTERPRET
Chloe C.
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I'm sixteen years old and I was raised by immigrant parents in the Bay Area. This collection is built around that identity. The first poem, “dragon boat racing”, explores many of my personal experiences with growing up in an immigrant family, and the way these stories start and "end". The title follows a traditional Chinese festival celebrated in the month of June, and in the poem, the narrator recalls things that their grandmother has told them: keeping quiet and remembering your blessings is the only way to create the American dream. The second poem, “INTERPRET”, was inspired by a trip to Thailand with a family friend nearly seven years ago. While it remains a work of fiction, it’s a look into my childhood and the people I’ve left behind. Tied together with themes of admiration and grief, this coming-of-age poem is never explicit in its immigrant nature, but it contrasts new world ideas with a dichotomic Asian upbringing in a moment of reflection. In this collection, I hope to show the nuances of an immigrant American childhood. I also hope that through these pieces, the reader will understand that these stories are not simply events set in the past. They remain dynamic and ever-changing in the present and future; when I write, I am able to retell this rich history. Immigration is never one thing entirely. My own culture shares Burmese and Chinese influences. Perhaps it will share an American one too.
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For me, creativity is about learning to understand yourself and the world around you. I don’t think it has to fit the strict definitions of any artistic discipline; creativity is the driving force for the sharing of ideas and perspectives in our communities.
