phantom folksong
Helen G.
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Over the past few years, I've seen a rise in teen writers using their cultural identity as the basis of their art. I have always had mixed feelings for this: it almost seems trendy now to use one's race to speak about discrimination, even if that is fabricated. In America, I don't always feel in touch with my identity. I feel out of place in both cultures I'm part of, and sometimes I feel like I'm not knowledgeable enough to write poetry about being Chinese. For me, culture is a complicated thing and though I wish to be able to create art inspired by my feelings towards it, it seems far too dimensional to put into words. I want to create poetry surrounding my own feelings, but I don't think I know myself well enough to. Perhaps this is my own way of grappling with my cultural identity in the midst of a world that is as confused as I am. This poem, rather than being a one-night thing that I got a sudden inspiration for, was instead written over the course of two weeks. I struggled with my language and my feelings a lot, and what began as a criticism of using one's culture for one's own artistic benefit turned into a complex questioning of my own identity and my relationship to it.
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For me, creativity in writing means making my inner thoughts accessible to the outer world in a deeply touching, unpalatable, and meaningful way. In general, I think creativity is an unlimited emotion that humans all around us feel, and it is something that is birthed by expression.
