This post is the first in my series of Reflections on Summer. I had the opportunity to participate in Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes’ Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, and Poetry course this July, and will be reflecting on my learning and rediscovered passion for writing. 

In this post, I am sharing my artist statement as an overarching reflection of myself as a writer and my time over the summer.

Artist Statement

Ideas come in splashes, and writing is directing the tide. Authors write from little more than a flash of memory, or a brush of a hand, or a pang of emotion that pulls them into their past. No matter how small the splash of an idea is, taking the time to write is creating the river, the bed, and the entire sky above it. We use language to shape an idea, to examine, interact, and, to our best ability, explain the concrete systems, laws, and beliefs of our world. Each piece of writing is the product of affliction or experience, a product of impact of the world on the author. At the same time, each piece is the divisor of all of humanity, an equation in which we discover our values and morals. 

A pen may be cut by a sword, but ideas can never be warped by force. Authors use language to sow and water the seeds, and place trust in their readers to be the reapers. The seeds can grow to be stems of revolt and rebellion; they can blossom into petals of revelation, or take in rays of light to set tradition ablaze. To write is to dare to take on the mysteries of the world, it’s infinite questions and infinite answers, in a finite life. It is courage that tests limits, a worthy opponent of strongly held beliefs sewn tightly into narrow mind, and an act with the power to kindle a flame and extinguish a wildfire all at once.

Of all the pieces I’ve written in this course, my favorite is the persona poem retitled “The Cracks in Your Faith” from the perspective of a rejected love letter. I wrote it with the purpose of creating a piece that encapsulates the dreams love instills in people, but also its ability to turn those desires to despair. Ultimately, I’m proud that I was able to connect elements of myth to a piece centered around a girl’s reality and her genuine emotions. I think it effectively created an otherworldly and almost ethereal portrayal of how the writer of the letter sees the addressee, Georgia. 

In congruence with my favorite piece of work, my favorite genre to learn about and write in this course was poetry. Specifically, “The Cracks in Your Faith” gave me an entirely new experience writing within this genre that I hadn’t encountered before. Previously, I believed that writing poetry was easier than fiction because there were less rules regarding structure and syntax. However, I realize now that I never considered how each variation can give a line a different impact or meaning, and even serve to point the piece in a different direction. While I still believe poetry poses more opportunities to push creative boundaries in form and some stylistic elements, I also find greater satisfaction in reaching the balanced integration of structure, technique, and narrative in a way that effectively tells a story through the brevity of a poem.

Another piece I wrote during the course that was memorable for me was “A Story About Sarah”, a short story in which I examined the structure, history, and personal connections behind my name. It was fascinating, albeit at times disheartening, to learn the differences in my personal experiences from the religious and historical contexts in which my name was prominent. In connection to literature, in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet claims that “a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” After writing this piece, I think Juliet fails to recognize the weight of a name and the meaning it holds. Names can be sources of pride and ties to our past; they can be gifts from loved ones or instruments of oppression. Writing this piece allowed me to analyze the value I place in my own name, and also recognize the importance it may hold for others.

Among the readings for this course, I was deeply impressed by Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl”. Her critique of American society’s way of dictating what is and isn’t appropriate for women was insightful and stirring. Additionally, Kincaid clearly characterized the mother as harsh and hurtful, but also as someone who feels responsible for teaching her beloved daughter how to act to gain respect in the world. The use of imperative commands allowed me to directly compare the lessons the daughter in “Girl” is taught to the ones I have learned in my own life, and it pains me to know that there are many other girls who grow up belittled and pressured in similar ways as described in the story. The characterization of the relationship between the daughter and her mother was what most moved me, and overall, the piece was a thought-provoking examination of traditional gender roles in American society.

Above all else, I want my writing to have an impact. So, I will aim to write with purpose. I don’t want to write for the sake of filling up a page, but instead with the intention of sending a message, creating a person, or constructing a dream. With every piece, I want to emphasize the truths I recognize in our world that others may fail to see. Next, I will write often. There is no other way for me to continue practicing, experimenting, and growing as a writer if I’m not writing at all. Whenever I can, I will look around and within me, to my day, a conversation, or distant memory come to light, and I will write it so that others may understand them as well. Lastly, I will allow myself to be inspired by others. There are characters I have yet to meet and worlds I have yet to discover in writing, and there are few things so beautiful in life as wonderfully written works. I will remember the phrases, techniques, and moments that make a story memorable, and use them to reflect on and revise my own. Every person sees their own truth in the world; I would hope my writing lifts the blinds so that others may see mine.