301: Asela's Diegesis of a Poet's Life
Asela Lee Kemper
EPISODE SUMMARY:
"It made me realize that if they can do it, so can I" - Asela.
There's an inevitable power to be seen in some people surrounding us. Asela is one of these people. She is a highly dedicated, whimsical and thoughtful poet with compassion for cultures and diversity in literature. Join the eavesdropping and learn about her big news and a brilliant retirement plan.
Listen to the Episode
MAIN TOPICS:
00:00 - Episode intro
03:54 - Asela's intro
04:26 - Asela's dislike about the word nice
08:59 - Asela's busy life and fun stuff
13:01 - Asela's podcast catch-up
14:34 - How is it like to be a f***ing Asian
16:53 - How to show up for Asian American & diverse literature
20:12 - Different diasporas' representation at present
23:20 - Cancel Culture vs Accountability
28:10 - Asela's time management
30:48 - Asela's big news
34:52 - Asela's literary path & aspirations
40:35 - Asela's retirement plan
44:32 - Asela's important word to share
46:55 - Wish's important words to share
48:42 - Outro
FEATURED WORDS:
Asela's synonyms to self: bella (n.), dancing (v.), creative (adj.)
Asela's words: Likes: poetry (n.) Dislikes: nice (adj.)
Wish's synonyms for Asela: atmosphere(n.), composing (v.), congenial (adj.)
Essential word from this episode: willpower (n.)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
QUOTABLE QUOTES
"Being Asian is just a never-ending discovery. Just kind of navigating what that's being like because there are just so many different backgrounds. Like there's East Asians, there's South Asians, Southeast Asians, and it's just so many backgrounds that need to be cherished and uplift their voices and it's just never-ending. And sometimes there are some people who just have a difficulty kind of being associated with that or just embracing that because of whatever upbringings or whatever background they came from."
"So it's just like continue uplifting that Asian American, Asian diaspora, international Asian writers all around, just making sure, given that voice, given that platform, and of course uplift black, indigenous, brown, LatinX, POC writers and queer writers as well. Just keep continuing that work that I'm doing right now and hopefully, that would venture into more soon."
"And I think it's also just really up to the individual person if they want to make that change. Because we talk sometimes about cancel culture, right? Because cancel culture doesn't exist. I will say just like, therefore it doesn't exist because there are too many people who we claim that is cancelled, air quoting cancelled, but they immediately come back into it again because, for whatever reason, it could just be because of privilege or because of their status or whatever that reason may be. But it's really ultimately, how does that individual learn?"
"... I knew I wanted to continue poetry, I want to continue writing. And I don't know how at the time, I didn't know how I'm going to do it. I don't know how I'm going to become this working professional, being paid poet. How don't I going to do it, but I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it no matter what, and I want to continue doing that. So that's how it all started. What started as a hobby eventually became a thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life."
"Willpower strength and determination. It will take you places." - Julianna "the Venezuelan Vixen" Peña
REFERENCES FROM TODAY'S CONVERSATION
Asela's Social Media
Cherry Blossom Festival (poetry)
2 'n' Sync Podcast (Instagram | Twitter)
______
Flawless Mag: The Border Issue
Pagong Cannot Climb Trees book
LISTEN, RATE, REVIEW, SUBSCRIBE & SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS!
Follow me:
-
Wish 00:00:02
Hello, dear humanity! Welcome to season three of Human Thesaurus. I'm your host slash zippy Wish Ronquillo Peacocke. Human Thesaurus is about our mortal language, where the words we use and say are deeply attached to our sense of self and humanity. In this podcast, I fuse words with my guests and how they uniquely represent their several meanings. It's like catching up with them in a cafe or over cocktails. And here you are eavesdropping on our conversations while we explore what words define who they authentically are. And this season, I'll throw in special episodes with deep-dive human elements. So watch out for this exciting expansion of my Pod. Subscribe now, episodes are released weekly. Each season contains eight episodes and perhaps some bonuses along the way.
Wish 00:01:07
Asela is a poetry editor at Variety Pack Magazine and has previously worked with presses and magazines, including Sampaguita Press, Maria's at Sampaguitas Timberline Review, and Copper Canyon Press. She also has published works in SOU Student Press, Flawless Mag: The Border Issue, Silk Club: QUIET, Reclamation Mag and the anthology No Tender Fences. Asela uses her passion for creative writing to open conversations on diversity and identity in literature. She currently resides in Oregon, USA, with her family. We're in completely different worlds right now. She's the night and I'm the day at the moment. And also you can find Asela on Twitter @aselaleek and Instagram @thesakuraink. I'll provide all her links in the humanthesaurus.co Show Notes page, so please check that out. I met through Twitter, I think, 2020, yes. During the pandemic. I remember she was looking for BIPOC contributors. Even though I'm not Asian American, it piqued my interest from my poetry stint. So we started talking, and she's so friendly, and I felt like, oh, okay, yeah, okay, she replied. That's cool. She included me to be a contributor to Chopsticks Alley Pinoy. It's a platform in the States empowering Southeast Asians to connect them to their culture's roots. It didn't really fully work out for all of us because the direction changed, I think. But I still follow Asela on her social media because she's inspiring to me, of course, with her signature awesome hairstyle that I really, really love for her and her love for K-pop, which really is completely different from my taste. But I love observing K-pop fans. I think they're one of the most fun people in the world. And also she's got a lot of exciting upcoming projects and things. So my synonyms for Asela are atmosphere as a noun, composing as a verb, and congenial as an adjective. Within this conversation, you'll further understand why I describe her as such. So here she is, Asela Lee Kemper.
Asela 00:03:51
Thank you so much, Wish.
Asela 00:03:54
Thank you.
Asela 00:03:54
You're so kind. Thank you so much for that amazing intro. Hi, listeners. My name is Asela. Same as the word, bella as a noun, dancing as a verb, and creative as an adjective. I like the word poetry and I dislike the word nice, but not in the context you think.
Wish 00:04:20
Right? Okay, let's unpack that one first.
Asela 00:04:25
Why?
Wish 00:04:26
What's the context of nice that you dislike about? Because nice is a simple, positive term, but please educate us.
Asela 00:04:36
Maybe not educate, but maybe this is from my perspective, but we all know.
Asela 00:04:41
The word or the definition of the word nice. It's mainly kind of like someone is kind or someone is friendly in terms of talking about someone as a person. But when I'm speaking about nice, I'm talking about a context of, hey, you're being too nice. For me, that kind of reads, I already know that means you're telling me, hey, you're going to be easily walked all over. Someone's going to take advantage of you. I don't really care much about when someone say, you're being too nice in that context, it's because for me, when I hear that, I think, so should I stop caring about someone? Am I not doing it right? Or should I stop being kind? I don't know what I'm doing. So when you're really they're trying to say is, hey, you need to be careful. You're going to be gullible. Someone's going to take advantage of you because of your kindness. I understand what they're saying. It's not that my kindness itself or me being friendly to others is a bad thing, but it's more so I wish someone would just tell me straightforward saying, hey, I think you need to be careful because we don't know if this person is just as nice as you are, just as kind, or just playing a face. So it's just like, I'd rather have someone saying, be careful, they're going to walk all over you. You act like this, than, oh, you're being too nice. It's like you're dancing around the subject of like, hey, she's very nice person. But I mean, I like to think I'm nice. I like to think I'm kind of but I like being honest, and I like someone to be honest with me too. So that's why I'm like weirded out by the word nice.
Wish 00:06:28
I get it now. So it's along the context of how it's being used. If it's being used to dance around something that someone really needed to say instead of saying you're being nice. And because they're scared of, they have the fear of getting someone offended. But at this point in time, everybody is just afraid of getting canceled. They forget also how to be honest with the people that they care about. So it rubs someone the wrong way as well, right? So instead of saying push over or gullible, they choose you're being too nice. So it makes that thing the opposite of what it should really mean. So it's harder to decipher if you use it that way. Like, interesting. That word interesting, it has a different context for different industries. So what I've learned, really watching a lot of Top Chef, I think what season are they now? 22 or something. I can't keep up anymore.
Asela 00:07:44
They're on their all-stars right now. They're on their global All-Stars right now.
Wish 00:07:50
All right. I haven't even finished season 19.
Asela 00:07:50
Oh, Season 19 was a trip!
Wish 00:07:50
Oh, my goodness. I'm only on like, episode four or something, so please don't tell me anything before I could get yeah, so they use the word interesting in in culinary world when they say interesting when you offer a new food or a new creation, and then when the chef says interesting, that doesn't necessarily mean it's good. It's just interesting. The concept itself, it doesn't mean that it's delicious. So it's kind of bordering on that. So in your context, you dislike nice because of the context itself, of how it's being used. So that's why I love this podcast concept that I, about Human Thesaurus because it's all about the context per individual human being on how they reference words. Speaking of all of these things, what have you been doing at the moment? You've been very busy. I mean, your intro, it's like, oh my gosh, so many different things. So what's going on?
Asela 00:09:10
Yeah,
Wish 00:09:10
Catch me up on everything.
Asela 00:09:13
Of course. Yeah. It's been a long time, about like three years now since we've interacted each other, right?
Wish 00:09:18
It's been three years, yes. Wow.
Asela 00:09:21
It's been a long time.
Asela 00:09:24
That's crazy. Right now I'm going to be releasing a micro chapbook in a form of a CD and a cassette from Gnashing Teeth Publishing. Yeah, it's the first time for them to release something like this, so it's very interesting. I'll be recording audio tracks for this micro chapbook, and it's going to include like, a little booklet with all the poems I included, but it's going to be released in a form of a CD and a cassette. And I'm really excited because it's like my micro chapbook that I'm using it as a way to reintroduce myself as a poet. Because, as you heard, you read in the intro. I've done a lot of things, but during my time as an editor or like a reader or just doing a lot of different projects with almost a lot of literary magazines, I have a feeling that a lot of people within a community are slowly forgetting that I'm a poet. Before I was an editor or like a K-pop fan. So I wanted to use this as a way almost like a prologue to a full collection poetry manuscript that I'm working on right now. And I want to use my micro chapbook as a way to just reintroduce myself and show that I've written some pretty cool poems over the last years.
Asela 00:10:42
And yeah, that's one thing I've been working on. And we're hoping to have this published this year. My publisher and I were eyeing it on in the summer, so hopefully by then I get to more information come out and I can tell folks to get the micro chapbook because I'm really excited about this project. And again, like I said, I want to use this as almost like a prologue to my full collection manuscript that I'm working on right now, as well as me recording those audio tracks for my micro chapbook. Of course, I'm part of the conference faculty for Willamette Writers Conference, which is the conference going to start in August. So keep an eye out for Willamette Writers Conference just to get more updates. And you might see me pop up here and there. Maybe you might see me moderating a panel about poetry. So that's what I'm excited about. And I'm going to be part of the virtual side because the conference is going to be hybrid, so it's going to be both in person and virtual. So I'll be in virtual. So you might see me in that space. Yeah. And also I'm working on a podcast with my good friend and fellow writer Katrina M. We're doing a podcast called 2 'n' Sync. We are recording our season two right now, and we got some pretty cool episodes that's going to come out soon. So keep your eyes and ears for that.
Wish 00:12:09
That's awesome. So probably we can do a trailer here so we can have a little crossover. I think the indie podcast community grows because of all of these crossovers. This is how we grow. When I started this, it's never about monetization or anything monetary. It's really highlighting. I love the concept, so I love really just like, bringing people in, highlighting them. What are you made of? What you see yourself as, how I see yourself and all of these things. And really, at the end of it, everybody would just think, oh, yeah, that's what it's all about. And really, like, merging humans to literary pieces as literary pieces.
Asela 00:13:01
Yeah.
Wish 00:13:01
So that's the thing. So about your podcast, what's coming up in this season two?
Asela 00:13:09
Yeah, so last year we did our season one. We kind of played around with different guests. We invited writers like Butch Schwarskopf, who made his debut with Pagong Cannot Climb Trees for our special beach episode, which was kind of this fun filler episode that we were inspired by anime. We had friends who actually we had this conversation with our friends and they were saying, like, oh, you should do. Like, a beach episode, like a filter. Like how anime does. And I'm like, me and Katrina were like, oh, my gosh, we should totally do it. So we did that. And we also invited folks from Sampaguita Press as well as Maria Bolaños to talk about their debut chat book, Sana, as well as talking more about Sampaguita Press along with Dina Klarisse. We also talked about what it's like to be Asian Americans, especially in a literary space. We also talked about different pop culture stuff like Drag Race. Me and Katrina, we love RuPaul's Drag Race. So we had an episode dedicated to that as well. As what would be like if Drag Race was set in Korea. What would that look like? We have a fantasy about that. So for this season, we're going to probably do something similar to that, but hopefully with some more poems, more pop culture stuff and just being fucking Asian.
Wish 00:14:34
So what is it like to be a fucking Asian?
Asela 00:14:39
It has its ups and downs. It really does. You have this different diaspora we're living in because growing up when I was trying to figure out myself is that I'm pretty proud of my heritage because I'm half Korean, half Chinese. But my mom's family, who's like my mom's Korean, but she was born and raised in Japan, so it's just different pieces. But I'm pretty proud of my heritage. I'm pretty proud of me being Asian American. But I know there's some people who have a really difficult time with that surrounding that what is being Asian? What is like being fucking Asian? Because it's weird. It's a weird space. Even I'm still trying to navigate it. And I have written identity poems in the past and even most of them are kind of at the center of the micro chapbook here for finally The Mixtape. That's just the title of it, by the way.
Wish 00:14:39
Oh!
Asela 00:14:39
Yeah.
Wish 00:14:39
Wow. Okay
Asela 00:14:39
Thank you.
Wish 00:15:46
This is the pre-launch.
Asela 00:15:48
Yeah, it's out there.
Asela 00:15:51
But anyways, being Asian is just a never ending discovery. Just kind of navigating what that's being like because there's just so many different backgrounds. Like there's East Asians, there's South Asians, Southeast Asians, and it's just so many backgrounds that needs to be cherished and uplift their voices and it's just never ending. And sometimes there's some people who just have a difficulty kind of being associated with that or just embracing that because of whatever upbringings or whatever background they came from. And that's completely understandable because sometimes I had that really weird moment and that too back in college. But at the same time, it's just like learning how to be my authentic self and not having to put up a front, you know what I mean? Like trying to create this view of what people think of when they hear Asian, if that makes any sense.
Wish 00:16:53
Yeah. Yes. That's a lot to unpack. But this is what I also appreciate about you representing about this diversity and identity in literature. And then I love the literary groups that you are around at. So what is your personal goal when it comes to this fucking Asian identity part in literature? What's your personal goal? Why are you in this space? And what do you want to imbibe in the community?
Asela 00:17:29
Keep showing up for Asian American literature. Just keep continuing doing it. Yeah, and just literally like any background. Just like not just Asian American, but also any Asian diaspora literature. Just keep uplifting that. Because I know when I was a kid, for me, I thought Asian stories only exist as like, ancient China or anime. Those are like my only two things. I thought that's the only thing that exists or a stereotype. But it wasn't until I picked up a book by Cynthia Kodahada called Kira Kira. So it's basically from her perspective of this young girl where her family, Japanese American family, moved from a big city to a small town, and it just goes into this story of what it's like to navigate this small town family and mental health. It's a very unique story that's aimed towards more middle schoolers or just YA audience. And that was a stamp for me that made me realize that there are stories like that through an Asian American lens. And then when I got older and when I got into poetry, I got to discover poets, which for me, I considered my writing heroes like Denice Frohman, Dominique Christina, Christine Andrea Hit Hughes, who's a personal friend of mine, even though she doesn't identify herself as a writer anymore. But to me, her writings that she have written during my undergrad when we were attending the same university, that's what inspired me. And I still include her in that space for me. And of course, Franny Choi, who I'm so honoured to have finally met that poet. Yeah, because I remember watching their videos on Button Poetry and I remember when I was in my community college watching those videos. It made me realize that if they can do it, so can I. And I want to continue
Wish 00:17:29
Absolutely
Asela 00:17:29
Right. And I want to continue uplifting that and continue using my voice and my writing to uplift those spaces and give those spaces and voices for the people who really deserve it. You know what I mean? So it's just like continue uplifting that Asian American, Asian diaspora, international Asian writers all around, just making sure, given that voice, given that platform, and of course uplift black, indigenous, brown, LatinX, POC writers and queer writers as well. Just keep continuing that work that I'm doing right now and hopefully that would venture into more soon.
Wish 00:20:12
Yes, absolutely. But have we ever improved at least these past 20 years, 15, 20, 10 years at all, when it comes to recognising or representing different diasporas in this world? What do you think about that? What's your observation so far?
Asela 00:20:31
I think it has gone a little bit better. I say by a hair. It's a slow baby steps for me because I think there's still times where I notice and I don't know if this is saying for your end, but I noticed that at least an American side at the States that Asian Americans at least the East Asian Americans are the most, like, get the most covered when it comes to, it's not just books. It's also, like, movies and music. There's always been more of the forefront of East Asian Americans when in reality, being Asian is not just like you're from Korea or for China or Japan. It's more than that. It's like somebody from Thailand or somebody from Vietnam, the Philippines, or even just like India. It's more than what we saw like East Asians. It's not that to say, like, East Asians shouldn't be uplifted, they should still be uplifted because I'm East Asian. East Asian, I'm saying this.
Wish 00:21:33
Yes
Asela 00:21:36
But if we're going to include East Asians, we have to include every Asian background. You know what I mean? It's not just like one singular thing that also includes Pacific Islanders, because I also noticed that Asian Americans or even just Asian diaspora in general have continuously left out Pacific Islanders in conversations. I have made that mistake, too, and I own up to that. And just being able to bring into that space, introduce different books by Pacific Islanders and getting to know amazing Pacific Islanders. If we want to include AAPI, we have to include Pacific Islanders into the conversations. Not just like one person who happens to be Pacific Islander or someone who is indigenous, you know what I mean?
Wish 00:22:20
Yes.
Asela 00:22:20
I want to be able to utilise that space and also to learn and grow from it. Because like I said, I made those mistakes too, and especially in the past, and I'll probably make those same mistakes again in the future. I'm not jinxing saying that I knocked on wood, I don't wanna jinx that.
Wish 00:22:35
But that's part of growth, right? I think that's part of continuous education and knowledge and growth in people. We can't be perfect. So the major factor or determining factor in all of these is owning up to it, right? Educating yourself and owning up to it, like what you're doing. It's just being a responsible human being. So that's hard at the moment, everybody's just jumping into the bandwagon to cancel someone and without knowing the background, some people just really didn't know anything better. And if they listen and change it and take accountability for it, then fine. Right?
Asela 00:23:20
Right. It just takes time, really. And I think it's also just really up to the individual person if they want to make that change. Because we talk sometime about cancel culture, right? Because cancel culture doesn't exist. I will say just like, therefore it doesn't exist because there's too many people who we claim that are canceled, air quoting canceled, but they're immediately come back into it again because for whatever reason, it could just be because of privilege or because of their status or whatever that reason may be. But it's really ultimately, how does that individual learn? Because we can say, like, oh, if we give them time and space and educate if they get educated, yes, let them have that time to grow and learn and educate it. But if that same particular person don't do that growth, are not doing that education, just continuing what they're doing, then it's a matter of time to kind of say, okay, this person didn't do anything. It's time. We have to let them go. We can't keep supporting this person any longer. It's up for them to decide if they want to learn, but if they show that they don't want to learn, they obviously do not want to learn at all based on their actions, then it's for us as an audience to decide, should we keep supporting this person? No matter how many chances or time we keep giving them, we need to let us individually decide, should we keep supporting this person? They said it once that they'll learn, but then like two, three, five, numerous times, even worse. They've probably done worse. Then that's when you have to kind of step back and think, when should we stop supporting? When should we say, we can't help you anymore, or I can't do this anymore, and this is safe for me too. And that's not to say that no one's escaped from criticism, no one's escaped from making mistakes, as you said. So it's just learning about it's also my responsibility to think, how do I navigate the space? But also should I learn how to educate myself? And that's why I like to kind of sit and observe my surroundings, but also just like being able to kind of try to listen to what other people are saying and just digest it and listen and have any questions I mainly ask. But I try not to use it as taking advantage of it in that space. Because there are people who are giving their time to let you learn about why you made this mistake, why this is, quote, unquote, problematic, or why this is valued for, let's say, a culture or a person. So it's just acknowledging that they took this time for people to take the time, to lack a better term, educate you, but also taking the time to really help you help us understand, help you understand why this is value and important, why it can't be hurtful for an individual or a community. So it's basically basic human understanding. That's what I'm trying to say.
Wish 00:26:42
That's right. But I picked up, like, there's a wisdom game there that applies to a lot of things in humanity, which is when to know, when to let someone go. That's gracefulness. When it comes to humans, when you learn that, and that's a very big thing in different communities, you can only do so much as an individual or as a group when it comes to educating, when it comes to making someone aware about something, it's a big wisdom. Not everybody can do that. Yes, that's right. So that's another thing, right? Thank you for all of these because I feel like your messages, messages that I see on social media is quite diverse in terms of your interests. And for me, I feel at the moment, I feel a little bit sheltered in a small country and I'm not working and traveling as much as I was, that I love seeing other people's view of the world in so many different ways. And I could see that yours is very complex because you have a lot of interests. But I always wonder, how do you do your time management? Because you said you're writing, you're recording your micro chapbook, and then you're also editing for different literary groups, and you have other interests like your podcast and many other things, I'm sure, behind the scenes. So how do you manage all of that altogether?
Asela 00:28:32
Yeah, I wish I could tell you. I think I'm learning myself because right now I think that's my two main goals are time management, but also learning how to live the life I wanted to because especially in the summer, I'm going to start going to grad school real soon. So it's just now I have to learn how to time management. Give me some time for writing, but also give time to if I need to apply for scholarships or jobs, if I need a new day job or whatnot. But also if I have a day job, I give time for that. But also give time for my family because I live with my folks and just give some time with them and spend time with them if they need any support from me or if I need support from them. Just trying to learn about time management and space for that. And I know I'm not doing the best job of it, but I'm hoping for those two goal, I can utilize that, especially when I start grad school real soon. So I'm still learning, too. I still learn the process of time management. So it's a process. It's slow, really slow, but it's getting there.
Wish 00:29:44
I see. Well, I appreciate all your efforts. I could see that. And what I've learned about time management for a while now is that as you evolve as a person, your time would also evolve with you. So it's how you handle routine before may change over time. So it's a never ending task, but it's always an exciting task. So I always believe the time grows with you. Humans are resilient. We're resilient beings, so we can always I think the awareness, like, for example, you have a goal, so goal versus the time when you find a common ground there, I think it's just good. And we can't be perfect when it comes to these things, but that's part of the evolution of who you are as a person. That's what I've gathered in my own life, too. But wait, you said grad school as an afterthought, but it's a big deal. Yeah. Tell me about this one. Yeah. Oh, my gosh congratulations!
Asela 00:30:59
Thank you. It was funny because Katrina and I. We recorded our first episode for a season two, and I did the same thing, and she even said, Asela, you just made a bombshell. You just said, you're going to Grad school why you didn't say anything. I'm like, oh, yeah, because I said it in the most subtle way possible. I didn't realize it either. It's like those comedy skits or sometimes like TV shows where they start like, oh, blah, blah, blah, blah, whatever. By the way, I'm doing this and then leave. Which is funny.
Wish 00:31:35
Yeah. What is the grad school about?
Asela 00:31:38
Yeah, so the grad school I'll be attending in the summer is called Pacific Northwest College of Arts. So I'll be studying under their low residency program, which is I don't know if this is applied to where you are, but I know in America, when it comes to low residency, for creative writing or sometimes visual arts programs for graduate schools. Usually when they say low residency is when you go to campus for a certain amount of days or a week. You spend time there, get to know some people in the program and the mentors. Or the teachers there. And then you fly back to your home and just do most of your studying there until you come back again to do it all over again. But mainly from mine. What's interesting about PNCA is that I have the choice to study fully remotely, so the only time I get to go to campus is graduation, if I'm able to graduate. If I'm able to graduate.
Wish 00:32:41
Yes you will. Well, you're always determined.
Asela 00:32:43
I hope so, because I saw the financial aid and I just saw how much it costs, and I'm like, oh God, I hope I do.
Wish 00:32:52
We have to look for a good benefactor for you.
Asela 00:32:56
Yes. I mean, I'm applying for fellowships and Scholarships right now and trying to gather as much and try to apply as much as I can. Just hopefully be able to win any scholarship and fellowship so I can pay for it because I saw the loans and it's so much. I did apply for this scholarship while I was applying for PNCA. Unfortunately, I didn't get it. And it's sad, but I'm trying to apply for as much as fellowships, grants, and scholarships as much as I can because I'm trying to avoid paying for loans as much as I can.
Wish 00:33:36
How long is this grad school going to be for you?
Asela 00:33:39
About two years. So it's going from like 2023. 2024.
Wish 00:33:43
So is this focused on being a poet or something else?
Asela 00:33:48
Yeah, so it's basically like poetry. So what I'm aiming to do for two things while I'm studying there is just honing and focusing on my manuscript, the full collection. I already have a title for my full collection manuscript, but I want to make sure I have and also I have the theme for it, but I want to make sure it's refined and make sure that it's there and ready, like the poems and what the direction was going for for this collection. And also that I wanted to use that time to practice becoming like, a poetry instructor. And that's what I like. It will be nice to do so and fingers crossed those will happen because I. Want to be able to get a master's. So then whenever I apply for universities, especially if they're looking for poetry instructors, I'm the person for that. So just like, they can't say no to me because I have a master's. Yes.
Wish 00:34:49
Wonderful. I love this.
Asela 00:34:51
Thank you.
Wish 00:34:52
Just to dig deeper, when did you realize that you're going towards this literary path?
Asela 00:35:01
It started in community college, but I started writing lyrics, like song lyrics when I was in middle school because in middle school, I was so fascinated by songwriters or artists that I love, like Michael Jackson, Olivia Newton John or The Beegees. I remember I begged my mom to print out those lyrics in case the c doesn't have any lyrics in the lyric book. So I asked my mom to print them out that's we found a website, and I would just like, I still have some of those songs I would like, highlight which ones saying, like, this is my favourite, or this is my second favourite, or, this is my favourite. And I'm always so fascinated by it. And at first I want to be like a lyricist, kind of like what Broadway or movie producers have. But then I googled what it's like working as a lyricist, and I was like, let's just say I have to rethink how I'm going to approach it. So it wasn't until I went to community college, when I moved up to Oregon, is when I took, like, an introduction to poetry class. And I wanted to take it because it kind of similar to writing lyrics. So I thought, okay, maybe I can try this. So I don't remember what poem I wrote, but I remember I wrote it out of sheer scaredness that they'll probably say, hey, maybe this is not for you. But then when I read my poem in class, they were pretty excited. They had a lot of good things to say about my poem. And I was shocked. I was really shocked. And then that led me to Denice Frohman, who is like one of my favorite poets ever and also my writing heroes. It was like the Dear Straight People poem. And then it also led me to Dominique Christina, and then eventually led me to Franny Choi, who I had the honor to meet in person. By the way, I met Denise and Dominique in person, so that was like crazy mental.
Wish 00:37:05
Oh wow!
Asela 00:37:07
Yeah and Franny Choi I got to meet recently at Hopp Seattle. For me, when I saw Franny Choi, the first time I saw Franny Choi was watching their videos on Button Poetry. And I remember watching those videos. Yeah, and I remember watching those videos. That's where I knew I wanted to continue poetry, I want to continue writing. And I don't know how at the time, I didn't know how I'm going to do it. I don't know how I'm going to become this working professional, being paid poet. How don't I going to do it, but I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it no matter what, and I want to continue doing that. So that's how it all started. What started as a hobby eventually became a thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Wish 00:37:55
Wow. I love that. That's such an inspiration to aspiring writers. I think it's just all about just doing it right. Start somewhere. Just write and start somewhere.
Asela 00:38:10
Yes.
Wish 00:38:11
So coming from this, I always feel that you are always representing, and I love what you represent as well. So what do you envision? What are your goals for this literary path that you have in writing and most especially in poetry communities that you serve?
Asela 00:38:29
Yeah, I'm hoping to be, like I said, after hopefully I graduate, when I pay off, not having too much loans. Hopefully to be a poetry instructor and just be able to teach poetry to students, especially, like, younger audience, and just be able to allow them to have a voice and space. Well, not just young age, but just like, all ages. And I want to be able to teach, be a poetry instructor, and continue uplifting BIPOC/queer literature, Asia- Asian diaspora, Asian American literature. Just could keep continuing that while being a poetry instructor. I want to continue being a poetry editor or like, an editor for literary magazines as long as I get paid because, of course, besides my time at Variety Pack, shoutouts to everyone at Variety Pack, we're doing great work. Besides Variety Pack, I've kind of, since last year, been burned out from doing editorial stuff. I've been pretty burnt out. So I wanted to kind of refocus how I want to, especially now that I have a micro chapbook coming out and I'm working on a manuscript, a full collection manuscript. I wanted to renavigate myself as a poet, as a writer, and how I want to utilize that voice. And I actually enjoy doing becoming a poetry instructor because I was an instructor during my Alum University's youth program, and we did it for the summer, I did it for a week. The students I worked with were amazing and made me love the work and made me want to continue doing the work. So it really motivated me to kind of continue that and just focus on my writing and be in that space for that. That's my goal. And I also have a retirement plan.
Wish 00:40:32
Can you tell me a little bit more about that? This is so inspiring.
Asela 00:40:35
Yeah. A lot of people say, what's your long term goal? Or what is your dream, per se? I'm already living my dream, and that is like being a poet, being a writer, at least for me, it can be bigger. Of course it'll be bigger, and that's always been that kind of dream. That's one of my long term goals is, like, continue being a poet, continue being a writer. But my retirement plan is like, after all of this, whenever that time comes, after all of this, I want to open up my own bookstore.
Wish 00:41:09
Awww.
Asela 00:41:12
Yeah, I want to open up my own bookstore. And just having that space where I have it all written down, too. Just have it like but the shortness of being kind of like what Kinokuniya Bookstores, which is like one of my favorite bookstores ever. Just having be like a space. Yeah, for being so many awesome books. Just like, continuing uplifting local writers in the area BIPOC, Queer and just having that drag queen reading hour. And also it's like a space for poetry readings as well as open mic. And I was in a poetry slam club when I was in undergrad.
Wish 00:41:46
Yes.
Asela 00:41:46
And I want to have that space for them to be there and have that poetry reading. And just also having that space where people can listen to music. And if I want to make a bigger space, I wanted to have it to be the space. It might not happen, but I always wanted to but have that space where of college students be able to kind of stay for the night. Because when I was an undergrad, there has been a lot of issues and problems with houselessness or homelessness or just students do not have a place to stay. And sometimes they would go out, like, really late and studying for the library, and it gets there late and it's too late to walk home, and it's dangerous to walk home. So I wanted to have a space where it's kind of like a hostel, kind of similar to what Japanese or Korean bookstores have, like a little cafe where they have a little room. But I also want to have a room where it's like people can check out and check in so they can stay. If they need to study, they can stay in the room, sleep there. And I don't know the logistics. Of course, I haven't worked out the logistics yet, but that's kind of my ideal, to have a space for college students if they need a place to stay for not the whole year, but at least for some time for them to especially if they need to study for finals. It's too late for them to go back home. It's too late to get them an Uber or something like that. Just having that room and that space so they can study and then sleep without having to worry that they have to walk home at night. That's what I hope for. My retirement plan is open up that bookstore.
Wish 00:43:23
Oh, my gosh, that has to happen.Don't give up on that one, I wish that exist everywhere. That's a very beautiful vision, Asela. It's just wow. Thank you. I could even picture it in my head how it's going to look like.
Asela 00:43:39
Honestly, I hope that happens. Of course, not now, because, of course, I have no funds and I'm kind of busy right now. My head's going on right now.
Wish 00:43:51
And you said it's a retirement plan.
Asela 00:43:53
Yeah, it's a retirement plan. That's when I hopefully after all of this and finally got my once I got all my shit together. Then maybe this will be my retirement plan.
Wish 00:44:09
That's very inspirational that I could see that happening and that's very marketable and it's going to be very good to different college communities. So, yes, I support you on that part.
Asela 00:44:24
Thank you.
Wish 00:44:25
I hope your vision will come true. I know it will. You're very determined when it comes to these things.
Asela 00:44:30
Thank you.
Wish 00:44:32
Yes. So in closing, what's the word that you can think of that you can impart to our listeners and why?
Asela 00:44:42
When you say impart, what do you mean by that?
Wish 00:44:44
After our conversation, what's the word that you can pick up that you can share to our listeners and what does that word mean to you?
Asela 00:44:54
Determination. I feel like that's the theme of this for our episode because I feel like just hearing you and having that energy, just being able to work and improve and not lose hope or lose that vision of where I wanted to go and just not losing that passion or why I'm here to begin with.
Wish 00:45:18
I love that. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for hanging out with me. It's so nice catching up with you Asela, and getting to know you better. This is a wonderful thing because all we do is email each other and see each other on social media. So this conversation really means a lot to me. So thank you so much for guesting, really appreciate it and good luck to your grad school and always stick to that retirement plan. It really sounds amazing.
Asela 00:45:54
Thank you. And thank you so much for inviting me. I had such a good time and I'm so grateful to be able to have this space and talking with you and catching up with you. I'm so excited to just seeing season three. Congratulations on season three!
Asela 00:46:06
And your season two.
Wish 00:46:14
All good. Yes. Hail indie podcaster and also can't wait for your audio micro chapbook.
Asela 00:46:26
I'm excited, I'm excited. The poems I've written read for the past two years, I'm very excited and. I will definitely announce it on my social media and hopefully you'll like it too.
Wish 00:46:39
Oh, I can't wait. Trust me.
Asela 00:46:42
Thank you.
Wish 00:46:55
From this episode, one of the most important words about life is willpower. It is the strong determination that allows one to do something difficult. It's similar to words determination, commitment, dedication, tenacity, backbone, self control, spine, and self restraint. Julianna "the Venezuelan Vixen" Peña, the first woman to win the ultimate fighter, quoted: "Willpower strength and determination. It will take you places." End quote. Not everything goes according to plan. Plans always change and divert and diverge. It really depends. But life is just really like that. It always takes us by surprise. And we also discover new things. I think the biggest factor when it comes to moving forward is that willpower: willpower to survive, willpower to succeed, willpower to endure everything that we're going through at some point in our lives. I think it's just important for us to have that willpower in our minds, in our hearts, and in our souls to keep on going with this surprising life. And that's what's beautiful about what we're here for.
Wish 00:48:42
Thank you for listening to Human Thesaurus. Please help me rate and subscribe because your support means a great deal. Join me again next week for another episode. And while waiting, why not listen to my past few episodes? You may find one of them riveting. I'm your host, Wish Ronquillo Peacocke. Have a fantastic day, and thanks for listening.
-
Licensed Music: Ketsa
Transcript: Voicequill.com
