David Ly

The only poetry I read in high school was what was provided by the curriculum. However, I did not find it relatable and it was difficult to understand. That said, I did enjoy listening to music lots (and still do!). That was what poetry was to me as it opened my understanding of how different creative works can have strands of poetry in them. 

When I entered university, I knew I wanted to "be a writer." I intended to go into writing fiction, but found that I fell into poetry by accident, of sorts. I basically started writing poetry because the Creative Writing Certificate I was doing required one more upper-level writing course, and the only one available I could take that last term was a poetry course. I enrolled and found myself writing "poetry" in terms of what I wanted it to be: succinct narratives that had clear endings, or open conclusions that invited the reader to think (or gasp). I guess I really started thinking of myself as a poet when I was doing my Masters in Publishing and was writing poetry as a way to flex my creative writing muscles since the program was so intensive in learning about the industry. It was the perfect form for me to write in as I could work on short pieces of writing in between classes or on transit to school.

Interesting question! Thinking in terms of the poetry I write, I think my job as a poet is to widen readers' understanding of different perspectives and how this changes the way we interpret ourselves and go about the world. How can we see ourselves differently when our lives are integrated with those who are unlike us? How can we change for the better? I think I write a lot about love and identity, and even the apprehension and at times fear that can arise between the two. Being so, I like to play in the "grey" area in my poems, I think: poetry where the narratives may seem unsure or giving into something they are fearful of, but ultimately curious about.

"Livejournal.com/lonelyradio" by Kayla Czaga