Horrified Press shared a link.
Hey, thanks for dropping by, Changming.
Q.) Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and which experiences in your life helped you decide to become a writer...
A.) This is how I wrote my first poem: on the evening of 6 August 2004, during our first family trip to Banff as tourists, I was climbing the mountain behind our hotel all by myself, since my wife and two sons all had refused to go together with me. Reflecting on my totally marginalized existence, and recalling all kinds of hardships I had been suffering, I became choked with sadness and could not help bursting into tears. To release this emotional tension, I tried to sing at the top of my voice those old songs I used to sing when I was forced to labor on a forest farm during the Chinese Cultural Revolution after graduation from high school in the mid-1970s. At the same time, I felt the urge to write something. At 8:35 pm, I finished scribbling my seed poem ‘The Lonely Climber’ in English on a piece of paper found on the mountain. Since that rainy moment, I have written more than 1,000 poems, and luckily had almost 900 of them published in literary journals/anthologies across 26 countries.
Q.) Changming, that's incredible. I'm speechless and in awe of such a personal journey. And in regards to your contributions to ' Tales of the Undead – Suffer Eternal' ('Morning Mists', 'Rioting' and 'City Nightscape'), give us a spoiler free insight to the concepts of your tales and what inspired you to write them...
A.) The three poems included in the anthology – 'City Nightscape,' 'Rioting' and 'Morning Mists' are a group of poems I have written in response partly to the 'occupy movement' of 2011-22, and partly to Lawrence Ferlinghett's 'Dragon's Teeth', published in LEFT CURVE (#34) where my poetry also happened to appear. In these three poems, I was trying to explore my own dark fantasies.
Q.) And you succeeded. Where do you see your writing career going in... for example, let's say ten years time? Is this the medium you want to write for? Where would you like to be?
A.) Hopefully, my health would allow me to live and keep writing for another ten years. By 2023, I would have had at least 20 collections ready and wish to have had at least 5 accepted by book publishers. More significantly, I would like to be duly recognized not only abroad but also within Canada, my own chosen country, without having to participate in (and win) major or 'numerous' poetry contests.
Q.) Who were your literary influences, Changming?
A.) No, I never had any, not really, although I do have some favorite poems by different authors. The poets I more or less like are Li Bai, Li Ho, Su Dongpo, John Keats, Lorna Crozier and Ye Chuan.
Keats is a personal favorite of mine from that list. Do you feel up to giving us some top 5's?
Q.) Top 5 Novels?
A.) When I was a teenager, I liked Ethel Lilian Voynich's GADLYFLY. While attedning Shanghai Jiaotong University, I enjoyed reading Howard Fast's SPARTACUS. Later, I found it interesting to read Luo Guanzhong's THREE KINGDOMS, Margaret Mitchell'S GONE WITH THE WIND, James Joyce's DUBLINERS. By the way, I most hated reading Herman Melville, Faulkner, Henry James, Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf.
Q.) Top 5 Inspirational horror movies that affected your own working style?
A) None; I have never watched any horror movies.
Q.) Your Top 5 horror icons?
A) None, either.
Thanks for taking part in our little Q & A, Changming. This was a truly inspiring interview. And don't forget, fans of the gruesome and grotesque, our latest horror anthology, 'Tales of the Undead – Suffer Eternal', is available now from Amazon.com & Lulu.com
Q.) Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and which experiences in your life helped you decide to become a writer...
A.) This is how I wrote my first poem: on the evening of 6 August 2004, during our first family trip to Banff as tourists, I was climbing the mountain behind our hotel all by myself, since my wife and two sons all had refused to go together with me. Reflecting on my totally marginalized existence, and recalling all kinds of hardships I had been suffering, I became choked with sadness and could not help bursting into tears. To release this emotional tension, I tried to sing at the top of my voice those old songs I used to sing when I was forced to labor on a forest farm during the Chinese Cultural Revolution after graduation from high school in the mid-1970s. At the same time, I felt the urge to write something. At 8:35 pm, I finished scribbling my seed poem ‘The Lonely Climber’ in English on a piece of paper found on the mountain. Since that rainy moment, I have written more than 1,000 poems, and luckily had almost 900 of them published in literary journals/anthologies across 26 countries.
Q.) Changming, that's incredible. I'm speechless and in awe of such a personal journey. And in regards to your contributions to ' Tales of the Undead – Suffer Eternal' ('Morning Mists', 'Rioting' and 'City Nightscape'), give us a spoiler free insight to the concepts of your tales and what inspired you to write them...
A.) The three poems included in the anthology – 'City Nightscape,' 'Rioting' and 'Morning Mists' are a group of poems I have written in response partly to the 'occupy movement' of 2011-22, and partly to Lawrence Ferlinghett's 'Dragon's Teeth', published in LEFT CURVE (#34) where my poetry also happened to appear. In these three poems, I was trying to explore my own dark fantasies.
Q.) And you succeeded. Where do you see your writing career going in... for example, let's say ten years time? Is this the medium you want to write for? Where would you like to be?
A.) Hopefully, my health would allow me to live and keep writing for another ten years. By 2023, I would have had at least 20 collections ready and wish to have had at least 5 accepted by book publishers. More significantly, I would like to be duly recognized not only abroad but also within Canada, my own chosen country, without having to participate in (and win) major or 'numerous' poetry contests.
Q.) Who were your literary influences, Changming?
A.) No, I never had any, not really, although I do have some favorite poems by different authors. The poets I more or less like are Li Bai, Li Ho, Su Dongpo, John Keats, Lorna Crozier and Ye Chuan.
Keats is a personal favorite of mine from that list. Do you feel up to giving us some top 5's?
Q.) Top 5 Novels?
A.) When I was a teenager, I liked Ethel Lilian Voynich's GADLYFLY. While attedning Shanghai Jiaotong University, I enjoyed reading Howard Fast's SPARTACUS. Later, I found it interesting to read Luo Guanzhong's THREE KINGDOMS, Margaret Mitchell'S GONE WITH THE WIND, James Joyce's DUBLINERS. By the way, I most hated reading Herman Melville, Faulkner, Henry James, Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf.
Q.) Top 5 Inspirational horror movies that affected your own working style?
A) None; I have never watched any horror movies.
Q.) Your Top 5 horror icons?
A) None, either.
Thanks for taking part in our little Q & A, Changming. This was a truly inspiring interview. And don't forget, fans of the gruesome and grotesque, our latest horror anthology, 'Tales of the Undead – Suffer Eternal', is available now from Amazon.com & Lulu.com
posted on facebook on 26 april 2013 - link:: https://www.facebook.com/horrified.press
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