By Kate Cho
“My work, especially my poetry, is written both for myself and for everybody. I think, personally as a poet, it is impossible to separate who I am from my own poetry, especially when I still don't have a lot of experience in the world. I find a lot of the writing that I wrote last year embarrassing or awkward, which is good from my point of view since it means I'm developing and evolving my writing further.” – Minh Truong
Minh Truong, a current senior student, is known in the Collingwood community for her passion for writing. In grade 9, Minh moved from Little Flower Academy to Collingwood School. When asked, “What does art as a means of expression mean to you?” Minh answered, “I don't really have a philosophy on art since I consider physical art such as painting completely different from writing. Writing as a means of expression is something that is very important to me. I write both poetry and prose, which are to me very different forms of expression. My prose is usually fiction, and lets me push myself with creating characters and different worlds. It's usually something that is more public. I use poetry to convey emotions or feelings or thoughts that I can't really put into prose, that I don't want to speak out loud.”
Minh claims that several poets and authors have influenced her in her life. Warsan Shire, a poet who wrote the poetry spoken on Beyonce's Lemonade Album has inspired her with the vividness of her poetry and how she draws one into stories that feel both relatable and yet are ultimately someone else's experience. She has also been inspired by Bao Phi's poetry book titled Song I Sing, which she found very relatable as another Vietnamese poet. This book showed her how to write poetry not just within herself, but also from the stories of others. When it comes to prose, her favorite books are The Night Circus by Erin Mogernstern, which had a lovely, serendipitous bitter-sweet feeling that she would love to capture in her own books. Minh has two older sisters living abroad, one of whom is a creative non-fiction writer. Her sister continuously supports her, often critiquing her work and helping her to strive and improve.
Currently Minh has two poems that are set to be published at Yareview.net, an online magazine for teen authors. She is also working on her first book and a small poetry chapbook. Next year, Minh will be attending Carleton University in Ottawa for either a Bachelor of Arts undeclared, or a Bachelor of Communications & Media Studies. She plans to continue writing by joining Carleton University’s newspaper, as well as by writing her own poetry and prose. Minh also plans on creating a website as a platform to share her prose and perhaps an Instagram account to expose people to her poetry.
Minh’s career goals are to work in writing or to be on a fashion/beauty editorial team of a preferably online beauty/fashion magazine, such as the Coveteur. Otherwise, she would like to work as a fashion/beauty PR rep. Her ultimate dream, however, is to be a published author on the New York Times bestsellers list! We look forward to Minh’s future pieces and we wish her the best of luck in her life at Carleton University next year!
“My work, especially my poetry, is written both for myself and for everybody. I think, personally as a poet, it is impossible to separate who I am from my own poetry, especially when I still don't have a lot of experience in the world. I find a lot of the writing that I wrote last year embarrassing or awkward, which is good from my point of view since it means I'm developing and evolving my writing further.” – Minh Truong
Minh Truong, a current senior student, is known in the Collingwood community for her passion for writing. In grade 9, Minh moved from Little Flower Academy to Collingwood School. When asked, “What does art as a means of expression mean to you?” Minh answered, “I don't really have a philosophy on art since I consider physical art such as painting completely different from writing. Writing as a means of expression is something that is very important to me. I write both poetry and prose, which are to me very different forms of expression. My prose is usually fiction, and lets me push myself with creating characters and different worlds. It's usually something that is more public. I use poetry to convey emotions or feelings or thoughts that I can't really put into prose, that I don't want to speak out loud.”
Minh claims that several poets and authors have influenced her in her life. Warsan Shire, a poet who wrote the poetry spoken on Beyonce's Lemonade Album has inspired her with the vividness of her poetry and how she draws one into stories that feel both relatable and yet are ultimately someone else's experience. She has also been inspired by Bao Phi's poetry book titled Song I Sing, which she found very relatable as another Vietnamese poet. This book showed her how to write poetry not just within herself, but also from the stories of others. When it comes to prose, her favorite books are The Night Circus by Erin Mogernstern, which had a lovely, serendipitous bitter-sweet feeling that she would love to capture in her own books. Minh has two older sisters living abroad, one of whom is a creative non-fiction writer. Her sister continuously supports her, often critiquing her work and helping her to strive and improve.
Currently Minh has two poems that are set to be published at Yareview.net, an online magazine for teen authors. She is also working on her first book and a small poetry chapbook. Next year, Minh will be attending Carleton University in Ottawa for either a Bachelor of Arts undeclared, or a Bachelor of Communications & Media Studies. She plans to continue writing by joining Carleton University’s newspaper, as well as by writing her own poetry and prose. Minh also plans on creating a website as a platform to share her prose and perhaps an Instagram account to expose people to her poetry.
Minh’s career goals are to work in writing or to be on a fashion/beauty editorial team of a preferably online beauty/fashion magazine, such as the Coveteur. Otherwise, she would like to work as a fashion/beauty PR rep. Her ultimate dream, however, is to be a published author on the New York Times bestsellers list! We look forward to Minh’s future pieces and we wish her the best of luck in her life at Carleton University next year!
|
Skin-walker
If I could steal your skin Take your lips with their softly accented syllables And wear it over mine, Would they love me like they love you? If I grabbed the shine of your hair, Your laugh The bright smile they worship Would it make them worship me? I’m too in love with the idea of you Of being just like you I think I’ve forgotten where I left myself Twins We’re too alike, me and her Not with our faces or voices But with the lies we say, The truths we kill and the vices we use to drown the world around us |
Gluttony
I climbed the tree of sweet honey and fruits My hands swelled red, gripped blue with purpose I searched for a fire that could not be matched Let dwelling juices run over my uncured body My teeth snapped into a peach flesh and skin drooling Slicked tongue over blood Ate until my mouth grinded Whole pit into tasteless mush Still, hunger called me and roving hands stopped not yet. |