.Writers.on.Writing.
Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
.W.o.W. #35
Kim Berrios Lin
Describe an early experience where you learned that language has power.
Watching my Grandmother recite her poetry as a child. Without understanding every word she spoke in Spanish, the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck would raise, as my eyes teared, every single time. There was a sense of knowing; a momentary portal that I was very aware of.
How did you first publish your writing and what was it?
This will be my first published writing! “I Am We” came to me the morning I was to participate in a #standwithasians 12-hour live stream. I felt the poem work through me instead of come from me. The editor of Yellow Arrow Journal’s RENASCENCE issue, Taína, whose writing I have admired my entire life, watched my portion of the live stream and asked if I’d consider submitting. Up until that day, I had never considered my poetry worthy of public consumption; it had always been more of a private catharsis. I am so grateful to Yellow Arrow, for allowing this leap of vulnerability, to culminate as my very first published piece.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
That they are visiting and to stay open to what enters.
Kim is an actor, writer, producer, and stargazer, who proudly draws from her Puerto Rican (with indigenous Taíno lineage) and Taiwanese heritage. “I Am We,” was included in RENASCENCE, Vol. VI, No. 1, which Kim read for Renascence: A Reading in 2021. She also sat with Taína for an insightful chat before the release of RENASCENCE. Kim has a recurring role in HBO Max’s “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin” coming out soon as well as a supporting role in Disney’s “Better Nate Than Never,” released this month!
Updates on all her projects can be found at KimBerriosLin.com. You can also follow Kim on Facebook, Instagram @KimRiosLin, and Twitter @kimrioslin.