.WRITERS.ON.WRITING..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. #63
Vanessa Y. Niu
Describe an early experience where you learned that language has power.
Though I am currently studying classical music, I grew up singing and acting in a variety of genres, and I also studied theater for two years in London. Theater, musical or not, relies heavily on the power of language to communicate but also to move. Looking back, I believe it was my encounter with Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar as Caesar himself in a showcase of Shakespearean fragments, that really catapulted this realization. What was really remarkable about it is that even now I can still recall the feeling of the audience hanging on to your words, feeling your emotions through them, and the rhythm of the language mimicking my heart rate. Exhilaration.
What is your writing Kryptonite? Your most interesting writing quirk?
Being forced to write something in an allotted amount of time tends to clutter my brain quickly with tasks that have nothing to do with writing and completely destroys the attention that writing needs. Then you’ll see all sorts of junky metaphors that don’t flow well rhythmically or are just unintentionally senseless. Personally, I need a lot of time to sort through the cliches and the metaphors I have stored up in my head from reading other works, things that are reflexive memory. It’s a slow process of allowing whatever the predominant emotion I’m writing about really is to come out. Filing, conglomerating, remixing different parts of the mental inventory, putting it on the page. Though, and the quirk ties along with this, there are times writing in a given time can be very helpful (when self-imposed) because I tend to be a control freak about how a piece of writing goes out into the world—it’s very important to remember that not everything has to be understood, that poetry really is just for you.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
To read more widely. I was stuck in a loop of looking for a very specific genre of narrative poetry and I think it might have stunted my growth as a writer. The more you read certainly makes a difference in the structure and voice of a work, but the wider you read, the more styles and schools and time periods, the more tools you have to achieve what you want to achieve in your work. It also helps to develop a style of your own, gives you more to experiment with.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
I think there’s a general consensus in the writing industry now that promotes writing for social change in the world. I think to some degree this holds true. I do wish my writing could enact some change in the world, but I do hope that writing continues to be something innately personal. I write because there is nothing else that is so flexible with my emotions and thoughts—the independence of it is refreshing. I suppose my “inner writing voice” wants me to not take everything so seriously.
Vanessa Y. Niu is a poet who lives in New York City. Off the lined page, her work has been set to music in collaborations with Juilliard and Interlochen composers. When not writing, she likes to play chess with her friends, learn about non-Euclidean dimensions, and listen to jazz.
“Record Player Plays Franco-American Blues” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal EMBLAZON, Vol. VIII, No. 2, Fall 2023. You can find her at vanessayniu.carrd.co or on Instagram @vvn.zihan.
.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. #62
Michele Evans
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
Don’t give up on the novel.
What word do you find yourself using most often in your writing?
‘Black,’ and not because it’s my favorite color but because the speaker and figures in my poem are often people of color. A close second is the word ‘whisper.’ This is fascinating to me as I think I am still trying to develop my writing voice. Sometimes I choose to whisper messages through my poetry rather than shouting them from the top of my lungs.
Why did you submit this piece to Yellow Arrow Journal? Why this piece at this time to this place?
Yellow Arrow’s commitment to amplifying women’s voices is the reason why I submitted. As someone who is fairly new to writing and publishing, I know there is so much I can learn from being part of this community. And I know once I build up my confidence, I will have so much to give back. Although the majority of lines in “malea” depict a series of dark, harrowing, and traumatic (sadly, universal) experiences, in the end the speaker of the poem triumphs, elevates, and blooms. Overcoming adversities is a message I hope readers will be left with long after reading the final lines.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Don’t wait for life to happen, just write.
Michele Evans, a fifth-generation Washingtonian (D.C.), is a writer, high school English teacher, and adviser for her school's literary magazine, Unbound. Despite always wearing the color black, she exhibits a certain fondness for blueberries, blue hydrangeas, blues musicians, and Blue Mountain coffee. This 2023 Pushcart Prize nominee and winner of theASP Bulletin poetry contest has been published in Artemis, Maryland Literary Review, Sky Island Journal, The Write Launch, and elsewhere. purl, her debut collection of poetry, is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press in 2025.
“malea” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal ELEVATE, Vol. IX, No. 1, spring 2024. You can find her at awordsmithie.com or @awordsmithie on Instagram.
.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. #61
Angelica Terso
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
That I need to start calling myself a writer even if it’s not my full-time job.
What is a book you wish someone would write?
A comedic book about 30 somethings with really useless superpowers. Think: ability to turn your fingers into spaghetti, ability to teleport but only one inch forward, etc.
Why did you submit this piece to Yellow Arrow Journal? Why this piece at this time to this place?
I attended my first Yellow Arrow writing workshop with Kerry Graham I really enjoyed. She shared some insights on how to get started in writing creative nonfiction, a genre I always had trouble venturing into because of how personal it felt. There were a lot of blocks I had to overcome to be able to submit this piece, and I am honored for it to be published in a Baltimore-based journal.
What book is on the top of your to-be-read pile?
Babel by R.F. Kuang.
Angelica (she/her) is a Filipino American writer currently residing in Maryland. Her stories feature LGBT, Asian Americans, and other under-represented themes. Previously, her work has appeared in Atticus Review, The Raven Review, and others. When she’s not writing, reading, or daydreaming, she’s either hiking or rock climbing.
“Anatomy of a Lumpia Girl” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal ELEVATE, Vol. IX, No. 1, spring 2024. You can find her on Instagram @angelicatersowrites.
.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. #60
Sarah Josephine Pennington
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
There is more to say.
What is a book you wish someone would write?
Whatever is laying on their heart. Something they feel deep in their bones dragging them forward, forcing them to create.
Where do you go to find out about writing submissions opportunities?
I try to comb through the acknowledgments and websites of writers I admire to see their publishing history, and then I visit those journals or magazines to see what their publishing schedule and submission criteria are. I love to write a lot of different things, from creative nonfiction to speculative fiction, to poetry, so I’ve started a separate Google Calendar that alerts me to publishing openings and closings of venues I’m interested in. Since I’ve been out of school for years now, I don’t get the announcements I did when I was in creative writing workshops, so I also try my best to participate in community events and workshops and have found resources that way.
How did you first publish your writing and what was it?
I had a poem published in the program for a middle school honor’s banquet, and I was hooked on writing after that.
Sarah Josephine Pennington (she/her) is a queer, disabled writer and artist currently living in Louisville, Kentucky, though her roots are in Appalachia. She studied creative writing while attending Bellarmine University and the University of Louisville, as well as through the Appalachian Writer’s Workshop and the Carnegie Center in Lexington. Recently her writing has been included in Still: The Journal, riddlebird, and the Anthology of Appalachian Writers, and she was awarded a 2023 writing residency through the Kentucky Foundation for Women and placed in the Leo (Louisville Eccentric Observer) annual literary contest. Her art, which includes ceramics, printmaking, and fiber arts, can be frequently found in venues throughout Louisville.
Sarah’s beautiful piece “Myths and Lore” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal EMBLAZON, Vol. VIII, No. 2, fall 2023. We were in such awe of “Myths and Lore” that we nominated it for a 2024 Pushcart Prize.
Learn more about Sarah through Instagram.
.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. #59
Rashna Wadia
What word do you find yourself using most often in your writing?
“Body.” I’m fascinated by the word’s complexity. Lately, I’ve been writing about our bodies' relationship to time and aging. I'm interested in understanding how history, topography, and language shape what we experience in our bodies.
If you didn’t write, what would you do?
I would dance. I love how music inspires freedom in my body so that I can move the way I want depending on my emotions. I wouldn’t follow any structure, steps, or routines; I would just move to the music and my mood.
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?
Lucy Maude Montgomery. At a young age, I fell in love with Lucy’s writing and felt a deep connection to her characters. In college, I traveled with a group of friends to Prince Edward Island for the first time and it was just as magical as Lucy had described in her novels. I’ve returned several times since then and now it’s one of my happy places. I imagine the two of us listening to the ocean, sipping tea together, and chatting like old friends.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
I am worthy.
Rashna Wadia is an empath and Parsi poet living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She offers creative writing workshops for children and is the poetry editor for the Fahmidan Journal. Currently, she’s working on her first book length poetry collection and a chapbook on womanhood and aging. Her work examines political, social, and spiritual fragmentation in our society and what it means to belong amidst othering. She wants her poems to be the hug, the welcoming embrace, the validation we all need when we feel excluded. Her work has received support from VONA/Voices, Open Mouth, and Kenyon Review Writer’s Workshops. You can find her poems in Catamaran, Whale Road Review, Terrain.org, Tinderbox, Yellow Arrow Journal, Salt Hill Journal, and elsewhere.
Her poem “Open Spaces” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal ANFRACTUOUS, Vol. VI, No. 2, Fall 2021. You can find Rashna reading her poem with other ANFRACTUOUS authors in An Exploration of Belonging: The Anfractuous Reading on the Yellow Arrow YouTube Channel.
Learn more about Rashna by reaching out to her at writersgarden4kids@gmail.com.