Sahtu Press continues our new interview series with writers and creators across the globe to assist intercultural conversations on what it means to be creating in our modern times, finding our own voices, and reaching towards the outermost limits of our imagination. This month we interviewed the talented Shin Yu Pai who will be presenting in Ann Arbor soon with Bryan Thao Worra, Ryan Lee Wong, Tsering Yangzom Lama, and Quyên Nguyễn-Hoàng for the Asian x American x Buddhist x Literature gathering at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Shin Yu Pai is currently Civic Poet of Seattle (2023-2024). She the author of 13 books, including most recently No Neutral (Empty Bowl, 2023). She is the recipient of awards from the The Academy of American Poets, City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture, 4Culture, and The Awesome Foundation. She is a 2022 Artist Trust Fellow and was shortlisted in 2014 for a Stranger Genius Award in Literature. From 2015 to 2017, Shin Yu served as Poet Laureate for The City of Redmond. Her writing has appeared in Atlas Obscura, Tricycle Magazine, YES! Magazine, NYTimes, Zocalo Public Square, Seattle Met, ParentMap, Seattle’s Child, International Examiner, and South Seattle Emerald. Her work has appeared in publications throughout the U.S., Japan, China, Taiwan, the UK, and Canada. Shin Yu is the writer, host, and producer of Ten Thousand Things – a chart-topping podcast on Asian American stories for KUOW Public Radio, Seattle’s NPR affiliate station. The show has won two Golden Crane Awards from the Asian American Podcasters Association and a silver from the Signal Awards. A new book Small Doses of Awareness was just published by Chronicle Books.
Can you tell us a little about yourself, and how did you develop an interest in the arts, but especially poetry?
I’m a second generation Taiwanese American writer, artist, mother, and Buddhist. I developed an interest in books and literature as a young child. My mother is a visual artist and we didn’t really share a common language or creative vocabulary. Language was a site of desire and longing for connection. I started making photographs as a kid and got my first camera at an early age. I make public art, installations, book arts projects and also very occasionally perform. With friends. I’m interested in collaboration and process and never doing the same thing twice.
You wear so many hats as a writer, but what are some that have been the most fulfilling for you?
I love writing and hosting a podcast for public radio. I am the creator of “Ten Thousand Things” – a chart-topping, award winning podcast for KUOW, Seattle’s NPR station. We are in our third season now and I’ve gotten to work with amazing people on my show including Shawn Wong, Alice Wong, Tomo Nakayama, Andy Kim, and others.
I was an event producer for 4 years for Atlas Obscura, where I planned author events that took place in the Seattle Underground and cat cafes, and produced arts event in the Georgetown Steam Plant and onboard Tall Ships.
What are some of your favorite things to study, and how has this influenced your approach to writing?
Buddhism, sacred literature, and vocal performance. Recently, I took a fun class on making tufted rugs. And I’ve studied paper marbling, bookbinding and letterpress printing. Writing is just another extension of creative practice. Everything makes its way into a poem sooner or later.
Who do you turn to for your artistic inspirations?
Right now, I’m working with violinist and looper Joe Kye on a performance that brings together storytelling and improvised music. And I’m also working with Crow Nishimura and Joshua Kohl of Degenerate Art Ensemble on a performance-based work. Tonya Lockyer inspires me and is a somatic writing buddy.
What do you most often aim to achieve with your books?
I hope that my readers can see themselves in my poems or access different ways of thinking and being that enrich their perspectives. I hope my poems bring pleasure and delight with their commitment to beauty, artfulness, and complexity. And I hope to surprise readers in continually making something new.
What are some of the exciting things you’ve learned over the last year during your journey as a creator?
Ideas come from the body as much as the mind and it’s important to bring the body into the writing.
A lot of my work as a podcaster is for the Asian American community. I am also a member of that community and need to make stories that please and excite me. Writing for the voice and ear has changed the way that I write poems.
What’s the best compliment you’ve received for your writing so far?
My writing has been used to facilitate hard conversations on racial equity and Asian American identities for organizations that have included King County Employee’s Equity and Social Justice Initiative and racial equity initiatives at Shoreline Community College.
Several podcast listeners have found me in person to tell me what my show Ten Thousand Things has meant to them. That it has undone some of the loneliness of being Asian American. The very nice reviews on Apple Podcasts keeps me going on difficult days.
What do you like to encourage in writers just starting to explore poetry for themselves?
Read as much as possible. Research writers that you love to learn about their paths and publishing journeys. Literary citizenship matters. Try not to be self-centered.
What’s one of the most unusual subjects you’ve taken on with your writing?
I co-wrote a book on psychedelics for Chronicle Books called Small Doses of Awareness that just published.
What’s next for you?
Performance art and more singing and a new season of Ten Thousand Things that launches on April 30. Bonus episode will come out in March, so subscribe and listen and get caught up on the first two seasons. I’m also writing a book on the podcast for University of Washington Press.
photo by Sung Park