I think e-mail and social media and all that has made me feel way less isolated than ever before. Victoria Chang More Quotes by Victoria Chang More Quotes From Victoria Chang I've always felt alone and isolated, and living on the West Coast, there's no poetry community out here, and if there is, it's really spread out - because it's LA, it's spread out. Victoria Chang west-coastspreadcommunity Sometimes people ask me to do stuff in New York, like "Can you read at this thing?" And I say, "Nooo, I can't just get on a plane with these two screaming children - I can't just get rid of them on such short notice and take vacation and fly over to New York." Victoria Chang vacationnew-yorkchildren I've never thought about the con of living in New York as a writer. Because I always think, Oh, what fun to be around so many writers. Because I've never been around so many writers. Victoria Chang new-yorkfunthinking I am always reading, always, and tons of things at once. I wouldn't say I'm a voracious reader, though. I never finish books that fast, because I'm always reading so many things at once. Victoria Chang readerreadingbook I think my brain is full of collisions and that's how I like to read and process information. I'm always comparing things and I think I do that subconsciously when I'm reading books of poetry. Victoria Chang readingbookthinking Our lives are short and everything sort of regresses to the mean. Victoria Chang our-livesmean I question my own talent and ability to make creative work every single day. Victoria Chang abilitytalentcreative I think my way of being "funny" is just saying things that people think but have learned not to say, whereas, I haven't learned not to say them. Victoria Chang peoplewaythinking I think I love humor in poetry, but not that slapstick cheap easy humor, but that uncomfortable, "did she say that out loud?" kind of humor. Victoria Chang kindeasythinking People who are too uptight make me nervous. Victoria Chang uptightnervouspeople There's an attraction to emotional clusters or hypocrisies or awkwardness. A desire to expose something or point at something that's already poking out. Victoria Chang emotionalhypocrisydesire Most people are trying to go digital, and trying to do different things with poetry. McSweeney's is going in the opposite direction - going more classic, and retro, which is all coming back. Victoria Chang oppositestryingpeople I think being a poet, period, is isolating. Victoria Chang poetperiodsthinking I think I've always felt very isolated, and I'm sure lots of poets do. Victoria Chang isolatedpoetthinking It took me awhile to not be ashamed to be a poet in the business environment, and to be a business person in the poet environment. Victoria Chang ashamedenvironmentpoet Most of my writing friends are working in academia. Most of my business school friends are always talking about bringing companies public, and money, and making money, and lots and lots of money. It's just a different environment. Victoria Chang writingtalkingschool I do think that given my background as a poet, and also I work in a different field, you're sort of neither here nor there. Victoria Chang differentfieldsthinking Whether people like your work or not, but it's also based on a lot of other things - geography, who you happen to connect with and where they sit in that ladder - and all of that felt really isolating and disheartening to me when I figured it out. Victoria Chang ladderslike-youpeople I've always just liked writing poetry, but it's much later that I've discovered that there's this whole poetry world out there, that you almost have to be accepted into, like this little club. Victoria Chang clubswritingworld I can't help but go against the grain, I suppose it is in my fabric to be a rule-breaker. Victoria Chang fabricgrainhelping
