Interview with Valerie Hsiung: NYC Poetess

Prior to moving to New York City in 2015, I never considered myself an avid fan of poetry. I enjoyed the couplet-writing part of my schoolwork in elementary school, and I marveled at the Jaberwock in Lewis Carroll’s splendid bit of nonsense in ‘The Jaberwocky,’ but beyond that I didn’t really consider myself a true student of it. However, in the Autumn of 2016, I read E f g, a collective work of short stories and poetry by Valerie Hsiung, a Brooklyn poetess, whose stunning reworking of prose and syntax captivated me. I devoured her book, fascinated and puzzled by the text. I knew I needed to get more insight, so I am happy that I was able to conduct an interview with them for Black Nerd Problems. Please enjoy! Black Nerd Problems: Let’s scope out your inner nerd. If you could brunch with one fictional character (Bloody Marys, eggs, the works), who would it be and why? Valerie Hsiung: This one was hard for me because I had several solid picks, and my immediate inclination was to go with the most “badass fictional character” I could think of (a la Olivia Benson, Offred, Arya Stark, Mae Millay, Black Widow, Carrie, Storm), but then I realized I wouldn’t want to get BRUNCH with the most badass fictional character. I want to get BRUNCH with the most easy-to-be-around/hilarious character. And that would be Ilana Wexler. 🙂 [divider type=”space_thin”]BNP: Please tell us a little bit about yourself! Where are you from, what have you been doing, what do you study, etc. Hsiung: I was b…