Valley Guest of the Week: Meet Charlie: The Whimsical Writer Grade: Junior Shoes: Converse All-Star Jeans: Rude (Hot Topic) Shirt: St. John's Bay Necklace: Not sure/gift Jacket: B.A.D The Interview Why is it important to write? What solace or importance do you find in writing? "I’m going to try to word this in the least uncomfortable way, but writing is about being naked, for me. Not literally naked, but metaphorically, which sounds pretentious, and maybe it is, but writing is important, to me, because its raw. Writing, poetry especially, is a way of translating the abstract into the tangible, and being able to do that is a rewarding experience." "My goal is to move people with what I write, and to be able to express and evoke different emotions, so when that is accomplished it is a really incredible experience. I have always written to express myself, and I think, more importantly than that, I write to try to express universal feelings, things that everyone can feel. The real goal of writing is to bare yourself to people, but also give them a new sense of honesty with themselves." Tell us a little bit about the slam poetry you do. When did you first realize this was something you were interested in? "Near the end of Freshman year, someone sent me a link to Sarah Kay’s “B.” From that point on, I found some other poems of hers on Button Poetry, and it just sort of spiraled out of control from there. I started writing more Sophomore year, and I’ve been cultivating ever since. I think what really pulled me into slam poetry was the passion of it. There’s nothing quiet about slamming." "It’s radical, modern, and raw, and the honesty of it pulled me in. Being able to express opinions, experiences, and ideas – both personal and imagined – is something I don’t think I would have taught myself to do without poetry. Slam poets make up a very niche community, but a passionate and supportive one, and it’s an incredibly rewarding thing to be a part of." Who are your biggest literary inspirations in your life? What makes them so important to you? "This is going to sound really corny, but I think for the most part teachers have really shaped the way I write and the way I feel about writing. I’ve had a lot of really incredible English teachers, and I think that they’ve really helped me better myself as a writer, and have really fostered my passion for it." "As far as other writers with influences on the way I write, I think I am still forming my style, and it’s hard to tell who has shaped me the most. The distinct “voice” of slam poetry has really stuck with me, and there’s a lot of Beat influence in some of my writing, but I think it’s always changing. When I was in middle school, I wrote in simpler sentences, used obvious metaphors, and wrote clichéd Young Adult Fiction stories, because that’s what I was reading." "There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s different from the way I write now, and five years from now my writing may have a completely different voice. The inspiration comes from everywhere, and in such quantities that it’s hard to tell where from, exactly." We love short hair!! We know you love short hair! Tell us a little bit about why you decided to go for “the chop”. "Honestly, it was never a big deal for me. I knew from a very young age that I wanted short hair, but never really felt the need to act on it until middle school. It always just made sense for me to have short hair, and I’m glad I’m in a position where I can get it cut pretty much however I’d like to. The short hair is convenient, and it’s a big part of the way I like to present myself." Favorite stores? "H+M, Forever 21, and Old Navy are staples, but I’ve recently gotten much more into stores like CottonOn and Uniqlo. Uniqlo particularly has some really nice men’s shirts in odd sizes that are harder to find in other stores, that fit me much better. For people looking for great masculine-centered clothes, I would say Uniqulo and H+M menswear is the best." "Is fashion and the clothes you wear an important part of you? How so?" "My personal aesthetic is a huge part of who I am. When we talk about gender theory, it’s important to talk about performativity, or the way you take your internal sense of self and translate that into an external presentation. Basically, how you translate the inside of you into something people can see." "For me, controlling my personal aesthetic and being able to choose the way I look is a huge part of self-actualization and gender-validation. It’s harder for some than others to present to the world your internal image of yourself, but I think I am constantly getting closer to a presentation that makes me feel comfortable and one with myself. Clothing and fashion are a huge part of that presentation and what it says about me." I thought the fact that you carry a little notebook everywhere was interesting – would you like to comment on it? Why that instead of writing “notes” in your cellphone? "I was in Barnes & Noble with a friend when I first bought the miniature moleskins, sophomore year, and I immediately took to carrying one of those in my right back pocket and a pen in my left back pocket. It’s convenient if I need to give someone a note quickly or write something down to remind myself. Also, I’ve found that if I make a note in my phone, its questionable whether anything will actually come of it, but by writing everything down in the notebook, I can have everything in one place." "I write down ideas I have throughout the day, things I want to look up, that people mention, and it’s almost like a diary. I can look back at notes and remember what I was feeling or thinking at the time, or what writing pieces those notes eventually grew into. I actually just started my fourth one of these notebooks, and I think it’s a fun conversation starter at the very least." Favorite book? "I absolutely love The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, I’ve read it three times now and every time I get something new out of it. It’s really an incredibly book." Any advice for aspiring writers who aren’t quite ready to share their work? "It never stops being scary, sharing your writing with others, but it does get a little easier. The important thing is to be open and honest in your writing, first with yourself, and once you’ve come to terms with and accepted that honesty within yourself, sharing it with others is easier. That fear can pass, just be patient with it, and make sure to understand it yourself first, that will help make sharing it much easier." Charlie, you are so amazing, and it was great spending so much time talking and working with you to perfect this interview. Definitely check out Charlie's poem, "On Writing". Stay Classy Valley,
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