Writing a Poetry Book with ZiQing Kuang

@ziqingkuang on instagram

1. Could you please tell the readers a little about your self? What’s your name, what are your interests, how did you get started writing?

My name is ZiQing Kuang, and I absolutely love writing poems and stories. I started

writing when I was really young, about 6 or 7 years old. I remember having stacks of

notebooks around my bed, and I would just fill up those pages with sketches and little

stories based on my drawings. I remember writing all these short stories based on this

boy named Tom and his friend group, and each story would be dedicated to one of their

adventures or playdates. As I grew up, I was immersed in books, and I spent every

single moment reading. I think that was what triggered my love for words and literature.

You are going to be releasing a poetry book in a couple months. Tell us about the inspiration and motivations behind your book. What can readers look forward to seeing in it.

2. Are there any central themes in the book?

My poetry book, “from the ground up”, is all about the painful aftermath of a breakup and

the growth that occurs after that. A lot of the poems that I wrote were inspired by songs,

books, and movies that I hold dear to my heart. I remember listening to a lot of “Driver’s

License” by Olivia Rodrigo and “Champagne Problems” by Taylor Swift. I was motivated

by some of my favorite movies: Five Feet Apart, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Love,

Rosie. You can expect a lot of sadness and grief at the beginning of the book but as

poetry progresses, you can see lessons of growth, understanding, and the journey of

discovering yourself.

3. What has the process been like? From writing to publishing, what are some of the challenges?

I think some of the biggest challenges in writing this book was finding the inspiration and

trying to connect my life with what I was writing. Personally, I haven’t experienced a lot of

heartbreak, and here I was writing a poetry book about it. When I was writing these

poems, I forced myself to be vulnerable and jot down these thoughts that I couldn’t

connect with. But as I started opening my mind more, I realized that writing poems

shouldn’t feel forced. It should feel natural. I also learned that you don’t have to be

involved in some kind of messy breakup to feel heartbreak. We experience heartbreak

every single day in many different ways, from the stories we read to our everyday

observations. The best poems I wrote were the ones that were the easiest to write

because I knew that those words came from the heart.

4. Where and when can people expect to see the book?

The book will be released on Amazon in paperback. I am really excited to share it with

everyone, and it would mean a lot of readers could leave a review on the Amazon page.

It is the best way for me to receive feedback and understanding.