Ellen Chang-Richardson : part five

What other poetry books have you been reading lately?

Always a combination. This summer, it’s Adam Dickenson’s Anatomic, Phoebe Wang’s Admission Requirements, The Paris Review #228, The Feathertale Review #22, and PRISM international #57.3 RUIN.

Ellen Chang-Richardson : part four

What poets changed the way you thought about writing?

Christian Bök, Anne Carson, Billy-Ray Belcourt, and Suzanne Buffam.

Ellen Chang-Richardson : part three

What are you working on?

Building up my work and gaining publication.

Ellen Chang-Richardson : part two

How did you first engage with poetry?

I was 15 years old and in love with the world of classic literature. I discovered an anthology of poems by John Donne and it went with me wherever I went.

Ellen Chang-Richardson : part one

Ellen Chang-Richardson is an emerging Canadian poet of Taiwanese/Cambodian-Chinese descent and the founder of Little Birds, a workshop series based in Toronto & Ottawa (http://littlebirdspoetry.ca). Her writing has appeared in Ricepaper Magazine and my (small press) writing day. Ellen holds an Hon.BFA in Fine Art History & Visual Studies from the University of Toronto and certificates from the Gemological Institute of America, and the Node Center for Curatorial Studies, Berlin. When she is not writing or chasing adventure, Ellen is the Assistant Curator at Barbara Edwards Contemporary.

Why is poetry important?

Poetry is one of those rare art forms that pries apart the layers of humanity and society. It does for us, what great conceptual art does. It makes us think; it makes us feel.