Young Writer’s Conference Day 2: Kao Kalia Yang

So today was another ridiculously inspiring day at the Young Writer's Conference. Kao Kalia Yang, author of The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir, opened up the morning with a wonderful discussion about her book where she engaged and explored questions including: What does it mean to be a writer? What does it mean to be a "good" writer? What is identity? And so on.

As Kao Kalia Yang spoke, I could not write fast enough to capture all of the inspiring words that were flowing out of her. However, the following are paraphrases to what I found the most influential and to be honest, applicable to our own teaching practice:

• We write because the world doesn't see inside of us.
  
• Good writing is never about disagreeing or agreeing, but understanding.
  
• Why write?
  
  • Because people's lives are never really understood. Writing is necessary to truly understand ourselves or someone else.
    
  • There is always more time on the page. Provided you have the right teacher, the page is much more patient.
    
  • To discover something new about yourself and the world around you.
    
  • You have to feel something before the reader ever will. Great writing comes from feeling.
    
• Identity isn't who you want to be, but seeing who you are and being comfortable with that.
  
• Good writing is…
  
  • Teaching your reader something new.
    
  • Always personal and always about the human experience.
    
  • Not regurgitation. Write what things mean to you.
    
• To become a good writer:
  
  • Fall in love with language.
    
  • Find a favorite word and use it in a powerful way.
    
  • Always look for meaning.
    
  • Spill a body of words to choose from.
    
  • Don't be afraid to throw away those words.
    
  • Throw away the words that don't reveal "emotional truth," and don't feel bad about it.
    
• We are the words we think and write.
  

The act of listing these points does not do justice. The thing that struck me most about the author was how large of a presence she had for being such a small and meek sounding young woman. However, despite her size and the volume of her voice, this discussion grabbed every listener in the audience and moved them to what at certain points looked like tears. In the end, this is the lesson and most valuable thing that I took from her discussion: that all writing comes from feeling, even the most boring report-like crap that we force ourselves to write. When we write, if we don't evoke an emotional response in ourselves, whether writing about the loved ones that we have lost, or a research project on the Hoover Damn, the reader will be equally empty. As writers, we can't be afraid to explore and should seek to find the "emotional truths" behind our lives; the words that truly define the essence of where we came from, who we are, and what we can become.

See Kao Kalia Yang discuss her book:

Visit her website:

http://www.kaokaliayang.com/home.html