Writers’ Statements

Michael Lockwood ’23, Eclipse (15)

Lots of things were in my mind when I wrote this. I thought of all the content in about 15 minutes as I was getting ready for bed. Earlier that day I had AP Euro so I had religion – specifically The Ninety-Five Theses – swirling in my head. That’s kinda the context, enjoy.

Nicole Dao ’23, Shanghai (17)

When my grandfather was a boy, right before the Communist Party took over mainland China, he left Shanghai for Taiwan, then Brazil, then the United States. I don’t think anyone could’ve realized what he would lose, but I know that he still wonders what might have happened if they’d found a way to stay. I actually really like the word “shanghai,” controversial history and all. It’s more underhanded than “coerce” and less violent than “strong-arm.” I’m sure that there are people who would interpret the word as racist or Orientalist, but I like the irony of its use in this poem— Asia no longer being the destination to be kidnapped to, but from.

Aidan Fraiola ’23, Ode to Chris (22)

Inspired by Miles Kroeker “Thank You, I’m Sorry”

Elia Belluzzo ’26, Nostalgia (27)

I wrote this poem when I had just moved about a year ago, and I was really homesick. I was really missing my old home, and I was thinking a lot about different memories I had there. It was really hard for me, so I wrote some poems about it. This poem was really important to me, as it was a way I could put my grief and the things I was feeling into words.

Perry Dye ’25, Wheel (33)

I took wheel throwing over the summer. It was a really interesting experience to learn a new art form in such a condensed amount of time, and I was fascinated by how careful yet confident you have to be all throughout the process for the end product to be satisfactory. This poem is a reflection of my experiences.

Nicole Dao ’23, And When the Music’s Over, What Then? (41-43)

Emma and Jamie’s duet is an arrangement of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” or “Going Home.”

Ian Watanabe ’23, “It’s Basically Asian Pizza!” (46-47)

My main inspirations were Ben Passmore’s “Your Black Friend”, as well as Charles Yu’s Interior Chinatown. I wanted to explore racism, not as a heated crisis but rather a slow burn that creeps into everything, including the character’s external and internal self.

Crow Villanueva ’25, My Funny Valentine (50-51)

The title of this piece is a reference to the jazz piece of the same name (the Ella Fitzgerald version, of course), and will hopefully clue the reader into what the “it” I mentioned throughout the piece is. Spoiler alert: “It” is jazz.

Jadon Kwan ’24, Summer Days (56)

I really enjoy writing poems, as does my friend, Julian Barradas ’24. He was about to move to Texas when I decided that we should collaborate together on a poem before he moved that summer. So we wrote a poem about summer! It includes all the things that we love, as well as some references to our favorite game, “Genshin Impact.”