Volume Seven: Chapter Twelve - Our Conversation with Grace

In Volume Seven: Chapter Twelve of the podcast, we welcome Hong Kong-born, Midland, Ontario-based poet and author Grace. Holding a double BA in English Literature and Psychology from the University of British Columbia, Grace is the author of The Language We Were Never Taught to Speak and her newest collection, Be Water, available now from Anvil Press.Our conversation traces Grace's creative journey from an avid childhood reader who eagerly returned home from weekly library trips with stacks of novels, to someone who initially found poetry uninspiring and imposed upon her in high school. She reflects on how discovering contemporary poetry, becoming immersed in Vancouver's vibrant literary community, and finding an early champion in the partner who became her first editor transformed poetry from an academic exercise into a deeply personal means of understanding herself and the world around her.Grace opens up about growing up in a family where emotions were rarely spoken aloud, explaining how poetry became the language through which she could process memories, identity, family history, queerness, culture, and belonging. We explore the surprising evolution of her debut collection, The Language We Were Never Taught to Speak, discussing how individual poems gradually revealed themselves to be part of a larger conversation, how publishing that first book validated her identity as a poet, and how writing it helped release her long-held fixation on the past.We also discuss finding confidence as a performer within Vancouver's spoken word scene, learning to embrace joy and playfulness in the writing process, and the evolution that led to her newest collection, Be Water. Grace shares how the new book feels less like a return to old wounds and more like a continuation of healing, exploring relationships, identity, and self-understanding from a place of greater compassion and emotional clarity.It's an honest and thoughtful conversation about creativity, healing, identity, and discovering that sometimes the language we're searching for is the one we learn to write ourselves.Contact Grace:Instagram: @thrillandgrace       Website: grace-writes.com Recorded Spoken Word Performances Featured Include: Joel Francois – LiarsInstagram: @thedapperdaydreamer Fanta Ballo – Broken HeartsInstagram: @fantarattyCrystal Valentine – Little Known FactInstagram: @crystalvalentine94         Website: iamcrystalvalentine.com The Legendary Black Ice – Who Would I BeInstagram: @thelegendaryblackice         The Legendary Black Ice – Bigger Than MeInstagram: @thelegendaryblackice          Support the show