CHIWAN CHOI is the author of two collections of poetry, The Flood (Tía Chucha Press, 2010) and Abductions (Writ Large Press, 2012). His most recent project is Ghostmaker, a book he wrote, presented, and destroyed in 2015. He is also currently working on a new collection of poetry, The Yellow House, to be published by CCM in 2017. Chiwan is also one of the founding partners of Writ Large Press, an indie publisher that uses the book to resist, disrupt, and transgress. Freddy Garcia corresponded with Chiwan about his small publishing press, previous and forthcoming projects, and thoughts on the poet’s responsibility
Freddy:
You are currently one of the editors of Writ Large Press, a small publishing press based in Los Angeles. Would you like to tell our readers a little bit about your press?
Chiwan:
We started WLP in 2008 to publish LA-based writers who were being overlooked by other presses. We’ve published the debut books of some incredible poets such as Kim Calder, Billy Burgos, Khadija Anderson, Ashaki M. Jackson and Rachel McLeod Kaminer, in addition to books from more established writers such as Wendy C. Ortiz and Mike Sonksen. But what we have learned over the years is that it’s not enough to just put out books and to sell them. We have to use the book to fight, to disrupt, to enter spaces that want to exclude. So that’s what we do.
Freddy:
Your last collection of poetry Abductions, which you labeled a “science-fiction poetry book,” disrupts the sanctity of poetry and gives the literary elite the middle finger, all while expressing your marginalization due to the said elitism. I think it is a radical and profound collection of poems, and everyone should read it. Will your forthcoming collection tackle the same issues? Who or what is the next target of your middle finger?What is the duty of the poet today?
Chiwan:
Hm. The eternal question. I don’t know. Maybe the role of every artist is to report the world in a way that it disrupts the world.