“If you’re a mess, how can you help others? In what way can you help others at all?”- Ira Sukrungruang

For this week’s podcast episode, I talk with Ira Sukrungruang, poet, writer, and creative writing professor at Kenyon College *and* a former Buddhist monk. We talk about “striving for nirvana first” before we can help others get to enlightenment. It’s another way of saying “put your own mask on before assisting others.” This striving includes self-examination, looking at how our language was formed and informed, at how we express ourselves, at how we respond (or react) to external events.

Some of the things that came up in our conversation:

race relations: the rise in awareness around racism and white supremacy but in particular, the relationship between Black and AAPI communities
cultivating of the skill of deeper listening
self-awareness - why we need it and what to do with it once we have it
being fully present in your body, something we take for granted
communication: where language is formed and how it plays a role beyond just talking to each other.
and of course, writing! All the things about writing!

Ira is the author of four nonfiction books, including the forthcoming memoir, This Jade World; the short story collection The Melting Season; and the poetry collection In Thailand It Is Night. He is the recipient of many awards, including the 2015 American Book Award and the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Nonfiction Literature. He is one of the founding editors of Sweet: A Literary Confection (sweetlit.com), and is a creative writing professor at Kenyon College.

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

“Forgive the Dream” by Hafiz
“A Small Needful Fact” by Ross Gay

Membership(s) Mentioned:

Witchy Writers: https://suryagian.com/witchy-writers

Ep 219 - Finding balance between the personal and the collective

Spiritual GritBy Leslieann HobayanMay 15, 2024