Tish Melton

Sing along if you know this song.

Sing along if you know this song.

I walk through fire, I came out the other side. I chased desire I made sure I got what's mine And I continue to believe That I'm the one for me And because I'm mine I walk These were adventurers and heartbreaks on map. A final destination we left. We stopped asking directions to places they've never been. To be loved, we need to be known.

I walk through fire, I came out the other side. I chased desire I made sure I got what's mine And I continue to believe That I'm the one for me And because I'm mine I walk These were adventurers and heartbreaks on map. A final destination we left. We stopped asking directions to places they've never been. To be loved, we need to be known.

And through the joy and pain that our lives bring, we can do hard things. I hit rock bottom. It felt like a brand new start. But the problem's sometimes things fall apart And I continue to believe The best people are free And it took some time Those were adventurers and heartbreaks on back. The final destination we left. We stopped asking directions to places they had never been.

And through the joy and pain that our lives bring, we can do hard things. I hit rock bottom. It felt like a brand new start. But the problem's sometimes things fall apart And I continue to believe The best people are free And it took some time Those were adventurers and heartbreaks on back. The final destination we left. We stopped asking directions to places they had never been.

And to be loved we need to be known We'll finally find our way back home And through the joy and pain Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks on that We might get lost but we're okay with that We've stopped asking directions

And to be loved we need to be known We'll finally find our way back home And through the joy and pain Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks on that We might get lost but we're okay with that We've stopped asking directions

of places they've never been and to be loved we need to be known we'll finally find our way back home and through the joy and pain that our lives bring we can do hard things yeah we Yeah, we all can do hard things.

of places they've never been and to be loved we need to be known we'll finally find our way back home and through the joy and pain that our lives bring we can do hard things yeah we Yeah, we all can do hard things.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We're the Womboks.

We're the Womboks.

Bye.

Bye.

I walked through fire I came out the other side I chased desire I made sure I got what's mine And I continue to believe That I'm the one for me And because I'm mine I walk the line Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks on map A final destination we lack We've stopped asking directions To places they've never been And to be loved we need to be known

I walked through fire I came out the other side I chased desire I made sure I got what's mine And I continue to believe That I'm the one for me And because I'm mine I walk the line Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks on map A final destination we lack We've stopped asking directions To places they've never been And to be loved we need to be known

hit rock bottom it felt like a brand new start i'm not the problem sometimes things fall apart and i continue to The best people are free And it took some time But I'm finally fine Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks on a map A final destination we lack We've stopped asking directions To places they've never been And to be loved we need to be known

hit rock bottom it felt like a brand new start i'm not the problem sometimes things fall apart and i continue to The best people are free And it took some time But I'm finally fine Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks on a map A final destination we lack We've stopped asking directions To places they've never been And to be loved we need to be known

the joy and pain that our lives bring we can do a hard thing adventures and heartbreaks on that we might get lost but we're okay that we've stopped asking directions to places they've never been and to be loved we need to be known before We can do hard things. Yeah, we.

the joy and pain that our lives bring we can do a hard thing adventures and heartbreaks on that we might get lost but we're okay that we've stopped asking directions to places they've never been and to be loved we need to be known before We can do hard things. Yeah, we.

Speaking of your mother, so she came to your first reading and I think one of the stories you've told was how afterwards you came up to her and she was crying and she said she was just so happy to see all these old white people clapping for you, just standing up and listening to you.

Speaking of your mother, so she came to your first reading and I think one of the stories you've told was how afterwards you came up to her and she was crying and she said she was just so happy to see all these old white people clapping for you, just standing up and listening to you.

Could you tell us about that night and maybe just what it was like to experience this mother-son relationship, particularly so tied with your work as well?

Could you tell us about that night and maybe just what it was like to experience this mother-son relationship, particularly so tied with your work as well?

It's very interesting. I'm only a quarter Japanese, so sometimes I do some self-gaslighting and wondering how much I've actually experienced. And so there's that, which is, of course, also very complicated. But I don't know. It's really interesting. I think...

It's very interesting. I'm only a quarter Japanese, so sometimes I do some self-gaslighting and wondering how much I've actually experienced. And so there's that, which is, of course, also very complicated. But I don't know. It's really interesting. I think...

There was a lot of forgetting in our family with just assimilation, which I feel like is something that is essentially not pursuable in the end. I just remember very subtle playground stuff that would kind of be repressed and then would come up in certain memories. And then I would remember, oh, that was racist or that was a violent act.

There was a lot of forgetting in our family with just assimilation, which I feel like is something that is essentially not pursuable in the end. I just remember very subtle playground stuff that would kind of be repressed and then would come up in certain memories. And then I would remember, oh, that was racist or that was a violent act.

Actually, only really recently have I, I think, given myself the space to understand that fully.

Actually, only really recently have I, I think, given myself the space to understand that fully.

Definitely from reading your work, but also just with the recent resurgence in the violence against Asian people and especially Asian women, it's very interesting to deal with that latency period between something that happened to you, which of course still continues, but then realizing that that has stuck with you for such a long time without you really dealing with it or even giving yourself the grace to process it.

Definitely from reading your work, but also just with the recent resurgence in the violence against Asian people and especially Asian women, it's very interesting to deal with that latency period between something that happened to you, which of course still continues, but then realizing that that has stuck with you for such a long time without you really dealing with it or even giving yourself the grace to process it.

And just in the lens of Asian American artists too, I just would not be able to live with myself if I didn't say the work that you and also just the new resurgence. And you mentioned Mitski, which is so ridiculous that you mentioned Mitski. That's so crazy. I just love her. Japanese Breakfast, Sasami, all these new artists that are coming in and being so inconceivable with their art.

And just in the lens of Asian American artists too, I just would not be able to live with myself if I didn't say the work that you and also just the new resurgence. And you mentioned Mitski, which is so ridiculous that you mentioned Mitski. That's so crazy. I just love her. Japanese Breakfast, Sasami, all these new artists that are coming in and being so inconceivable with their art.

It's just really working and I can only really speak to my circle, but all of my Asian American friends and even beyond that, we feel very seen by all these people being not universal, but incredibly specific with their stories. Of course, we've all had completely converse experiences. experiences, my ancestors were Japanese. They were colonizers.

It's just really working and I can only really speak to my circle, but all of my Asian American friends and even beyond that, we feel very seen by all these people being not universal, but incredibly specific with their stories. Of course, we've all had completely converse experiences. experiences, my ancestors were Japanese. They were colonizers.

There's no similarity, but there also is being in America, this, um, homogenous treatment. And so like learning, um, from these artists who are telling their stories that kind of make our identities, which are messy and new, like incredibly conceivable. So I just wanted to say like the effect that this, uh, this work is having, however it

There's no similarity, but there also is being in America, this, um, homogenous treatment. And so like learning, um, from these artists who are telling their stories that kind of make our identities, which are messy and new, like incredibly conceivable. So I just wanted to say like the effect that this, uh, this work is having, however it

incredibly radical it is and incredibly new it's like 100% working to fuel this like new young people generation we're very thankful thank you thank you for saying that that you put it absolutely aptly I think that's exactly what's happening

incredibly radical it is and incredibly new it's like 100% working to fuel this like new young people generation we're very thankful thank you thank you for saying that that you put it absolutely aptly I think that's exactly what's happening

nobody survives by accident survival is a creative act yes it is so your newest poetry book is called time is the mother we have it right here um can you tell us a bit about what that title means it feels like it could contain multitudes thank you thank you for the whitman nod um

nobody survives by accident survival is a creative act yes it is so your newest poetry book is called time is the mother we have it right here um can you tell us a bit about what that title means it feels like it could contain multitudes thank you thank you for the whitman nod um

We would.

We would.

Hello.

Hello.

Wow.

Wow.

Such an honor.

Such an honor.

Thank you so much. Oh my gosh. Thank you for starting the conversation. Of course.

Thank you so much. Oh my gosh. Thank you for starting the conversation. Of course.

Speaking of your mother, so she came to your first reading and I think one of the stories you've told was how afterwards you came up to her and she was crying and she said she was just so happy to see all these old white people clapping for you, just standing up and listening to you.

Could you tell us about that night and maybe just what it was like to experience this mother-son relationship, particularly so tied with your work as well?

It's very interesting. I'm only a quarter Japanese, so sometimes I do some self-gaslighting and wondering how much I've actually experienced. And so there's that, which is, of course, also very complicated. But I don't know. It's really interesting. I think...

There was a lot of forgetting in our family with just assimilation, which I feel like is something that is essentially not pursuable in the end. I just remember very subtle playground stuff that would kind of be repressed and then would come up in certain memories. And then I would remember, oh, that was racist or that was a violent act.

Actually, only really recently have I, I think, given myself the space to understand that fully.

Definitely from reading your work, but also just with the recent resurgence in the violence against Asian people and especially Asian women, it's very interesting to deal with that latency period between something that happened to you, which of course still continues, but then realizing that that has stuck with you for such a long time without you really dealing with it or even giving yourself the grace to process it.

And just in the lens of Asian American artists too, I just would not be able to live with myself if I didn't say the work that you and also just the new resurgence. And you mentioned Mitski, which is so ridiculous that you mentioned Mitski. That's so crazy. I just love her. Japanese Breakfast, Sasami, all these new artists that are coming in and being so inconceivable with their art.

It's just really working and I can only really speak to my circle, but all of my Asian American friends and even beyond that, we feel very seen by all these people being not universal, but incredibly specific with their stories. Of course, we've all had completely converse experiences. experiences, my ancestors were Japanese. They were colonizers.

There's no similarity, but there also is being in America, this, um, homogenous treatment. And so like learning, um, from these artists who are telling their stories that kind of make our identities, which are messy and new, like incredibly conceivable. So I just wanted to say like the effect that this, uh, this work is having, however it

incredibly radical it is and incredibly new it's like 100% working to fuel this like new young people generation we're very thankful thank you thank you for saying that that you put it absolutely aptly I think that's exactly what's happening

nobody survives by accident survival is a creative act yes it is so your newest poetry book is called time is the mother we have it right here um can you tell us a bit about what that title means it feels like it could contain multitudes thank you thank you for the whitman nod um

We would.

Hello.

Wow.

Such an honor.

Thank you so much. Oh my gosh. Thank you for starting the conversation. Of course.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We're the Womboks.

Sing along if you know this song.

I walk through fire, I came out the other side. I chased desire I made sure I got what's mine And I continue to believe That I'm the one for me And because I'm mine I walk These were adventurers and heartbreaks on map. A final destination we left. We stopped asking directions to places they've never been. To be loved, we need to be known.

And through the joy and pain that our lives bring, we can do hard things. I hit rock bottom. It felt like a brand new start. But the problem's sometimes things fall apart And I continue to believe The best people are free And it took some time Those were adventurers and heartbreaks on back. The final destination we left. We stopped asking directions to places they had never been.

And to be loved we need to be known We'll finally find our way back home And through the joy and pain Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks on that We might get lost but we're okay with that We've stopped asking directions

of places they've never been and to be loved we need to be known we'll finally find our way back home and through the joy and pain that our lives bring we can do hard things yeah we Yeah, we all can do hard things.

Bye.

I walked through fire I came out the other side I chased desire I made sure I got what's mine And I continue to believe That I'm the one for me And because I'm mine I walk the line Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks on map A final destination we lack We've stopped asking directions To places they've never been And to be loved we need to be known

hit rock bottom it felt like a brand new start i'm not the problem sometimes things fall apart and i continue to The best people are free And it took some time But I'm finally fine Cause we're adventurers and heartbreaks on a map A final destination we lack We've stopped asking directions To places they've never been And to be loved we need to be known

the joy and pain that our lives bring we can do a hard thing adventures and heartbreaks on that we might get lost but we're okay that we've stopped asking directions to places they've never been and to be loved we need to be known before We can do hard things. Yeah, we.