A Writer’s Evolution: An Interview with Bee E.S.

Bee E.S. is a poet and an artist. Throughout this interview, they take us through their detailed writing process, how they have evolved, and writing uncomfortable topics/themes. What Bee shows us throughout this interview is that different mediums might serve different purposes, writing can be messy, and change is inevitable. Bee inspires and reinvigorates creatives through her intentional responses.

Q: How does your visual art practice influence your writing, if at all? Do you find that one medium shapes the voice or imagery of the other?

A: I wouldn’t say my visual art influences my writing. In fact, I see them as two separate things. Sometimes my art depicts more complex or abstract emotions. When it's not doing that, it's usually being made just for the purpose of creating something with my hands, or for the sole purpose of being admired. There isn’t always an idea behind the paintings or drawings I make, but if someone sees a meaning in it that I don’t, then I think that’s incredible. I fully encourage viewers to add their own definition to what I create. That’s where my writing differs. My poetry is usually there to explain something specific, to get a point across. There is always a concept that I’m expressing with my poetry or writing. It aims to be understood, to be discussed, and to spark inspiration. My poetry and art don’t necessarily shape each other, but sometimes they can mirror each other. That usually happens when I’ve got one notion in mind that I fixate on, or if I want to see it in multiple mediums. I think it’s really interesting when that happens.        

Q: What draws you to writing as a primary form of expression, even as you work across multiple creative disciplines?

A: I believe I'm drawn to writing as a primary form of expression because it comes to me more easily than most mediums. Even though words can have multiple meanings and nuance behind them, I find myself reaching for a pen and paper when anything significant crosses my mind. In many ways, writing and poetry are my right hand in the way that they’re the most exercised part of myself. Writing helps me turn my abstract thoughts into something legible, something tangible that can be understood more clearly. It’s always satisfying to see my ideas become art that other people relate to and appreciate.  

Q: Can you walk us through your writing process—from initial idea to finished piece?

A: Step 1: (Creating Rough Draft) Most of my poetry starts off as a simple phrase or an idea that I decide to make into something more. This first step is the messiest and the rawest form my writing takes. It always starts as scrawled out chicken scratch that even I have a hard time deciphering! I don’t focus on using a format, just on the words I’m writing and how they sound together. It never takes me long to finish a draft. When I’m satisfied, I move to the next step.     

Step 2: (Grammar Corrections) After writing the draft of a poem, I move on to basic grammar corrections. Most times I write something, it’s on paper and done in a hurry, so corrections are very much needed. Moving my work to a google doc lets me organize lines into stanzas and make sure there’s capitalization when I want to emphasize the beginning of a thought, and commas for the continuation of one. I hardly use periods in my poetry, especially if it’s in stanzas. For a more loose form like a paragraph, I’ll use periods to end a sentence or line.                    Step 3: (Stylizing/Adding Literary Devices) At this point, I move on to making the poem sound more like me. Giving my writing a distinct voice and adding style is, in my opinion, the most important part of the editing process. This is where I add in my favorite literary devices, things like personification, hyperbole, metaphors, and alliteration. Most times my aim is to make my poetry sound more like a storybook, or a fairytale. That is, if I’m not writing about intense topics like rage and grief.                                                                      

Step 4: (Intonation/ “Out-loud Ready”) This step is similar to step 2 since I go back to structuring the stanzas. Except this time I’m organizing them so the intonation is situated properly. That way it sounds how I want it when I read it to an audience. It’s also very important to me that the readers can clearly see how the poem is supposed to sound, that way it can be spoken the “correct” way. I’ll move lines around, replace commas and capital letters so it’s “out-loud ready” and flows smoothly. This step isn’t always necessary, but I do it for pieces that will be performed or published.                                                                            

Step 5: (Naming) If, during this process, I haven’t already named my poem, I’ll read back through the piece to help me bring something to mind. I like the title to encapsulate part of the meaning so the readers have an idea of what the writing is about. I don’t always name my works, but when I do, sometimes the name is the first step and sometimes it’s the last. 

Q: How do you balance vulnerability and craft in your writing—deciding what to reveal and how to shape it on the page?

A: The balance between vulnerability and craft depends on the topic of what I’m writing and how I want it to be received. I do want there to be a certain amount of emotion behind all my works, but the amount can change if I want it to be more relatable or sound more stylish. If I’m writing about a particularly heavy topic, I’ll add more literary devices to counter the nature of the poem. If it’s a more lighthearted piece, there may be some of my own personal experiences in it to add more weight to the overall meaning. It also works the other way around. If I want you to feel the full effect of an intense emotion, there will be less of an attempt to “dress up” the words. Other times I’ll lean completely into the language to make a poem more playful.

Q: How do you handle revision in your writing? What tells you a piece is truly finished?

A: If I decide to revise a poem, it’s either because I want the meaning to be less visible so you have to search for it, or  I want to go more in depth with describing the themes. I would go about this by moving around stanzas, adding new ones, getting rid of them, or by making simple edits. As for knowing if a poem is finished, sometimes it’s obvious and other times I need to give it a couple more once-overs before I have to “decide” it’s fully done.

Q: Are there recurring themes or questions that you find yourself returning to in your writing? Why do you think you continue returning to them?

A: I don’t really have any questions I include in my writing, but there are a few themes I find myself returning to. Rage, grief, loneliness, nature, and hope are the main topics I focus on. Rage is one of the things that I’ve recently “allowed” myself to write about, feel, and process in a healthy way. It used to be an emotion I would never give any time to. Now I’m freely embracing it, even celebrating it in my poetry and day to day life. It has slowly become one of the things I reach towards for my writing. Grief is something I’ve been working through for a long time, and something I’ll continue to work through for the remainder of my days. It’s a very common emotion that finds its way into all poetry and writing in general, and I want to be a part of that. Part of the collective healing that’s trying to happen in the writing community. Grief is always at the forefront of my mind, and at the forefront of most of my poetry. I have always written about loneliness. The concept of it, and how it changes a person. Though, recently, I've been feeling that changing for me. I’ve been surrounded by the art community and other creatives now more than I ever have. Being around so many people with like minds is very refreshing; it makes you feel held. Loneliness hasn’t been very prominent in my recent works, but it comes back around every now and again. Nature is probably one of my favorite things to write about. It’s nostalgic, comforting, and can be malevolent and foreboding. There are so many different sides to nature, so many different perspectives to embody and explore. I’ve been in love with writing poems about it for as long as I can remember. How can you not be? How can you exist as a human on earth and not look around and say “damn, this deserves a poem” because it always does! I don’t think I’ll ever stop writing about nature. I have always felt hope. Therefore, there will always be a poem about it in my journal, on my phone, or scrawled on a sticky note. Whether it’s feeling hope, losing it, or finding it again, it’s one of the most universal emotions. Writing about it allows my readers to see themselves in my poetry, to feel seen and not so alone. There is always something to hope for, so I will always write poetry about hope. 

Q: How has your voice as a writer evolved over time, and what has influenced that evolution most?

A: The way my voice as a writer has evolved started when I decided to write for an audience and not just for myself. My poetry started off very raw and unpolished since it was mainly an outlet for emotions I couldn’t process properly. Now that I’ve changed as a person and an artist, I’m more intentional with what I write and how I present it to the world. The leading factors in how my writing voice evolved lies in changes in circumstance, my outlook on life, my environment and the people I surround myself with. My style has moved around to accommodate that, and went from being grim and dark to being more hopeful and motivated. It feels more like you’re reading a story and there’s much more meaning behind it. The community I’m a part of now has also done a number on my poetry. I’ve been inspired to not only write more, but to look more closely at my work and develop it. I’ve become open to constructive criticism and it’s helped me improve my craft. Part of my process includes thinking about where my writing is coming from, and what I want readers to feel when they consume it. I’m excited to grow as a poet, and I’m excited for the world to witness it!

Q: Why are art and its history important?

A: Art is not just “art”. It’s something that tells a story, whether that be a story that never made it to print, or a dream somebody never got to achieve. It’s an expression and shows how we view the world. Even when it’s not being made to express something, it’s there just to be admired and to spark conversation. Art imitates life, so keeping track of history or art is important. Through it, we can decipher the state of the world, the culture, the environment, and the communities. We can feel the changes in the government, in politics, and how it affects people. It’s not just keeping a record of art’s history, but the history of the world. This can be a reminder of where we come from, and how much we’ve changed. Or, on a darker note, how much progress we’ve lost and how much farther we have to go.

You can find Bee on Instagram at beethat_paints or celadon_starlight.