I was born in a farming family in Khon Khaen. Being raised on a farm really shapes your thoughts about how hard it is to make it in this world. My parents would have done anything to get me a proper education.
Living in the countryside is hard. Even without traffic it took me 40 minutes to get from home to school.
I started to read books mostly because of my middle school teacher, Ajarn Prayoonrasaeng. He’s a poet and founded the school’s poetry club, which I joined.
Whenever I write poetry, it’s like I’m entering this world of both adrenaline and serenity. It feels as if I’m in a trance of happiness, to be able to write and share my feelings.
Being a poet in the countryside is really limited. I moved to Bangkok to study at Ramkhamhaeng University which really opened my mind. I was introduced to new books and libraries which became a playground for me. I got to read world literature I never knew about before.
My passion for writing poetry peaked after I met friends who shared the same interests at university. It’s a welcome change being surrounded by people who share your passion.
I’m a sensitive guy who can get pretty emotional. People ask me why I don’t try writing fiction instead of poetry. Well, I did and it just wasn’t right. When you know who you are, you just can’t keep that locked up inside. For me, writing poetry is what I do best, it’s what keeps me going in this world.
Poetry is an art form. It comes in different styles and can be very challenging. You have to balance your emotions within the context of the poem without becoming repetitive. Poetry has to reflect your perspective on the world, while still giving new interpretations on things. Telling a story isn’t hard, but to make the reader stop and think is very difficult.
Good poetry doesn’t just reflect a writer’s emotions, but also educates the reader. It requires intensive research before you start writing, and you have to try your best to experience things firsthand to get your creative juices flowing.
Many people think that poetry is always sophisticated and hard to understand, but that just isn’t true. Poets don’t write about things people can’t relate to; if you look deeper, you’ll realize they’re writing about everyday things. You just have to connect the dots by putting yourself in other people’s shoes.
Literature isn’t appreciated in Thailand. A poet gets paid about B1,000 for one or two pages of published work. Whether it’s poetry, short stories or novels, it all takes time, and when all is said and done, you’re still underpaid.
I’ve had to face up to the fact that my poetry alone won’t make ends meet. Sometimes you have to do other things you’re not as passionate about in order to pursue what you love. I work as a managing editor for Mars magazine, without which I wouldn’t be able to keep writing poetry.
Working in the media industry really complements my passion for poetry. It widens my perspective, as there’s always something new to learn, no matter how insignificant.
The Fifth Chamber of the Heart reflects the views and lives of people in the countryside who lack opportunities. It explores the choice between leaving your roots behind in order to make it in the city or staying true to who you are knowing that this is as good as it’s going to get. It’s about the struggle between the old world and the new world, if you will.
You grow stronger when you acknowledge that many people have it harder than you. Ten months after my father passed away, my mom did too. They were the darkest days of my life, but in the end I didn’t feel like I lost my parents—yes, I can’t touch them anymore but we’re still connected through our hearts.
What got me through was knowing that there were others out there going through much more serious issues than me.
Sadness makes you re-think things. It takes you to places you’ve never been to, feelings you haven’t felt for a long time. It makes you think about who and what is really important, and how sometimes you forget about those people. It makes you do your best to cherish them.
When you find something you really love doing, you don’t feel the pressure—you feel the fun. You know that you will continue to strive harder and move forward, you won’t allow your work to end there.
My goal right now is to be still. I don’t mean to stop writing, but rather to just focus on an idea and what will come next in order to improve my work.
It’s ironic that there are now more writers emerging with new perspectives, but less print media to let them be read. Social media has become the new print media, but I feel nothing beats print. Imagine writing something on your Facebook in comparison to a book; more often than not, you’ll be more meticulous when it’s something you really can touch and feel as opposed to typing something onto a social platform
Being a good writer is all about reading a lot and writing even more. There’s no other way about it. The most important thing is to ask yourself who you’re writing for and whether what you’re writing is truly something you’re passionate about.
