"I don't know Emily Dickinson," Yu Xiuhua laughed. In view of the sudden popularity in the blog, she said that her identity order should be woman, farmer and poet. "But if you forget to ask me all my identities when reading my poems, I will respect you." She feels that no identity tag can override the poem itself.
Now I hit the computer every day.
Yu Xiuhua was born in 1976. Due to lack of oxygen, she was born with congenital cerebral palsy, unstable walking, trembling hands and stuttering. She said that this has had an impact on study, work and marriage.
She said in the poem, "My disability is two fish/narrow rivers carved on porcelain bottles, walking in opposite directions". In reality, she dropped out of school due to illness and was introduced to marry a man older than her 1995. She described this marriage as "an evil period given by youth" and "there was overwhelming sadness at that time. In the marriage of 19 years old/I didn't know there was a perfect place in my body/so I extended my loneliness to today ... "In this poetic marriage, my son 18 years old, a freshman, and her husband Yin Shiping 18.
Yin Shiping works outside the home all the year round, and Yu Xiuhua lives in Hengdian Village with his parents. Hengdian, the theme that keeps pace with "love" in Yu Xiuhua's poems, from dandelion flowers to blue sky and white clouds, has been included in her pen and ink. Not surprisingly, Yu Xiuhua spends most of his time in the yard every day, reading, cleaning and feeding rabbits, then waiting for the poem to slip into his mind and write it down shaking his computer keyboard. She said that poetry has been cleaning and sympathizing with itself. "When I wrote these contents at some point, they must have touched me, warmed me, or made me really sad and worried." Today, she has more than 2000 poems.
Some people questioned Yu Xiuhua's poetry plagiarism or ghostwriting, but her husband Yin Shiping, who had a bad relationship with her, said that she must have written it. She used to write in a notebook with a pen, but now she knocks on the computer every day. Some people think that Yu Xiuhua has boiled suffering into chicken soup for the soul, but she responded that there are bitterness and resentment, and whether the poem is good or not is just like that. She just wrote some side sentences with her own mind.
On 17, nearly ten media outlets came to Yu Xiuhua's house and greeted her with smiling faces. She likes to tell everything about poetry, but she also emphasizes that she hates all kinds of identity labels. Some publishers called to publish her poems, and she promised to publish two. In the future, she plans to travel more places, read more books and write down everything she feels.
"I don't like people to label me."
Reporter: What do you think of the attention paid to you by the Internet now?
Yu Xiuhua: Anyway, it's just a gust of wind, which blows away. It won't be long before I return to my former state. Before, my blog had only 200 fans. When I woke up in the morning, I already had more than 2,000 fans. My readers will be more and more, but there may be only one or two people in the world who really understand me and my poems. Being noticed by too many people is not necessarily a good thing. Writing poetry is a very personal matter.
Reporter: Some people pay attention to you because of your experience. What do you think of this problem?
Yu Xiuhua: This will push poetry to the back, push the body (disability) to the front, and put suffering in front of poetry. This is not right, putting the cart before the horse. I don't like people to label me, such as "cerebral palsy poet" and "peasant poet". Any label has its limitations. Everyone is rich and writes different poems. I don't shy away from the fact of cerebral palsy, but I hope people will pay more attention to my poems.
Reporter: Do you think the poem Sleeping You Across Half China is the best? Is there a prototype of "you" in the poem?
Yu Xiuhua: I don't think this poem is well written, and I don't know why it became popular. The "you" in the poem has no prototype and really no object. He can be anyone or anyone. I used to like wandering in QQ groups and forums. Everyone comes from all corners of the country, and sometimes I write it as a joke.
"I just write some messy poems."
Reporter: When did you first publish your poems?
Yu Xiuhua: I was asked by the media before, and I said that I had written a seal on 1998, which was made up temporarily. I can't remember exactly when I started writing poetry and when I started publishing it. People have to ask me, so I'll say one.
Reporter: Do you have a favorite poet? Have you ever imitated other people's poems?
Yu Xiuhua: I like Lei Pingyang very much. He smiles beautifully and looks warm. Handsome is not necessarily good. I once watched a video of him, in which he was singing "An inch of time and an inch of gold", and I smiled when I watched it. However, we haven't met each other, just chatted online. I don't want to see him either. If I meet him, I won't be an idol.
I have never imitated other people's poems, and the poems that can be imitated are not necessarily good poems. Good poetry is unique and cannot be imitated. However, when I look at other people's poems, I wonder why he can express it like that. If I were you, how would I express it? I feel that I have read too little and haven't read many good poems.
Reporter: You have written novels before, will you continue to write them in the future?
Yu Xiuhua: Everyone else is diligent in writing novels. They wrote all night. I am lazy. I write for two or three hours every day, and then I can't write any more. Writing poetry is easier, but typing is also very tiring. I intend to finish (the previous novel) next year or the year after.
"There is no love in marriage"
Reporter: There have been images of "red mouth" and "high heels" in your poems. Have you ever thought about dressing like this?
Yu Xiuhua: High heels and a red mouth will make a woman look great. I like other people's makeup, but I never use it. The poorer you are, the less you will wear it, as long as you can eat and wear well. Things that can disappear at any time cannot be expected.
People say, why are you always slovenly? I said I didn't think about it when I was young, but now I don't even think about it when I am old. Once, the reporter wanted to take a picture of me and let me get dressed, but as soon as I got dressed, they ran away and didn't take a picture. I feel unnaturally nervous when taking pictures.
Reporter: It has been reported before that your marriage is not going well. Is there love in your marriage?
Yu Xiuhua: Not at all. When I first got married, it was good and fresh. After getting married, I found that there were still so many things to do, sleeping together and having children. That's not the life I want. We used to quarrel a lot, but now it's cold violence. Ignore each other when you meet.