Kultura Kreatives started with the idea that we were finding difficulties connecting with creatives that actually genuinely interested us. Social media dynamics have a heavy focus on the quickest and easiest post to drive interactions, instead of pure genuine discovery. We were shuffling through too many irrelevant videos and shopping ads, when really what we wanted was to see more art, more culture.
We’re using our platform to help bring a spotlight to creatives who need help breaking through that wall of exposure.
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Week of April 7th, 2021
Amy Reyes
(b. 1994) Amy is a Long Island native, who is currently based out of Georgia. She’s been writing for about 15 years. Through the course of finding her writer’s voice, we see that Amy has also been venturing in her own projects. She’s currently working on slowly putting together interviews, and noting stories that her parents have recounted about their experiences with the Salvadoran war. Amy is self taught, and always writing. Our personal favorite of her works is “Pila”, where she recalls an overwhelming and chilling memory belonging to her mother—the moments she watches her childhood home go up in flames.
She’d like it to be noted that she believes it’s “Salvadoreans” and not Salvadorans.
The button below will link you to her website with more of her recent works.
Read on for the full interview with Amy.
An Interview with Amy Reyes
with Jeanette González
How long have you been writing?
“I've been writing since I was 11 years old. So that makes it 15 years! It all started in an English class in sixth grade, and let me tell you, it was so boring! My teacher would only talk about sports in the class. When I got my first journal that same year, I started writing poetry. That was also the start of me writing in every class I found uninteresting up until college. Throughout high school, I would always carry a new journal every couple of months. I was always writing.”
What do you feel the purpose of your work is?
“My goal is to reach people with my storytelling through poetry. I don't just write personal poems, I also have a project I'm slowly working on about writing the experiences my parents endured during the El Salvador war. A lot of Latinos, don't even know El Salvador is a country, where it's located, or that there was this terrifying war. I was in SHOCK when I realized that first hand, when I went to Colombia. I'm not from Colombia though, I am from El Salvadorean descent. I want to start a conversation about how difficult it has been for the first-generation Salvadoreans (born in the USA or not) to cope with the damaging effects of the war that our parents were left with. I want readers to feel that they can somewhat understand and visualize that moment I am describing and find it relatable in their own way.”
Who is the audience you're trying to reach with your work?
“Everyone. My poetry is for everyone to read. High schoolers, college students, adults, seniors, immigrants, minority groups, Latinos, white people, black people, Asians--everyone. Anyone who wants to read my poetry. It's out there, and my poems are based on the true events my family and I have experienced. But I'm fully aware that there are people who are not even Latino who will find my work relatable in some way--and to me, that is an honor.”
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
“I draw my inspiration from personal life events. Meaning the stories I've been told, the stories I discover, ranging from my relationships, to self-love, to being the eldest daughter of immigrants, to the experience of my parents and the war.”
Are you performing at any upcoming events? If so, can you tell us about it? If not, would you be interested?
“No, I am currently not performing in any upcoming events. I am interested, however, right now I live in Georgia.”
What resources do you use to help improve your writing?
“Music plays a big part in my writing. I still listen to certain songs from my past that bring back nostalgia and feelings I forgot of, and it makes me write a prose or a poem. Music is truly powerful. When it comes to poems about El Salvador, I refer to my parent's memory of it and the internet to help me visualize and bring the poem I'm writing about, to life.”
First reaction! You sit down to type a great new idea, and your space bar is broken...you then...
“I grab a piece of paper and a good pen and I write my thoughts. Nothing like good old fashion technology.”
Ad-lib this sentence: "Where we're going,_________"
“is where we'll meet.”
Lastly, we’ve added our favorite piece so far by Amy. And we’re so thankful to her to let us write a little bit about her. We wish her so much success in the future, and we can’t wait to see what else she’ll do. Be sure to follow her on Instagram: @j.amypoetry
Amy is currently considering a mentorship with Jeanette, with Kultura Dyad.
Pila
by Jen Amy Reyes
Pila was featured in Harvard’s literary magazine, PALABRITAS in its fall 2019 issue.