Our digital editor Francesca Ohlert asks Volume 2: Metropolis contributor Emmie Rae about her suite of three poems, Tokyo Poems.
F: The imagery in your poem shibuya is certainly striking: Touch me in a human sea between the train station and a pharmacy. Is this work based on a real moment in your life?
E: It’s based on a desire that seems impossible to be fulfilled in a place like Shibuya. Everyone is constantly sandwiched together while crossing the street or in trains, but no one shows any physical affection in public. Shibuya is based on reality, fantasy and frustration.
F: Blood? Sweat? Tears? The synonym function in Word? What is your writing process in a nutshell?
E: I start with the idea, a particular moment, usually while day dreaming on the bus, and write it in the notes section of my phone. Later I use visuals to fill out these ideas. l look at pictures a lot while writing. Then I edit the shit out of it until it starts to work.
F: You’re in Japan at the moment. What’s the greatest difference between Tokyo and Sydney?
E: Tokyo is the most visually stimulating city I know of. It’s overwhelming. I feel ideas come from something as simple as a trip to the convenience store, because there’s an incredible attention to detail in everyday life. I love Sydney but I’m excited and inspired by Tokyo. Tokyo is a place where ‘babymetal’ has been born as just another genre, and Sydney is a place were we can’t buy a takeaway after beer 10pm. They’re both ridiculous, polar opposite and maybe the two greatest places in the world.