Featured Poet: Daijiro Ueno

Daijiro Ueno is an emerging poet and shared his advice with us in A Poet’s Toolbox. We were delighted to share his insight and are excited to share more about his approach to the craft.

What is the best thing about being a poet?

Being a poet is free, and it’s safe. You don’t really benefit from just being a poet, but you can always say "I’m a poet” just to feel good. It is arguably more difficult to tell a good poet from the mediocre than to tell a good painter or a good musician, which means it’s relatively safe and easy to make such a big statement like: “I’m a poet and I write poetry everyday, I’ve got published etcetera etcetera…” to impress someone who knows little or nothing about poetry. It is, though, rather dangerous to indulge in this kind of pleasure, but it may possibly raise your self-esteem especially if you are in the midst of identity formation.

How long have you been writing?

2 years.

Any accomplishments you’d like to share?

Nothing really.

What are you looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to publishing a book this year. It’s going to be self-publishing and there’s a lot to do before even starting off. I’m currently looking for an artist who can provide with some sketchy, minimalistic drawings which would be inserted between each chapter. I really hope to find the one as soon as possible to secure enough time for brainstorming, but honestly I have no clue where to look for, so I would truly appreciate it if you can share any ideas with me.

What name can we call you, what are your pronouns?

My name is Daijiro Ueno, and I prefer to be called “Dai”, “Daijiro" or “Ueno". I consider myself an average male in terms of gender identity; hence my pronouns be his/him.

Feel free to share any links for us to share with readers.

Again nothing really. But you can always follow my Instagram account: @dai_ueno