I am more likely to get paid for my art if it's presented alongside a white artist, so the questions around value and agency arise: What choices should I make, or do I have to make, if I want to be compensated for my work? Why isn't my art valued on its own?
Vivek ShrayaGenerally, I start by observing the existing and popular narratives in my social spheres and media, and the pressures I face in my own life experiences. As someone who is "newly" trans, I am constantly thinking about what the dominant narratives are around transness, how my work can push against these narratives, and how it already falls into these traps.
Vivek ShrayaIn poetry, I didn't have to provide resolution. I could ask hard questions without feeling responsible for the answers.
Vivek ShrayaI always work with text orally in the writing process, saying passages aloud to measure flow.
Vivek Shraya