Letters for Creatives #57: Colin Tan - Interview With an Artist vol. 3

He weaves narratives in prose and poetry

Hello, I am Celeste. Welcome to all of you who are new here! Subscribe for free if you want to receive my curation and opinions on creativity, mental wellness, mindset and more.

Take a look at my monthly prompts and newsletter directory to find what you need now.

Book cover of The Neon Myths by Colin Tan

I am very excited to do this interview with Colin Tan as I have been thinking about doing it for a few months. His work always inspires me to read and write about subjects that I am not familiar with.

You can find him on Instagram. His books The Man Who Ate My Arms and The Neon Myths are available on Amazon (UK, USA) and Book Depository with free global shipping.

I am so excited to do this. I have not been so excited in a very long time. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your writing journey started?

I was born way before the days of wifi in Liverpool, England. Being a mixed race, working class kid, my childhood was quite turbulent. The local library became a special place to me, a quiet place and a place to escape via books which I would read for hours.

I then began to write as I approached my teens and would write something almost every day. Back then I regularly won creative writing awards in school and locally.

But instead of pursuing a career in writing or English, I was encouraged to move into other areas. Sadly, I stopped writing for a long time in my twenties due to the demands of the industry I worked in and incredibly long hours. I only rediscovered what was missing in my life, writing, a few years ago.

Wow! I am so surprised. I am so glad you rediscovered the craft that now we can read your phenomenal stories. Did your writing ritual change after you stopped writing? Or did it stay the same?