(photograph by Travis De Vries)Eileen Chong is an award-winning poet of Hakka, Hokkien and Peranakan descent. She is the author of eleven books. Her most recent book is We Speak of Flowers. She lives and works on unceded Gadigal land of the Eora Nation.

Which poets have influenced you most?

Philip Levine, Li Young-Lee, Rainer Maria Rilke, Alice Oswald, Li Qingzhao.

Are poems chiefly inspired or crafted?

Poems can and often do arise from inspiration, but for me it is in the crafting that they inch towards the truest versions of themselves.

What prompts a new poem?

A hunger, a humming, a desire for wholeness, or for breaking something open.

What circumstances are ideal for writing poetry?

When the bills are paid, food is on the table, and the housework done. When the days and nights are quiet and filled with peace and contentment. Conversely, some of the best poetry is written when one is thrust into uncertain territory and must write to make sense of it.

Roughly how many drafts do you produce before ‘finishing’ a poem?

It depends on the poem. Some of my poems have come into being fully formed and seemingly in a flash; others have needed as many as thirty drafts over a number of years.

Which poet would you most like to talk to – and why?

Gabriela Mistral, because of what she saw and lived through, and how she made an incredible life despite very poor odds.

Do you have a favourite Australian poetry collection?

Currently, it’s a three-way tie between Judith Beveridge’s Tintinnabulum, Jordie Albiston’s Fifteeners, and Boey Kim Cheng’s The Singer.

What do poets need most: solitude or a coterie?

Solitude – but maybe enjoyed alongside one’s beloved, and several cats.

Who are the poetry critics you most admire?

She is more of a cultural critic than a poetry critic, but I always learn something new from reading the thoughtful essays of Eda Gunaydin. I also feel most immersed in my craft reading the essays and lectures of poet-teachers Jane Hirshfield, Mary Oliver, Eavan Boland, Linda Gregg, and Mary Ruefle.

If Plato allowed you to keep one poem or poetry collection in his Republic, what would it be?

One book? I can’t choose. It’s an impossible task. Do you go deep or go wide? I’d probably say the Norton Anthology of Poetry, because it was the first broad anthology of poetry I ever owned. I loved being able to read many different poets across the centuries in the one book, and it helped me to understand tone, voice, and perspective, and to form my own ideas on what kind of poetry might remain eternal (which is to say, none of it).

What is your favourite line of poetry (or couplet)?

For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror,
which we are still just able to endure.

Rainer Maria Rilke, The Duino Elegies, Part 1 (translated by Stephen Mitchell)

How can we inspire greater regard for poetry among readers?

As a poet-teacher: I think we grow them! We can infect others with our love and enthusiasm for poetry. Normalise sharing poetry with friends, family, colleagues, and strangers; talk about poetry with your doctors and plumbers, with students and children. Poetry is for everybody!