Xinrui Eric Que, a high school student studying in the United States, publishes an English poetry collection
Irvine, Calif. (October 05, 2022) – The collection of poems “Maple Leaves” written by Xin Rui, a 12th grade student from Chengdu, Sichuan, who is studying at Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine, was officially launched on Amazon on September 26. This 79-page English collection of poems includes his creations. 26 poems, including several composed in accordance with traditional Chinese words.
“The moment I got the sample book, my heart was at peace. Looking at the words on the paper, which I had read countless times, reminded me of the countless nights I spent writing poems. This event also marks the birth of this poetry collection that I have been writing since junior high school, including excerpts of poems on various topics about love, family, and history. I want to use this poetry collection to record my life, and my improvement and to show my thought about peace and love.” Eric said.
According to Eric “My love for poems started in elementary school when my teacher assigned us to compose a brief poem, from that point on, I was hooked. When I was feeling down about exam performance, I discovered that trying to put the right words to describe an indescribable feeling could help me release my inner pressure. I became enamored with reconciling the words in my head with the emotions in my heart. Whenever I had an idea, such as which girl I liked or how I felt about a recent event, I would record my thoughts and emotions through writing.”
Talking about his creative journey and drive, he said: “When I sat down to write, though, I sometimes discovered that I failed to produce imagery, transmit my thoughts with the words for their meaning and arrange them to create a tempo. It was at that point that I determined to improve my literary skills to become a better poet. Thus, I devoured novels, essays, and poems. Read it again and over, jotting down notes as I read and memorizing the author’s compelling reasoning and vivid imagery. Besides reading a lot of books, I also recited articles. Such an example would be the opening of A Tale of Two Cities, which completely captivated me, ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’, and ‘Music, When Soft Voices Die” by Percy Shelley.’
When talking about one of his favorite poems “Dear Youth”, Eric said “This poem tells about my confusion and hope for the future when I was growing up. At that time, I just graduated from junior high school and planned to come to the United States. I didn’t know everything about the future, but I was looking forward to it. So I wrote this poem to express my confusion and longing for my future study and life in the United States.”
Eric is grateful for the school’s support and encouragement, Eric said: “I know that without my school, I can not have my very little achievement today, and there will be no Maple leaves collection. So I decided to donate all the money I got from selling the book to the school to build a reading corner for students to chill and read during free time.”
As an ESL student from China Eric also experienced language when he started his journey here, “When I placed this poetry collection on my bookshelf, I realized that it is a microcosm of my writing career. I can look back at the highs and lows of my life, as well as the development of my command of the language, through the poetry I’ve written throughout the years.” Eric said.
“When I first came to the US, I did not speak that much English. Which was so hard for me, cuz I can not understand what the teachers were saying. I did not understand their requirements on assignments, I did not understand the things they are teaching in class. I can only watch Youtube to self-study on my own and use google translate for my homework. Exams and quizzes were so hard. I can not understand the question and the teacher rejected my request of using translation as well. So I did so badly in the first few weeks. But everything got better after one or two months. I play golf, so I can talk with my teammates. Which improves my English. Also, most significantly, it is my teachers who really help me to get through the period of language barrier and culture shock.”
Eric started a coding club at the school in his third year of high school, and now has 50 members, becoming the second student organization in the school after the student union. He led the club to concentrate resources on mastering basic computer skills for elementary and middle school students, and was concerned by classmates and students in nearby communities, including parents. In order to increase the number of exam seats in the AP test center in the school, he raised $6,500 in three months to buy 20 computers and 20 sets of headphones for the school.
Noticing the limitations of interpersonal communication in the United States, in 2019, Eric and his friend Brian founded E-PAL, a company looking for video game playmates.
Eric, who has a wide range of interests and hobbies, is also a member of the school’s dance team and golf team. In the future, he plans to apply for a computer technology-related major in college. Eric is grateful for the relaxed academic environment and encouragement his parents provided him.
From Eric’s experience, it brings young students of the same age a topic worth considering, whether mobile phones and computers take up too much time, and these time can be used for many different experiences and attempts. (LAPost)
