Q&A with Vortex contributor John Son
We are embracing all things Vortex related this semester, culminating in an unprecedented event at the beautiful Theatre Royal in Winchester, where the very best of Vortex magazine is being showcased through the medium of verse, story, music and song in a circus-themed performance extravaganza.
I met up recently with John Son, an esteemed Vortex contributor, ostensibly to discuss the magazine, but we ended up talking variously on subjects such as early aspirations, role models and what it felt like to see his name in print for the first time. We also touched upon his unique childhood, raised in the UK by South Korean immigrant parents, and his eternal quest for a solid cultural identity, which many can relate to.
John is a third-year Creative Writing student, an Outstanding Scholar with consistently high first-class grades, and he’s currently a member of the Vortex editorial team.
How would you describe growing up with your cultural background?
There’s a term called third-culture kid, which refers to someone who was raised in a culture other than their parent’s native one. There are a lot of discussions attached to it pertaining to cultural identity, and the difficulties that some children face in being caught between these two cultures, which can often lead to an insecure sense of identity and belonging. It was a bit of a revelation when I learned that this concept actually has a name, because it summed up so perfectly how I felt about my misaligned cultural identity when growing up. I never felt like I belonged in either group; I was always too British to be accepted as a Korean, or too foreign to truly be accepted as British.
I don’t look back on that time with fondness, and I’m still struggling with issues of my cultural identity and sense of belonging to this day. For all the celebrations of diversity and multi-culturalism across the country, I’ve been taken aback at how pervasive racism still is today, even in London – and I’ve been on the receiving end of it far more times than I think is reasonable. But I don’t know if my own personal disconnect from my own cultural heritage is a part of the problem. Should that have been something I worked harder to embrace, rather than to push away? Or maybe we’ve gotten to a point where our cultural identities simply don’t count for all that much, anymore. I really can’t say for sure.
Did you have an early aspirations or talents?
I’m going to be boring and say that the only real talent I had when I was young was writing. I’m sure I had other ridiculous dreams and aspirations knocking around at some point; I’m sure the position of professional chocolate eater was bandied around at some point, as well as my burning desire to be one of the Spice Girls.
When did you know that you wanted to write?
Pretty much as soon as I understood that writing was a thing. This is going to sound familiar to a lot of people in my position, but words and stories are the only thing I was really interested in from a young age. There were countless books and authors I loved reading when I was growing up, but one of the most striking memories I have is sitting on the family sofa and crying after reading a picture book adaptation of The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Anderson. I know it’s technically supposed to be a happy ending of sorts, but that book bloody ruined me when I was about 6-ish. That might have been the starting point – it was either that or when I learned at the age of 7 that I was the only person in the class who knew how to use commas in sentences, and this talent could potentially be exploited for money and/or sweets.
When did you first hear about Vortex? Were you invited to write a piece, or did you go through the usual submissions process? And, how did you find this?
I was handed a copy of Vortex in my very first week of university. Later that year, I’d written a few poems as part of the first-year poetry module which I was fairly proud of; I was writing a lot about my ex at the time, and poetry seemed to click as an easy medium in which to channel my feelings. The submissions window for the magazine opened up at around the same time, and I sent in the best ones to be considered. They were eventually accepted, and they got published. Pretty easy, as far as submission processes go.
Any advice for someone submitting their work?
Read, write, edit, edit some more. Know when to push yourself and know when to recognise that you need a bit of distance and time away from a piece if it’s not working out.
Is there an achievement or contribution that you are most proud of? Why?
I guess most of my achievements are either fairly low-key, or just personal milestones: starting a degree after two years of inactivity, being published for the first time, getting high grades at Uni, etc.
There are two in particular that stick out to me, though. I used to work as a Games journalist – completely unpaid, more as a hobby, more than anything else. I had a real interest in game music, and one summer I attended a concert at the Barbican, where the London Symphony Orchestra were performing a series of symphonic arrangements for a game series called Final Fantasy. It was an incredible performance, just mind-blowingly good, and I wrote a glowing review to reflect that. Well it got published on the website I was writing for at the time, and it actually caught the attention of the concert organisers who then tweeted a link to it from their official account, which was a really nice nod. They also pulled a quote from the review to display on their official website, which you can still see to this day. I was pretty proud of that, really.
I also greatly enjoyed attending an event at the Nintendo of UK headquarters as a “member of press” and rubbing shoulders with professional gaming journalists, all of whom were significantly older and more experienced than me (I was 20 at the time). I felt like a complete and utter fraud for the entire thing of course, but I loved it while it lasted – it was proper ‘childhood dream’ material.
I suppose the common link between these is that they both allowed me to indulge in the notion of being an actual legitimate “writer”, as opposed to a teenage nobody spouting random opinions on the internet. It always feels really gratifying to have my writing recognised, and it’s something I’d properly love to pursue as an actual career. But we’ll see about that.
Who is the role model that inspires you the most?
My classmate Katt Beatson, who designed the 2018 issue of Vortex. Her endless supply of strength and courage in life is something to behold, and I’m in a constant state of admiration at her myriad creative talents. She’s a continual source of inspiration for me – not just creatively, but also in my own process of becoming a better, more aware, and more tolerant person in general.
She’s also a great cook, and her vegan Christmas roast legitimately restored my faith in the holidays (at least, for a little while). She’s an all-round amazing person, and I’m bloody lucky to have her as a friend.
How has doing the Creative Writing course changed you?
There is one thing that I can credit this course for, and that’s helping me discover my love for poetry. I’m not sure if I’d have had the stomach to approach poetry again after my A-Levels, but the degree helped me realise that there’s more to it than the classics and war poets (which I can’t stand reading). I’ve really embraced poetry as my writing niche/specialism, and I’m pretty grateful for that.
Otherwise, I suppose I’ve learned a lot about myself in terms of my work ethic; how best to apply myself and where my core skillsets really are. Probably the most important thing that the course has done for me is helping me to realise that I often do put too much pressure on myself, and I should ease up on my own self-expectations and demands. For someone as neurotic and obsessive as myself, that was a pretty valuable lesson to learn.
Where do you see yourself in, say, ten years?
Well, I definitely know where I want to see myself in ten years. I’d like to have a mortgage on a modest one-bedroom flat somewhere in zones 3-4 of London, close to a Tube station. I’d ideally be working at a reasonably demanding, yet rewarding job with ample opportunity for career progression, where I can truly realise my full creative potential. And maybe – maybe I’ll be in a stable and mutually satisfying relationship with a handsome, age-appropriate man with a steady job to his name, a well-stocked reserve of anecdotes to tell at dinner parties, and a good taste in booze.
But this is all pure fantasy, of course. I’m likely never going to be able to afford a mortgage in London in my lifetime. The job situation is pretty up in the air. And the man situation? Well, we’ll see how that one plays out in time.
Copies of the 2019 edition of Vortex will be available at the 'Out of the Vortex' event on Monday 8th April at 7:30pm; where the very best of Vortex is brought to life on stage at the Winchester Theatre Royal. #outofthevortex
Book tickets for 'Out of the Vortex' here
Read past editions of Vortex here
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