We asked our Tiny Resident, Anesce Dremen some questions to learn more about her creative projects, process and love for writing and tea! Register for her workshop today: Winter 2025: Poetry Plucked from the Tea Gardens – Tiny Spoon
TS: What kindles your creativity?
Anesce: Because I write about an array of topics, creativity can arise from a variety of sources. Survival has kindled my creativity. I began writing out of necessity, during childhood, as an escape. Today, creativity is still an escape, but creativity is also a nest. I enjoy observing the so-called mundane – it isn’t so mundane for me. I believe that my creativity is inspired by dreams, rich emotions, interactions, relationships, tea, language, and cultural exchange.
TS: Are there any artists/ heroines/ idols/ friends that you look up to?
Anesce: I’m inspired by so many. Amy Lee of Evanescence, Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, and Maria Brink of In This Moment have all inspired me for decades in their ability to craft stories through songs; I often listen to their music while writing or editing. I am inspired by the following writers: Lisa See, Amy Tan, Adeline Yen Mah, Lin Yutang, Rohinton Mistry, Sanmao, Zhai Yongming, Shobhana Kumar, Soni Somarajan, and Ishan Sadwelkar. There are many teachers, professors, and friends who inspire me daily – I keep their photos in an album by my desk, though some aren’t aware of this.
TS: Are there any natural entities that move your work?
Anesce: Tea, dreams, nature, and birds all inspire me.
Anesce Dremen is a nomadic U.S. writer and educator. Support her here on Ko-Fi.
TS: We would love insight into your creative process. Could you share what it is like for you?
Anesce: My ideal writing process is to wake up at around 5am and brew several gaiwan of tea while writing or editing. Depending on where I am and what project I’m working on, I may not be able to dedicate a whole morning to writing but instead scribble away sentences, or paragraphs, while standing on a subway during rush hour, from the back of a packed bus, or during the middle of a flight. I try to find moments of dedication in the transient nature of my work.
TS: Do you have any current or future projects that you are working on that you would like to share?
Anesce: There are three major projects I’m working on: I write a lot of independent articles about tea (including a forthcoming one about sustainable tea tourism), I have several drafted essays about estrangement, and I am also working on the seventh draft of my memoir.
I’ve had two excerpts of my memoir published – one by Stillhouse Press and another by Gordon Square Review – and have several more on submission. I maintain a free monthly newsletter where subscribers are the first to know about forthcoming publications and my travel adventures; Ko-fi supporters receive even earlier insight.
Be the first to learn about Anesce Dremen’s publications, performances, & collaborations: by subscribing to her free, monthly newsletter with behind-the-scenes content.
TS: What book, artwork, music, etc., would you recommend to others?
Anesce: For those interested in reading more about tea, I would recommend “The Classic of Tea” by Lu Yu as well as the “An Illustrated Modern Reader of ‘The Classic of Tea’” by Wu Juenong, “Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic” by Jinghong Zhang, and “The True History of Tea” by Erling Hoh and Victor H. Mair. I’m currently reading “The Way of Chai” by Kevin Wilson.
Recently, I’ve been rereading “Stories of the Sahara” by Sanmao (tr. Mike Fu). There are some books that you read and they linger within you – you feel compelled to immediately reread them; I think all of the books below have invoked that sensation for me and I look forward to the opportunity to reread them. I’ve been thinking a lot about “The Memory Police” by Yoko Ogawa (tr. Stephen Snyder), “Ghost Of” by Diana Khoi Nguyen, “Mean” by Myriam Gurba, “What My Bones Know” by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, “Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise” by Lin Yi-Han (tr. Jenna Tang), and “What My Bones Know” by Stephanie Foo.
In terms of forthcoming books, I’m super excited to read: “How to be Unmothered” by Camille U. Adams, “The Power of Parting” by Eamon Dolan, and “Broken Free” edited by Jenny Bartoy.
TS: Is there anything else you would like others to know about you, your creations, or beyond?
Anesce: Tiny Spoon published a collaborative work of poetry and photography between Balvinder Singh and myself entitled “Aberrant Dwelling.” We met while lost in Goa, India — connecting over a book following the conclusion of lockdown in India. An initial exploration of friendship developed into brainstorming interpretations of eccentricity, vulnerability, and intensity; when comparing notes, we agreed on explorations of confronting judgment, expressing emotion, and portraying flight. Through lighting techniques, singed hair, and sustained inquiry, we explored what it meant to fly without lifting our feet from the ground. Our relationship as friends and collaborators was strengthened as we captured one another in an exchange of frame and words.
TS: Where can people learn more about what you do?
Website: AnesceDremen.com
Instagram: @AnesceDremen https://www.instagram.com/anescedremen
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/anescedremen.bsky.social
Postcards featuring my original photography: https://ko-fi.com/s/ada44b5103