hika.

Belcove is a first year prospective English with an emphasis in creative writing and drama double major. Her poem “The Body” will be in the fall 2026-2027 fall preview of HIKA.

Where did you find the inspiration for “The Body?” 

Basically for my English class, Bodily Matters with Dr. Lau—shout out Dr. Lau, I love him—our very first assignment was to read this essay by this guy named Zapruder called Why Poetry. And I’ve sort of had this philosophy for years that poetry can’t be turned into this overly academic thing because it really is an art form. Because the medium is language, which people have access to, people sort of think that it can be dwindled down into a perfect metaphor when really it’s more about feeling. And so, when I read this essay, it really resonated with me when he said that poetry is physical. That’s how I feel! I’m also an actor; for me, acting and writing come from the same impetus. So, when you read out a poem, the emphasis and the emotion really matter. It sort of feels the same as when you act and how both things are diving into a really honest character. 

In your poem, you repeat the verse, “poetry is your body.” Could you go into more about what that verse means to you? 

I think that for me, poetry is the thing that I always go to, so it’s sort of like my instinct and I feel like it lives in my bones. So, when I’m inspired in any way, whether it be from visual art or the performing arts or other writing, or just something that I see or my love for my friends and my family, that sort of thing awakens in me. So, when I was writing that, I was thinking about how it’s an impulse in the way that eating or breathing is an impulse–it’s alive. 

How would you describe your poetic style? 

I feel like it doesn’t really fit super easily into prose or typical meter because I like it to come out naturally. Usually what happens with me when I have an idea for a poem is it just starts writing in my head. I’ll be sitting there. It’s the reason that I haven’t thrown out any of my notebooks from high school because I would be sitting in class and then all of a sudden the poem would just like come to me and I had to scribble it down. Or I would be eating lunch and I’ll need to grab a napkin and write it down. I sort of think of it like a train of thought, so I would say that a train of thought is my poetry style. And I only just realized that right now!

Beyond the inspiration part of the process, could you tell us a little bit more about your writing process in general? 

I guess I just try not to overthink it. I don’t search for a way that it’s gonna sound good because I find that the way that it will sound the best is when it’s just really authentic. So sometimes I’ll get an idea, like a broad idea for a poem, and I’ll write it down in my notes app or scribble it in a notebook. Then I will revisit it and it’ll dawn on me that subconsciously my brain’s been working on it. It’s like piecing together multiple ideas and then it all comes out as one. But I find that I write best when the idea strikes me, and I just go for it on the spot. I sort of suspect that my brain has been marinating on it, but just not consciously. I have the most fun when it’s something I haven’t thought about before and just pours out of me. 

How would you say writing has impacted your life? Or your prospective drama major?

Well, my mom is a journalist, so from a very young age she would read to me, and when I was preliterate, I would draw. I was always really drawn to art, so I have wanted to be an actor since I was three. And a writer too, even though I couldn’t write because I couldn’t read. But I would draw pictures, and then I would narrate to my mom what I wanted the story to say and she would write it down for me. Then, as I learned how to read and write myself, I started writing books and stories. I just can’t even imagine a life without it; it’s just a part of me and a part of how I’ve connected with my family. 

With drama, I think the reason that each actor is so special is because no two actors are gonna play one part the same. Character is about accessing a piece of your own mind and I think writing is also about accessing a piece of your own mind, even if you’re writing about like a fictitious character because it all is coming from inside you. That sort of helps me with my empathy when I’m on stage and my empathy when I’m writing. They both feed into each other. 

How do you think you’ve changed as a writer since your mom was helping you write down stuff? 

I remember when I was seven, I went to this creative writing day camp. I remember coming home and describing the story I’d written to my mom. I was going through each scene and I was like, “oh yeah, there was this one scene that didn’t really matter. It was just funny.” And she was like, “you know, with really skilled writers, everything is in there for a reason. There’s nothing that’s just for comedic relief. Everything means something.” And literally since that day, I’ve always kept that in mind. And so now, I just write with a lot of intention when I’m writing a story, like short fiction or a novella or something. I just make sure that everything builds into the larger picture of what the story’s about.

Where do you seek inspiration? 

Sometimes the time when I get the most inspired is when I’m falling asleep. I’ll be this close to sleeping and then all of a sudden, the surrealness of when you’re falling asleep makes my imagination connect things. Then I’ll open my eyes and be wide awake all of a sudden and I have to write something down. So, the weird thoughts I have when I’m falling asleep, my imagination. 

But also, I love museums and visual art. I grew up going to museums because my mom writes mostly about art. I think looking at an art piece often gives me inspiration and also just doing something else. Like, if I’m doing a mundane task, it sort of lights up the more creative side of my brain because it has the space to do that. 

Are there any differences in how you approach poetry or prose?

I’ve written a couple of novellas, and I love flash fiction, which sort of sits somewhere in between poetry and prose for me. With flash fiction, that I do more like poetry, but for longer works of fiction, I think that more definitely planning goes into that. I like to start with the characters and build outwards. How it works is I sit down with the idea and I start describing the setting, and then it sort of flows from there. But you can’t really work, from top to bottom on a story. If you have a more coherent idea for a later part of the story, like I’ll often write the last couple pages and then I’ll circle back around, and it’s sort of all out of order and I’m overwhelmed. It’s low-key overstimulating to write a story, but it’s fun. But yeah, I think that you do have to use a little more logic with that, but it’s still the same artistry or play. 

In your opinion, what kind of person does it take to be a writer?

Someone who wants to write. It is something that technically anyone could do, but you have to do it. I think this is the biggest take I have: my biggest pet peeve is when someone looks at a piece of modern art and says, “I could have done that.” My answer to that is, “well, you didn’t.” Okay, sure, maybe technically you could have made that line across the paper, but the artist had the idea, had the reasoning for the idea, and had the drive to execute it. What makes that art is that they did it. I sort of feel like that about writing. I think that anyone could write something that is meaningful as long as their mindset is that it matters. If you write from the heart, and you’re willing to do that, and that means something to you, then you can be a writer. You just have to want to. 

Do you have a piece you’re proudest of? 

My favorite piece that I’ve written is called “Joan;” it’s a flash fiction piece. I named it “Joan” because Joan means dream. It’s about this girl who is so caught up in her own mind that she sort of loses herself inside of it. She gets lost in her head. It’s definitely creepy, but I love little stories that have a very striking message. I just think that for so many different types of people that could resonate with them, in terms of how important it is to be a part of the external world and your internal world. The story isn’t saying it’s bad to think a lot. It’s just sort of saying, don’t forget the beautiful things around you too. So I love that piece. 

Going forward, do you have any writing aspirations or projects you’re currently working on? 

Last spring, for my senior project in high school, you got to pick what you did and I made a book that was a combination of photography and creative writing. They played into each other—I would take a photo and it would inspire a poem and vice versa, or I would take two completely different writing pieces and photos that had nothing to do with each other and find a connection. I would be interested in exploring that more and working more on that. Like maybe making some paintings to go in there. I’m not what people would call technically skilled with painting, but I really like making abstract paintings. 

What do you hope readers will take away from “The Body” and your other works? 

I hope that they’ll put less pressure on themselves to analyze or understand because I think that poetry does more for you when you just approach it without fear, and without stress. I hope you’re just open to exploring what it makes you feel. ‘Cause that’s what I think it’s about.