Media That Inspired Parts of Fisheye

Fisheye: A Compendium of the Inner Thoughts of a Dreamer is my upcoming poetry collection set to release August of 2026 that gives a real insight into the mind of a young creative. Not only is Fisheye a rising inspiration for all creative minds, young and old, but it also happens to be a reflection of me as the poet and author and everything that has inspired me. 

So, to put it simply, it’s odd. 

Whimsical yet nightmarish, there has been much media I’ve consumed over the years that have directly and more so subconsciously influenced my writing. And if you, reader, are familiar with and find joy within any of these items upon my list, then I know for certain you will enjoy the obscurity written within Fisheye. 

1. Studio Ghibli films: More specifically, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo. The former is one of my favorite movies of all time (the book, I fear, remains unread upon my bookshelf as of right now). Magical, romantic, and exciting, it’s all the things I seek to emulate within my own writing. The moments where Calcifer appears on screen, bright and quick as any flame should be, when Howl transforms from man to monster, shedding mortality for a shroud of feathers, the vast meadow where Howl and Sophie’s love could be felt through the screen. I adore every second of watching it, and adore every second I write with the inspiration from it. As for the latter, while the storytelling within Ponyo is not my favorite, the visuals deeply resonated with me. Ocean waves in the shape of giant fish rising up and spilling over mountains, a little girl shining like a golden coin in the dark as she darts across barefoot and thrilled looking for love. Not to mention Fujimoto and his wife, the darling giant woman of the sea. Such vibrant, detailed pictures resonate deeply within me. 

2. The Crane Wives: An Indie rock band who creates the most beautifully eerie and whimsically dark songs I’ve ever heard. Specifically, their songs ‘’The Moon Will Sing,’’ ‘’Curses,’’ and ‘’Tongues and Teeth.’’ Each of these songs has an entirely different vibe from the other, yet they all have inspired my writing in many different ways. From my vocabulary, to my tone, to my message. While I wouldn’t say I’m a die-hard fan and more of a casual enjoyer, their music nonetheless has deeply influenced my writing both poetically and narratively. 

3. The Brother’s Grimm Fairytales: No, not the Disney adaptations, nor Ever After High, though I do love both. But the barest bones of those. The original fairytales. The Brother’s Grimm’s fairytales are dark and endearing, dangerous and enticing. Fantasy is always an exciting genre to play with between the magic and the creatures within, but dark fantasy, what the Brother’s Grimm were writing about, is truly what gets my ideas flowing. 

4. Alice in Wonderland: In any and every format, I always come back to this story. The idea of a little girl falling into a world of strangeness and madness, it’s exactly what I try to emulate within my own writing. The wonder, the whimsy, the threatening danger. Tim Burton’s live-action adaptations of Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass more specifically have had a significant effect on my work. The quiet rage that keeps growing inside of Alice throughout the films, the fights she goes through to protect those she loves while slowly losing herself to the madness of Wonderland. Every bit of it are things I want to express through my words: feminine rage, wild love, and spiraling madness. 

5. C.G. Drews: Young adult gothic horror author C.G. Drews has not only influenced aspects of my poetry, but of my novels as well. Their own novels Don’t Let the Forest In and Hazelthorne are both emotional and haunting adventures psychologically and narratively. With nature-based body horror and carnivorous beasts made out of plants, Drews’s ability to showcase how truly dark and wild nature can be not only deepened my love for nature, but inspired me to write similar things. Body horror in the shape of plants invading your body, I’ve found, is a subgenre of horror I am immensely enthralled by. 

6. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: The novel by one of my all-time favorite authors V.E. Schwab about the toxic relationships between three vampiric women over the course of history. Not only is the novel stunning in its narrative and descriptive storytelling, but in its subtopic of feminine rage as well. I am a very passionate feminist, and more so I am passionate about showing the more dangerous side of women within my writing, which is something that Schwab has done so flawlessly between her three protagonists and the rich history between them. 

7. Edgar Allan Poe: Every poet has that one poet, dead or alive, that they deeply admire the work of. And while it might sound cliché, that poet for me is Edgar Allan Poe. I’ve been reading his work for as long as I can remember, and perhaps he is the reason why my writing is so, well, ‘’whimsical yet nightmarish.’’ His written works The Raven, Annabel Lee, The Tell-Tale Heart (MY FAVORITE!), and Lenore all hold a special place in my heart. They’re dark, they’re captivating, they’re consuming. 

8. Vincent Van Gogh: Continuing on the track of dead men, perhaps one of the most influential in my writing, is the works of Van Gogh. While he was an artist and not a poet, Van Gogh’s paintings all the same have deeply impacted my work. Finding the beauty in the dark, the dark in the beautiful, every one of his paintings is one that should be admired with as much appreciation as the last. On my fourteenth birthday, I visited the Van Gogh Experience, where I not only got the idea for one of my most cherished manuscripts, but I could feel firsthand the intent behind every one of his pieces. Art in any form always manages to stir up something within me. Whether it be inspirational or upsetting or exciting, it makes my heart beat a little quicker all the same. 

While I’m certain there are more, these are the most obvious to me. And it’s sort of romantic, the way so many different things can all be broken up into little pieces and fit back together to create something just as magical and new.