Wearing her heart on the page
Ruby Veridiano-Ching pours her soul into her debut, Miss Universe
By Niema Jordan
Published: October 2nd, 2008 | 5:00pm
“This is my life,” Ruby Veridiano-Ching says of her debut book Miss Universe. “This is my heart scripted on paper. I didn’t want it taken apart and sewn back together to where it doesn’t fit me anymore.” Her voice is soft, yet urgent.
Passion, determination, and imagery are clear as she explains her choice to independently publish and promote her first book. The same elements are characteristic of Veridiano-Ching’s poetry, whether on paper or on the stage. Six years after she started performing, the Sacramento, California native is taking her artistry into another realm. With less than a month until the October 26, 2008 release, Veridiano-Ching is carefully orchestrating all of the details with the help of a handpicked team of close friends.
There’s definitely a lot to mastermind. MADE Jewelry have crafted “Miss Universe” earrings inspired by the noted poet, and a release party is planned at San Francisco’s Milk Bar. And as one-fourth of (and the only female in) the dynamic spoken word/hip-hop theater collective iLL-Literacy, there is also a tour in the works for Ms. Veridiano-Ching.
But this balancing act isn’t new. She is a woman of many talents and multiple roles. Performing artist, arts educator, VJ, model, and promotions assistant at JIVE records are a few of the titles she can claim. And since she is still a sister, daughter, and friend, it comes as no surprise that her latest work has something for everyone.
Like author, the title Miss Universe has multiple layers.
“It’s about the glitz and glamour we play into,” the writer explains. “It’s about how we have to parade ourselves around, but it’s also about seeing universe through myself.”
As a young woman who grew up in a Christian family, discussing her relationship to the universe is something she approaches carefully. Trying to find words to describe her experience, Veridiano-Ching explains the concept as “New Age.” By writing the book she says she became more in tune with this concept and it changed her. “I wasn’t trying to control my life as much anymore. I was learning to let it go because it was a part of my existence.”
But as she was learning to let go, she was also bringing a lot of things to forefront. One of the reoccurring themes in the book is interracial tension, specifically between people of African and Asian decent. To tell this truth, she had to expose her own family’s prejudices and the impact it had on her life.
“It was hard for them to hear it,” Veridiano-Ching says of her family’s first encounters with certain poems. And while some of the race pieces talk about tension, they also illustrate the changes that have taken place over time. “They are a little more accepting of whom I have in my life,” she says of her family.
The good and the bad aspects of life are present when talking to Veridiano-Ching, though they are never simply either/or, but always honest. As she wraps up the conversation to work more on Miss Universe she makes one thing clear: “This book is a labor of love.”
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Check out Veridiano-Ching’s blog, The Glamourbaby Trails.
Issue #35
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