Questionnaire: "I write because ..." ― By Samu
A "Baker's Dozen" of Questions in search of 12 + 1 answers
I am so very pleased to present Samu as our thirteenth questionnaire participant.
Unlike some others, I have always considered the number 13 to be very lucky. Folklore surrounding the number 13 appears in many cultures around the world: one theory is that this is due to their use of lunar-solar calendars (there are approximately 12.41 lunations per solar year, and hence 12 "true months" plus a smaller thirteenth month). In many cultures, 13 is considered a lucky number.
I could go on, but I'd rather say that I consider myself lucky to have met Samu and to be able to introduce him to you.
Name: Samu
Substack Link: https://open.substack.com/pub/samumind
Date: May 9, 2026
A. Gender-wise, I identify as male.
B. In the Heterosexual and/or LGBTQIA+ Community, I consider myself Queer.
C. I am single.
D. My age is 30.
E. My educational background has been accumulated through living and experiencing. I have no formal literary background. I work in caregiving and will begin training in nursing. I spend a lot of time in other people’s homes, at kitchen tables, in situations that seem quiet but aren’t. Part of my writing comes from exactly that.
F. I live in a small town in Bavaria, Germany.
1. I have been seriously writing privately for a long time. It became serious for me when I realized things don’t resolve on their own.
2. I consider myself a writer and a poet. I write because things don’t just settle on their own; through my writing, I pay them close attention.
3. I consider myself an amateur because I don’t make a living from it, but I don’t treat it casually either.
4. Specifically, the kind of writing I do is Creative Non-Fiction, essays, and poetry. I write about intimacy, dependency, the body, queer experience, and what remains when you stop functioning on autopilot.
5. The first experience I can remember as a major encouragement for me to write doesn’t have a clear beginning, but one person triggered it. My first queer love was a relationship in which I lost myself. Writing was a way to make any sense of it.
6. A writing topic I return to again and again is intimacy, control, and how quickly one can abandon oneself to maintaining something else.
7. I find writing hard when I try to explain and easier when I just stay with what actually happens.
8. I want my writing legacy to be that someone pauses to think and wonder while reading my writing, even if they can’t fully explain why.
9. What makes the work of writing worthwhile for me is that it makes visible what usually gets passed over in everyday life.
10. If I stopped writing today, I would feel that something was missing that I can’t replace.
11. When I have been away from writing, I come back to the page because what I don’t write doesn’t go away.
12. To sum it up, I write because it is the only form of expression where things don’t immediately get lost.
13. I would like to add that in my writing, I try to explain less and show more.
Samu, Thanks for being part of this project. Great getting to know you a little more. Fondly, Michael