Delivering a muse

As a husband and father of two daughters and a son, Wang shoulders the majority of the financial responsibility in his family.

Born in rural Xuzhou, Jiangsu, Wang held an assortment of jobs to make a living over the past decades- as a builder, garbage collector, street peddler, food deliveryman, and so on.

Thanks to a bookstall near a construction site where he worked in 1988, Wang delved into reading and writing.

He published a novel in 1992 and has written as a hobby ever since.

At times, his obsession with poetry caused him to neglect his work, which led to conflict in his marriage.

In recent years, with his deliveryman poems gaining more attention, conflicts have smoothed out.

Wang's experience also inspired his children.

In 2020, his eldest daughter, who married after graduating from vocational school and gave birth to two daughters, decided to resume her studies.

"Now, at the age of 31, she has obtained her pharmacist license and is the manager of four pharmacies," Wang proudly stated.

In 2023 and 2024, Wang published three collections of poems.

These days, the food delivery poet hardly has time to take any orders. His days are filled with book signings, appearances on speaker panels and various activities across the country.

Despite the recognition and busy schedule, Wang still goes out to deliver food whenever he returns to Kunshan.

Weaving through the streets and alleys of the city puts him back into the deliveryman's work mode. The inspiration for writing poetry still lingers, he said.

"The difference is that my income is higher, so when I deliver food, I don't have to desperately take as many orders as before. It's more about doing it out of interest," Wang said.

Chen Nan contributed to this story.