Meet Tayler Hanxi Bunge | Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tayler Hanxi Bunge and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tayler, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking

For most of my life I lived pretty risk-averse with that immigrant chip on my shoulder about salaries and safety nets. Whether this looked like a full-time job, a car payment, or a 401k, or just never sitting in wet grass, there was always a voice I listened to that told me I’d lose everything if I didn’t follow the rules.

During the pandemic, like most of us, I felt hopeless and lost. I had absolutely no idea how to find meaning in my life outside of the framework of rule-following. I quit my pretty lucrative full-time job and cofounded an agency with a few other freelancers. I moved to Nashville. I drained my savings account. I worked 15 hour days. I burned myself out—but it also didn’t feel like a risk, anymore. It felt like a chain keeping me from finding meaning or peace.

So a year later, I moved on again, not really sure what was next or where I wanted to live, knowing just one thing: that I wanted to write as much as possible and move as much as possible. And I did. I now work remotely, travel every few weeks, and often write 15 hours a day. The workload wasn’t the problem—the risks not taken were.

I think reframing the relationship I have with mortality has made me think about risk differently. Risk brings forward meaning, but risk isn’t really anything besides accepting that everything is temporary. The stakes are only as high or as low as we want them to be. Everything matters because nothing does.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a writer. I write literary fiction and screenplays. I’m a queer Chinese adoptee who grew up in a white suburban area of Denver. My writing is a way for me to tell my story, to communicate the complexities of abandonment, adoption, and bodily vulnerability. I’m most proud of making a huge pivot from a full-time growth marketer into a full-time writer in under a year, and still finding time to write my own stuff on the side. It was absolutely not easy, but I benefit from the privilege of being pretty self-motivated and so Type A that if my calendar tells me to write or sit or jump, I will do so. I’ve been writing since I could read, but only in the past few years I have found the liberation of fiction, using characters and conflict to help me understand the world, and process my own confusion about time and purpose.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live near Sunset, so we would start at Bacari Silverlake (throwback Cliffs Edge), walk down to Van Leeuwen for some (vegan) ice cream, and either Los Globos or El Cid (mood dependent). At some point in the week, we’re also probably hitting up Button Mash for pinball, The Semi-Tropic for a beer, and Vinovore on Hoover for a bottle of all-natural, women-made wine for later. Head over to Los Feliz for a movie and, depending on the friend, either Atrium for a nibble or The Dresden for a drink. Probably Erewhon too, so we don’t have to go to the zoo.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents, who have encouraged every single thing I’ve ever dreamed of without judgment. And also, probably, Annie Dillard—my version of god.

Website: taylerbunge.com

Instagram: @fatwolverines

Twitter: @fatwolverines

Image Credits
All me, tweet by @haught_tracy