Poet, Delivery Driver

刘珏

After the release of People in a Hurry， Wang Jibings first poetry collection， earlier this year， the 55-year-old food delivery driver has hardly had time to take any orders. “I have to make use of every second now，” Wang tells TWOC， “I only made five deliveries the day before yesterday， and had no time at all [for deliveries] yesterday.” Instead， his time is now taken up with book signings， appearances on speaker panels， and media interviews.

Wang had published short stories since his 20s， and has written over 4，000 poems， but he only gained wider recognition in 2022 after Chen Zhaohua， the former CEO of tech company Sohu， shared his poem “People in a Hurry” on Weibo， generating over 13 million views in less than a week.

Born in rural Suzhou， Jiangsu province， Wang dropped out of secondary school and moved to Shenyang， Liaoning province， as a migrant worker. Later， he worked on construction sites， sand mining boats， drove dump trucks， and took on many more odd jobs. But reading and writing remained his passion and solace.

As a delivery driver， Wang finds much of his inspiration on the road. He wrote “People in a Hurry” after he received incorrect addresses from customers twice in one evening， leading to him delivering late. The poem wasnt originally meant to refer specifically to the delivery profession， but Wang changed “people” to “delivery workers” in the last verse when he submitted it to a staff poetry competition held by his delivery platform， to be more on theme.

Media have labeled Wang the “delivery driver poet，” but he isnt entirely happy with it （though he thinks it might help boost sales of his book）. “Writing poetry and working in delivery cast a sharp contrast，” Wang says， “People think I am from the bottom of society and therefore feel sympathetic to me and my works.” But Wangs work is not limited to reflections on the plight of the working class. He writes on many different themes， from his family to philosophical musings， all of which are represented in his collection.

Wang has also faced criticism online. When he shared his creative process on social media platform Xiaohongshu， an influx of negative and offensive comments questioned the quality of his poems， and his right， as a delivery driver， to call himself a poet. “After reading them， my wife sat in a corner sullenly， even crying，” says Wang， “I told her not to read them， but she couldnt help checking my account.”

Wang is concerned about how his profile impacts his family， but he has never considered giving up writing： “Writing poetry has nothing to do with ones profession. I always compare it to romantic love; everyone has the right to choose love.”

Wang Jibing on a delivery scooter （Image courtesy of Taihai Publishing House）

People in a Hurry

From air， catch wind

From wind， catch knives

From bone， catch fire

From fire， catch water

The ones that race to catch up with time dont have four seasons

They have one station and the next station

The world is only the name of a place

Wangzhuang Village is the same

Every day， I know I can meet

The delivery workers racing out

On feet that hammer the earth

To quench this human flame

趕时间的人

从空气里赶出风

从风里赶出刀子

从骨头里赶出火

从火里赶出水

赶时间的人没有四季

只有一站和下一站

世界是一个地名

王庄村也是

每天我都能遇到

一个个飞奔的外卖员

用双脚锤击大地

在这个人间不断地淬火