[Interview_2] Carol Thistlethwaite

Carol Thistlethwaite is a poet, a book reviewer and the author of three books for adults who are learning to read.

Her poems and reviews have been published in magazines that include Envoi, Orbis, Fire, Poetry Cornwall and The Journal.

Her latest collection of poems, from the field book, is going to be launched on March 20 and 21, to coincide with Earth Day, World Poetry Day, the First Day of Spring and World Forestry Day.

In this, the last of a two-part interview, Carol Thistlethwaite talks about how she got published.

How many books have you written so far?

I've had three books published by Avanti Press (2006) for adults who are learning to read. I wrote Red Paint, Painting the Bedroom and The Birthday Present for some of the adult learners I work with because I found there was a shortage of appropriate books for adults who are just learning to read.

The books appear simple but the writing of them is complex. Basically it's about creating adult stories from high frequency and phonetic words. Also the text (often one line) has to be written so that it can be illustrated. The repetition of key words and spelling patterns has to be considered and the subject matter should be relevant -- and preferably be fun.

Hannah Barton was the illustrator and I think we made an effective team.

Did you already have a publisher in mind when you were writing the books?

I looked at a selection of adult literacy books and picked Avanti as the most appropriate. I telephoned them, pitched the texts and was invited to submit them.

And how did you link up with the illustrator?

That was difficult and the budget made it more so. I kept mentioning to people that I was looking for an illustrator and found Hannah Barton via a friend.

I asked her to make the characters likable and to inject some humour into the illustrations. I negotiated a few changes and think Hannah did an excellent job. I think it's important that illustrator and writer work co-operatively in these kinds of books because the pictures are very much used as reading cues.

Do you write everyday?

No. As far poetry is concerned I write best when words and rhythms flow unhindered in my head -- which is usually when I'm out walking. Often I have a pencil and notebook with me so I scribble down phrases, images or whole poems. I edit them later. I sometimes think I should take a dictaphone so I can speak the word-flow as I walk.

How long did it take you to put the poetry collection together?

from the field book is a collection of poems about British bird species. The poems have been written over the last four years (2003 - 2007). I'd been sending poems out to small presses during this time, preferring to be published in print.

After attending a talk by Chris Hamilton-Emery (Salt Publishing), who said that writers need to develop an online presence, I realised I'd have to overcome my aversion to online publishing. So I sent some poems to Sam Smith's Select Six site and to my delight he accepted them and asked how many more I had... and recommended the collection to BeWrite Books who, I am pleased to say, accepted it for publication.

Sam recognised me from the small press world and at this point I’d like to say a huge thank you to the editors of small magazines who provide opportunities for writers to get their work and names out in the public domain -- to readers, writers and potential publishers.

What other advantages or disadvantages have arisen because of your association with this publisher?

Sam has an interest in bird watching and understands what many of these poems are doing: articulating the inexpressible jizz of different bird species. Having an editor who understands the concepts that underpin the collection has been an advantage.

Having a publisher (Cait Myers) whom I trust is also important. I’ve worked with Sam and Cait and contributed to decisions so I feel this is very much my collection.

Who is your target audience?

Initially from the field book began as my MA dissertation so the audience was me and whoever was grading it. After that I let the collection evolve to what it is today.

I hope that poetry readers will enjoy its use of language and that bird watchers will recognise the perceptions and think, 'Yes, it is like that, isn't it...?'

What did you find most difficult when you were writing the poems that make up from the field book?

I decided a long time ago that I didn't want to repeat myself across any of my poems. I didn't want to repeat images, metaphors or perceptions. Finding different ways of describing similar landscapes and presenting each encounter as a different perception can sometimes be challenging -- but it's one that I relish. Sometimes I have to let my mind go out of focus so I can move laterally and away from the obvious.

The most difficult species to write about are those that are very familiar. It is because I am no longer at the ‘learning to recognise’ stage so I don't now know the mental connections I made to aid recognition. I find that the best approach to these species is oblique such as focusing on an aspect of their behaviour or comparing them with other species.

What did you enjoy most?

I love being out in open spaces, wearing my scuffed and faithful boots, listening and watching out for wildlife, with binoculars round my neck, noticing something new, there’s always something new...

Related article:

Carol Thistlethwaite [Interview_1], Conversations with Writers, March 10, 2008

[Interview_1] Carol Thistlethwaite

Carol Thistlethwaite is a poet, a book reviewer and the author of Red Paint (Avanti Books, 2006), Painting the Bedroom (Avanti Books, 2006) and The Birthday Present (Avanti Books, 2006) which she wrote for adults who are learning to read.

Her latest book, from the field book, is a collection of poems about British bird species. The collection was written over a four year period and is going to be launched on March 20 and 21, to coincide with Earth Day, World Poetry Day, the First Day of Spring and World Forestry Day.

In this, the first of a two-part interview, Carol Thistlethwaite speaks, among other things, about the challenges she faces as a writer and about how she deals with those challenges.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

It wasn't so much a decision as an epiphany. A college lecturer suggested that I should be doing Writing Studies. I instinctively knew I was hearing something important -- something I hadn’t previously considered. I'd just passed the second year of my BA and consequently changed course to include writing studies. I went on to gain an MA in Writing Studies. I began sending material out to magazines shortly after starting the Writing Studies modules encouraged by my tutor, Robert Sheppard, and other poets such as Alan Corkish.

I've been published in many small magazines such as Envoi and Orbis. I send different subject matters and styles to different editors depending on what I think their preferences are. Fire, Poetry Cornwall and The Journal have been supportive in publishing my bird poems.

How would you describe your writing?

It's in the style that best suits the purpose. from the field book, for example, is exploratory. I enjoy testing the boundaries of language to express the inexpressible -- and still be understood.

The mental leaps we make are accomplished without words but I try to represent them by ordering word-thoughts and by using lexical groupings and multi-layered vocabulary to represent concentric ideas. I position words on pages and use their sounds to represent sensory experiences such as physical and eye movements and the sounds the birds make.

Who has influenced you most?

Hopkins for the way he distorts words to bring out multiple meanings. Heaney for the way he creates layers of meaning by using lexical groupings. Hughes and Pound for selecting words for their associations. Cris Cheek and others for their positioning of words on the page. And Hughes (again) for remembering to place creatures in their habitats.

I admire Colin Simms for his precise images of wildlife movement, innovative use of language, his joy of sound and the sheer excitement and enthusiasm which pervades his work.

Also there's a host of contemporary women writers who are feeding into what I might do next.

How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?

As a 3 year old, I used to fill pages of paper with lines of squiggles and ask what they said. Always the optimist, when told, 'Rubbish,' I excitedly asked, 'Which bit of it says "rubbish"?' I enjoyed learning to read and loved writing: stories, poems and later diaries and letters. It wasn't until I was a mature undergraduate that I began writing for a wider audience.

I have always lived in Lancashire (in fact I've always lived in the same village) and many of the poems are written from sightings in my local area. There's so much on our doorstep if we only look, listen and cherish it.

I have a deep appreciation for wildlife and wild places. I celebrate wildlife as something 'other' and at the same time part of the 'oneness' of the universe.

I don't consider myself a birding expert. I couldn't have written many of these poems if I was. Some of them articulate that rush of thoughts and mental leaps that occur in the instant between information-in and recognition. Others are about the bird watching experience: the thoughts I have and the imaginative leaps my mind makes.

As a learning support tutor, I'm interested in how people learn -- and that includes me. For example, the first time I saw a green woodpecker flying off I was struck by how colourful (bright yellow) it appears compared to when it's feeding on the ground. My memory scaffolded it to a cabinet unfolding (dark on the outside but still bright on the inside). Quite a lot of the poems share this personal journey as I anchor the unfamiliar to something familiar until it becomes a familiar.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

Time management. Juggling work and family commitments with making time for walking, writing and keeping an eye on what's happening in the poetry world.

I've developed the habit of making little pockets of time for myself such as taking a couple of minutes to enjoy the flexing necks of the siskin on my bird feeders while I'm having my breakfast coffee or refusing to think about work as I enjoy listening to a song thrush on my way to college. I get up early at weekends to fit in local walks.

Being a reviewer helps because it makes me take time to read and re-read contemporary collections carefully.

What sort of material do you review?

I've been the resident reviewer for Carillon for three and a half years and review mainly poetry. The number of reviews varies depending on what Graham Rippon (the editor) receives and the space available. I reviewed eight books and booklets for the last issue.

The biggest challenge is setting aside the time required to read the books thoroughly -- which means several times. I set personal preferences aside and write a response that is both honest and fair. I do this by switching into analytical mode. That said, I still find humorous books difficult. (Maybe that's because I have a strange sense of humour!) I dislike reading reviews that promote the reviewer rather than the book, and consider it a betrayal of the trust that author and publisher invest in the reviewer. It's stealing someone else's space.

Related article:

Carol Thistlethwaite [Interview_2], Conversations with Writers, March 11, 2008