Interview _ Trefor Stockwell

Trefor Stockwell studied English at Bangor University, and has recently completed his PhD in Creative Writing. He now lives on the Isle of Anglesey where he concentrates on writing and performing poetry. Currently he is working on a novel.

In this interview, Trefor talks about his writing:

When did you start writing?

I have always written but have taken it much more seriously since University.

My writing efforts are of an eclectic nature: poetry, prose and the occasional article. My audience is anyone who finds my work interesting. Primarily though I write for myself, and if others then enjoy it that’s a bonus.

I have never really wanted to be published for the sake of it, but it became an expectation when I started to do post-graduate work on creative writing.

Which writers influenced you most?

The writers who have influenced me most are: Angela Carter and Salman Rushdie both of whom were cited in my PhD thesis on creative writing.

I not only enjoyed their work for its unique, and sometimes quirky, approach to subject matter, but also it inspired my own approach to the situation I found myself in: at the time I was living in a small Bulgarian village, and was at the time the only Westerner in the valley. Although I was made welcome, I still sensed a feeling of isolation. I was also struggling to come to terms with the changes to the country - this was in the early days of transition to the EU and a change from a centuries old agrarian to a more capitalist society. My writing needed to reflect this change, and the fact that my presence - no matter how sympathetic I was to the culture - was leaving a cultural footprint: the villager were researching me just as much as I was them. My work, therefore, grew increasingly more Magical Realist in nature.

How else have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

I think all writers are influenced by events in their own lives. In my own case I have always tried to convey a left wing political message in my work. I also find that the loss of a loved one in a tragic accident led to some rather dark and cathartic poetry. Both of these elements are to be seen in my poetry collection, Life, Love, Politics and Other Silliness.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My writing is becoming increasingly more political, this is especially so in my poetic efforts. This has become more so since the advent of the Brexit debate and the increasing drift toward extreme idealistic national politics. I have become alarmed with the similarities to the situation in 1930s Germany. Poetry is my way of expressing those fears.

Do you write every day?

I write on most days but do allow myself time away from the keyboard. My biggest challenge is self-discipline; I try to allocate myself a certain amount of time each day and treat it like a job.

I find I must force myself to start, but then find that once I do it’s even more of an effort to stop.

I have published four works: A novel: Clerical Errors, Secular Lies; two short story collections: Bread and Wine and The Tales of Ivan Levsky; one poetry collection: Life, Love, Politics and Other Silliness.

What is Life, Love, Politics and Other Silliness?

It is a poetry collection.

It was written over a number of years. The more personal aspects of the collection were the most difficult to write, but also the most rewarding and cathartic. The collection was published by Dorogoy Press/LuLu in 2018. I completed all the layout work myself.

The main advantage of this, is that I can order as and when required and also sell through Amazon.

One of your poems, ‘When We Weren’t Looking’, is featured in Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction. What would you say the poems are about?

‘When We Weren’t Looking’ was written in response to my growing concerns about where our country is heading since the referendum. It was written very recently, and reflects on the fact that our own apathy appears to be allowing the unspeakable to come about by stealth. It is also about my own fear that the referendum has been the touchstone to a release of national xenophobia and a right wing agenda that harks back to a golden age which in truth never really existed. In my opinion the only way for us as a nation to reunite is take the whole thing back to the people - either as a people's vote, or through a people's assembly.

How has the poem been received?

Difficult to say, but it appears to have found favour with audiences. Why this is, is again, difficult to say, but either they approve, or are very kind – probably a mixture of both.

Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?

It has always been important for people in the arts to speak out. Quite often artists, writers, musicians and the like are the first to notice the defects in society, and are possibly more trusted by that society than the political leaders,

In your view, what do anthologies like Bollocks to Brexit add to poetry and public discourse?

Anthologies such as Bollocks to Brexit allow disparate views to be broadcast more widely rather than relying on the mainly biased opinion of the media, or the meaningless sound bytes of the political class: 'strong and stable' and 'Brexit means Brexit' are two examples of slogans that are completely without meaning, yet are repeated over and over again, until they become perceived as absolute truisms, this is aided by a media that is in the main controlled by the very rich, and entirely influenced by the need for profit.

Interview _ Sarra Culleno

Sarra Culleno is a London-born, Manchester-based UK poet, a mother of two and an English teacher.

She writes about issues that include children’s rights, motherhood, identity, technology and politics. Her work has been published in magazines and anthologies that include Les Femmes Folles (‘Lost in my DMs’, ‘Song of the Young Mother’ and ‘Phone Phantom Pantoum’), Three Drops (‘PMT Virelai’), Hidden Voices (‘Hansel and Gretel, the Woodcutter’s Children’) and in Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction (CivicLeicester, 2019).

In 2019, Sarra was longlisted for the Cinnamon Press Pamphlet Prize and appeared as a featured poet at HerStories Festival, Celebrate Whalley Range, and That’s What She Said (For Books Sake).

Readings can be found on her YouTube channel and through her Instagram and Twitter profiles.

In this interview, Sarra talks about her writing:

When did you start writing?

I've always written, but only started sending pieces to publishers this year.

I'm an English teacher, so I have taught the nuts and bolts of poetry for sixteen years. My two children are now old enough for me to have a hobby which led me to performance poetry and spoken word events.

How would you describe the writing you are doing?

It's a mixture of formal and blank verse, on themes of dual heritage identity, motherhood, monogamy, the education system, gender, and politics.

The motherhood poems are autobiographical, as are the dual heritage identity poems. I'm of Iranian-Irish descent which did not seem particularly interesting or unique to me until I left London in my twenties.

My poems on the education system are rooted in my experiences as a classroom teacher and mother of primary school age children.

I hadn't realised the impact Sylvia Plath had on my writing till recently. I can see the influence of her cadences and extended metaphor. Hafsa Aneela Bashir, more recently; her bravery is raw and visceral which made me braver when writing about painful personal experiences such as post-natal depression.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My main concern is producing a finished poem, but I can't stop tinkering with syllable counts, metre and so on even after I've sent them off! I'm very badly organised, so I do not keep track of what I've submitted where... Sooner or later a publisher is going to get very cross with my simultaneous submissions!

What are the biggest challenges that you face? And, how do you deal with these challenges?

Rejections are hard to take, but it's an unavoidable part of writing. It's also a chance to ask myself what I can improve.

Do you write everyday?

I can't write everyday. I have a demanding full-time career and two small children. I get my ideas while driving home. Before I get out of the car I scribble them into a notebook. Once the children are asleep, I'll do my research and choose a suitable form which I hope will enhance the meaning or topic. Finally, I'll sew it together and then review it in a day or two. Then the tinkering starts... And never stops!

I'm writing my poetry collection at the moment. I started it in February and I'm still working on it now. I have about forty poems I'm happy with and many more I've cut. When I have about eighty, I'll submit it for publishing as a book rather than a chapbook. An early draft of it was longlisted for the Cinnamon Press Pamphlet Prize this year. I hope I've improved on it since then.

When I've finished, I'll submit it to small presses based in the North West and London as it will be easier for me to be involved in launch events. The types of publishers which I think would be a good fit, would be women-focused and known for releasing titles exploring gender.

Which aspects of the work you are putting into the poems do you find most difficult? Why do you think this was so?

I ended up scrapping all my spoken word poetry from publishing submissions, and I will not usually read my more formal poetry at performance events. I love both for different reasons, but only a few of my poems cross over. I've tried to include a number of accessible poems in my collection, which are not in the least oblique or literary, hoping this will broaden appeal. I've recorded readings for some of these on my YouTube channel.

I most enjoy writing poetry when an idea emerges of its own accord, and writes itself. It's depressing when there's a "drought", though.

I'm looking forward to the school holidays to start the writing flow off again.

One of your poems, ‘Terza Rima's Woke Blog’ is featured in Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction. How did the poem come about?

I wrote ‘Terza Rima's Woke Blog’, for my pupils and younger colleagues. Neither can build any stability into their futures, and yet they are the hardest working and most conscientious people that I know. I feel their generation is forsaken.

Advertising agencies were employed to peddle Brexit and manufacture consent. Marketing companies know that facts will not sell products, but that emotions sell a brand. There needs to be awareness raised for both sides, that referendums are opinion polls, not unbreakable contracts. Perhaps this is where poets could help.

Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?

It's important for everyone to speak up. But if you have an unusual way of saying it, it's to your advantage.

My worry is that Brexit is what Chomsky might call "a Roman Game of Circus" designed to incite a very narrow but impassioned debate involving both left and right, to distract us all from what is really going on: the stripping of human rights to bring our workforce in line with China and India, and to colonise our publicly owned assets in the TTIP deal. Chomsky, in his explanation of how we are kept passive, puts it better than me, when he says in The Common Good, "Limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum..."

In your view, what do anthologies like Bollocks to Brexit add to poetry and public discourse? Why does this matter?

As a reader, I prefer anthologies as you get a broader perspective on a theme, and experience multiple forms and styles.

Politically, art resonates better than facts, figures and debates. And if Brexit proved anything, it's that people follow their hearts. Not their minds.

The TTIP deal was debated a lot on social media before the referendum - it has vanished entirely since. The debates on public services, spending, living standards, and many other pressing issues are silenced now too. Brexit is the greatest political distraction ever contrived. It was never a possibility or even a yes/no question. It's important for anyone who realises this, on the left AND the right to reach people still arguing about a non-starter distraction. We still have to protect our hard won rights from the greedy, who will happily turn us into an impoverished, enslaved, poisoned and hateful nation.

Brexit is “a non-starter distraction” because it was invented as a Roman Game of Circus, purely to divert debate from other issues. It is an impossibility, but while we all argue about it, our civil rights and public assets are being stripped under our noses. It is useful for the government to prolong their inevitable admission that it was never going to happen, as this cultivates a climate of fear and apathy, which controls everyone (those of us already impoverished, and also anyone left who realises however little we have can be taken away). I believe they will push the deadline forward each time it arrives until they eventually admit they had no intention or means to take the eggs out of a cake which is already baked. So to speak.

Interview _ Paul Francis

Paul Francis is a prolific, versatile poet, living in Much Wenlock. He has published two collections, Various Forms and 5-string Banjo, and a range of topical pamphlets. He is active on the local circuit of poetry readings and has been placed in six national poetry competitions.

In this interview, Paul talks about his writing:

When did you start writing?

I wrote my first poem at the age of ten and haven’t stopped since.

There wasn’t a clear moment where it could be said I decided I wanted to be a published writer. I’ve always read, so I’ve thought of writers as important, and writing as a worthwhile activity. It’s a natural step from there to think, “Why not me?”

How would you describe the writing you are doing?

Varied, enjoyable, most of it transitory.

When I write, I don’t start from the audience. I start from the writing and then go looking for the audience. For most of what I do, the immediate audience is other writers who go to poetry events around the West Midlands.

Sometimes it reaches beyond that, through a series of accidents. I discovered a week ago that the leader of an Orkney Ramblers holiday I went on in 2014 has been reading my Orkney Sonnets to his recent customers. Totally gobsmacking, but good to know.

Which authors influenced you most?

Shakespeare, Shelley, George Orwell for a start. Shakespeare and Shelley (‘Ozymandias’) for the sonnets, Shelley (‘Masque of Anarchy’) and Orwell for the politics.

The range and intensity of Shakespeare’s sonnets have always impressed me – there’s so much you can find in this apparently limited form. ‘Ozymandias’ is terrific. It came out of a challenge between Shelley and a friend – write a sonnet about a recent visit to the British Museum. It’s a powerful, well-organised sonnet that proceeds towards its conclusion, getting better all the time BUT it also plays around with the formal rhyme scheme. It’s not simply three four line chunks with a couplet tacked on to the end.

‘Masque of Anarchy’ is a great poem. short lines, tight rhyming and controlled anger all the way through.

What I like about Orwell is the aim for clarity – look hard, but keep what you’re writing as clear and simple as you can.

How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?

I was brought up in a very pleasant middle-class home. Lots of books, time for reading, supportive parents etc.

It was only when I went to Raymond Williams’ lectures, and then started teaching in a Nottinghamshire mining town, that I registered how differently many people lived – and what a rough deal a large proportion of the population got from those who were in power.

This is really far too big to take on in this context. It’s about social class and money and power, and the recognition of how they operate in society.

Has there been a change from when I started teaching till now? How long have you got? I’ve written two books about this, What’s Wrong with the National Curriculum? and The Best Policy? Honesty in education, 1997-2001.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

Making topical, political subject matter the content of poems which are good in themselves, not just a rant.

I have regular arguments with poetry friends about what poems can and can’t do. My view is hugely ambitious – poems can convey information, develop arguments etc... I need to work on the text, so as to convince sceptics that I might have a point.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

Not huge. I’m retired, and have a pension. It’s a comfortable life. I write what I want to, and nothing hangs on what happens to it. I like trying to write different kinds of stuff.

The challenges I face are largely technical. I like regular forms, but recognise the current hostility to full rhyme and iambic pattern. One challenge is to try to face the potential criticism of those elements without sacrificing them – keeping the sense and the movement as active as possible.

Do you write everyday?

Most days. Sessions aren’t formal, and might be short. I’m lucky that I write fast, and always have plenty to write about.

How many books have you written so far?

I wrote three books about education, and various packs of educational materials.

I’ve written an autobiography and a novel, and have had three collections of plays for schools published (by Edward Arnold and CUP).

I’ve self-published two main collections of poems (Various Forms and 5-string Banjo), and fifteen pamphlets of various kinds.

My latest pamphlet is In the Dark, about social media during Brexit. It’s just over a dozen pages. Actual writing time, a few days. Research and thinking about it, nearer three years.

Which aspects of the work did you enjoy most?

I love manipulating information, ordering material – with this pamphlet, putting together the reference notes, sorting through the piles of (yes, actual paper) cuttings was a real buzz, and the actual writing itself, finding key images, hearing a phrase arrive in my head, which has the right sound.

In the Dark is very gritty – closely tied to the actual details of the Brexit debate – not appealing material for many readers; but, the pamphlet is accessible, easy to read and has a very clear position. I’m not coy about saying what I’m for and against.

How did you find a publisher for the pamphlet?

I’m a huge fan of self-publication, provided it’s done right, i.e. thought about, thoroughly checked, seen by critical eyes before publication. Given those conditions, it’s quick and cheap. Though, obviously, it can also be self-indulgent and a waste of everyone’s time.

What are you working on next?

Sonnets with notes will be published later this year. What’s different about it is that there are notes on each of the fifty sonnets, but they’re deliberately printed on the same page. To some that will be horrifying, but I compare it to poetry readings, where the commentary of poets on their work is often illuminating, leading to a deeper appreciation of the work. My gamble is that by giving more importance to the notes, I potentially increase readers’ chances of enjoying the poems.

You have two poems, ‘The Pitch’ and ‘Maverick’, in Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction. What would you say the poems are about?

‘The Pitch’ is about the damage of Brexit, to both sides. It adapts the Romeo and Juliet story, of two lovers divided by their feuding families, to the Brexit division between Remain and Leave.

I think Brexit has been a disaster, but that’s not simply because I’d have liked the result to be different. We’ve all suffered from the poisoning of the atmosphere, and these two young lovers are both casualties. Their death is a tragedy, but so is the future we face – uncertainty, expense, no clear gain achieved by massive upheaval.

‘Maverick’ is about Arron Banks – I don’t think we look anything like closely enough at how the Leave campaign was run, and why it worked. It’s not just that they told lies, it was the way they told them. We have to learn from that, as active citizens who can’t simply rely on the media to tell us what’s happening. The Daily Mail picked the BBC as one of the heroes of the Brexit campaign, and that’s a pretty damning indictment of their unwillingness to ask tough questions, and thoroughly investigate the promises that were made. We have to be sceptical and well-informed, if we’re not going to be seriously misled - as we were in this campaign.

How have the poems been received?

Generally, reception has been favourable. For years I was told that people don’t want to hear or read poems about politics. I don’t think that was true then, and I’m certain it’s not true now. Total strangers often come up at poetry readings to thank me for reading stuff about what’s on the news. Some people are allergic to rhymed poems, and I can see / hear the sneer start to form, but in performance the rhymes and the rhythm have their own appeal – especially to non-poets!

Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?

Because we’re citizens, and we need to share, and be together. Those feelings of outrage, anxiety need to be expressed – that’s how we get a better future.

In your view, what do anthologies like Bollocks to Brexit add to poetry and public discourse?

It’s tricky, because we’ve been – deliberately – divided into tribes. Not many leavers will pick up this book. If they do, will they be impressed, let alone convinced? I doubt it. But it does help our morale.

As one of the participants said, I’m sure there’ll be leavers, with their own poems, and a different anthology might try to mix the two, provide a portrait of a range of views. But that’s some way down the road, and a much tougher ask. For the moment, this is a start, and it’ll do.

Interview _ Deborah Harvey

Deborah Harvey is a Bristol poet and novelist and is Co-director of The Leaping Word poetry consultancy.

Her poems have been widely published in journals and anthologies, and broadcast on Radio 4’s Poetry Please. Her fourth poetry collection, The Shadow Factory, will be published by Indigo Dreams in summer 2019.

In this interview, Deborah talks about her writing:

When did you start writing?

I started writing poems and stories when I was a young child and continued throughout primary school, but at secondary school the emphasis shifted onto learning for the purpose of passing exams, rather than exploring any creativity we might have, and eventually I stopped writing altogether.

Then, decades later, when I was struggling to raise four children and my marriage was falling apart, I had a very vivid, urgent dream, which seemed to me to be saying that unless I found a way of expressing myself, something important in me would die. So there I was, knowing I had to write poetry but not even sure what a poem was.

I started to write what came, though, and to read poetry too, and gradually the process became less agonising.

How and when did you decide you wanted to be a published writer?

My life’s ambition, even during all the years when I wasn’t writing, was to take up an eighth of an inch on a bookshelf somewhere, so being published was always going to be something I would pursue, despite being an introvert by nature.

I also believe that all writing, but especially poems, only really achieve their potential when they are in the mind of the reader; poetry is essentially a collaborative art, so sticking your neck above the poetry parapet is essential for the development of your work.

I found my publishers, Ronnie Goodyer and Dawn Bauling of Indigo Dreams, by winning a competition they were running with publication as its prize, back in 2010. My fourth collection, The Shadow Factory, will be published by them this autumn.

How would you describe the writing you are doing?

I love the unique relationship with time that poetry has; how you can be walking along a line in a poem and fall through a hole into a whole new era or universe even. I’m mostly exploring that notion at the moment and it’s a fertile, imaginative place to be.

I write for anyone who feels they are on the edge of things, watching. I’ve always struggled to fit in with the expectations of others, and events in my life have only reinforced that sense of being on the outside of things. It might be painful at times, but I think it’s a useful situation to be in for a writer.

Which authors influenced you most?

Being brought up in the Methodist tradition meant I was exposed to poetic images, language and cadences for several hours every Sunday from a very young age. I used to love the call and response of psalm reading, and hymns were great because I got to stand on the pew and sing words I didn’t understand but which were mysterious and conjured pictures in my head – fiery cloudy pillars, chariots rising into the sky, all that sort of stuff. So the poets of the Old Testament and Charles Wesley have a lot to answer for.

Similarly, my father would take me to the library every week as a child, but left me to my own devices when it came to choosing books, so I often ended up with stories for older children or young adults that I could read but couldn’t fully understand, and that’s when the imagination comes into play. It’s the same approach you need to adopt when you’re reading poetry; a willingness to bring your own experiences to the poem.

As for poets themselves, there’s Alice Oswald, Kathleen Jamie and Stanley Kunitz for the way they capture nature; Charles Simic for his startling imagery; Neruda for always taking the reader with him on his huge associative leaps; Raymond Carver for his story-telling; Heaney and U A Fanthorpe for their unremitting humanity; Carol Ann Duffy for her surety of touch; Tracy K Smith for her startling depth and breadth; Leonard Cohen for sounding like God; I could go on.

How have your own personal experiences influenced your writing?

Most poets I know have led tumultuous lives and write as a means of turning their experiences into stories that make sense to them; finding a way to express yourself creatively is a hugely healing act. I’m no exception.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

Are my poems any good? Will anyone want to listen to me wittering on? And when I’m not writing, will I ever write a poem again? ... the usual stuff. Although I think self-doubt is an important part of creativity. If you start getting cocky or churning out poems for the sake of it, that’s the time to really worry.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

Time management. Balancing the need to earn a living, and be a mother and a carer, and publicise my work, with actually writing the stuff.

Do you write every day?

The nature of my day jobs means that most days I have no routine. This makes setting aside a length of time to write without interruption difficult. Luckily, I tend to write poems out of the corner of my eye, so as long as I have a notebook and pen to hand, I can still work on them as I go along. In that respect I’m like my grandmother, who also wrote poems; she raised eleven children between the wars, including triplets, and was run off her feet but she always kept a scrap of paper and a pencil in her apron pocket to jot down lines of poems as they came to her.

Even if I can’t write every day, I try to do something that will feed into my writing, whether it’s reading poetry or prose, walking somewhere new or in a place that has resonance for me, doing a bit of research, going to hear another, better poet read, watching starlings in the garden. Then, even if I’m stuck in discouragement, at least I can tell myself I’m cobbling together a ladder to climb out.

How many books have you written so far?

Communion – poetry collection, published in 2011 by Indigo Dreams Publishing

Dart – a historical novel about a family living on Dartmoor during the Black Death, published in 2013 by Tamar Books, an imprint of Indigo Dreams Publishing

Map Reading for Beginners - poetry collection, published in 2014 by Indigo Dreams Publishing

Breadcrumbs – a memoir of a marriage in poetry, published in 2016 by Indigo Dreams Publishing

The Shadow Factory - poetry collection, to be published in autumn 2019 by Indigo Dreams Publishing

What is your latest book about?

My father died last year so quite a few of the poems in The Shadow Factory concern themselves with childhood, the passage of time, the ageing process, and death. I think it’s the poet’s job to be clear-eyed about things we as humans don’t always want to acknowledge and I’ve tried to do this without being depressing. The darker sequences are offset by more surreal poems of the imagination, a sequence based on Leonora Carrington’s portraits, and my poem 'Oystercatchers' which won the 2018 Plough Prize Short Poem competition and is a small redemption all on its own.

When I finish putting the book together, the poems in it will span four or five years, although most of them will have been written in the last two years. This is because if I write a poem that doesn’t quite fit the theme of the collection I’m engaged in writing, I’ll keep it back for inclusion in a later collection, as long as it still holds up.

How did you choose a publisher for the book?

The Shadow Factory will be published in the autumn of this year; I don’t have a date yet but it’s soon.

My publishers have shown me great loyalty, which I am glad to reciprocate. A close and respectful working relationship makes the editing process far less fraught than it might otherwise be, and everyone is happy with the end result.

Which aspects of the work you put into the book did you enjoy?

I love the whole process of writing, editing and publishing my poems; I also enjoy taking them out into the world, and reading them.

I was about to say that nothing quite beats that moment of inspiration, but actually, that’s not the case; I’m most moved when people tell me that a certain poem of mine touched them or connected with their lives. In a way it stops being your poem at that point and takes its place in the world.

Many poets use their stories to feed their work, and I’m no exception. The important thing is to leave enough space in each poem for the reader to inhabit it with their own personal experiences, because only then does a poem become relevant.

What sets The Shadow Factory apart from other things you've written?

My poems are all in my voice; I also think there’s a certain sensibility that permeates all of them, and sometimes I detect echoes of and responses to earlier work that have come through subconsciously. I like to think my poems are getting better the more I read of other people’s work, the more I go to hear great poets read, and the more I write.

What will your next book be about?

Apart from a doomed attempt to escape in the 80s, I’ve lived in the same city all my life and have amassed stories, family anecdotes and memories, old photos, historical snippets, the voices you hear in the queue at the bus stop, the way places change and people come and go, but the city remembers how it always was and keeps re-creating itself in that image. The past in the present. I want to write all that.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

I’ve been very fortunate: I’ve won some prizes, I’ve had a poem read on Radio 4’s Poetry Please, and my books take up more than an eighth of an inch on my bookshelf, but the most significant achievement is making connections with people who read my poems and who are kind enough to tell me. I can’t really ask for more than that.

Two of your poems, 'Yes, there will also be singing' and 'So says the owl' are featured in Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction. How did the poems come about? What led you to write the poems and to present them in the form that they take?

I was politicised as a teenager in the 70s, through the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism, and if anything I’ve moved further to the left over the years, not least because of the monumental battles I and my disabled children have had to wage over the years to secure them the education and benefits they need. I’m also fiercely in favour of freedom of movement and multiculturalism, so the thought of being trapped on this island with racists, homophobes and ableists who attack anyone who isn’t like them is appalling.

For a long time I’ve wanted to channel some of my political feeling into my poetry, but I’m not a declamatory poet and I don’t really write invective. With the two poems in Bollocks to Brexit, I found a way of making a political point by referring to earlier historical events in one and a late medieval painting in the other, thus underscoring how progress isn’t linear, and how we are in the process of repeating the mistakes of the past.

Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?

A poem, like a song, a play or a painting, might reach someone when rhetoric fails. I come from Bristol and you can’t deny the political impact Banksy has had. Poetry is our national art form and poets have been given the ability to communicate in an especially resonant way; it’s up to us to rise to the challenge also.

Shelley claimed that “poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world”. I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but in times of crisis all artists have a responsibility to respond as best they can. And this is certainly a time of crisis, and not just because of Brexit. We are reaping what Thatcher sowed, and it’s the younger generation who are suffering the most.

Interview _ Ceinwen E. Cariad Haydon

Ceinwen E. Cariad Haydon lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. She writes short stories and poetry and has been widely published in web magazines and print anthologies.

She graduated with an MA in Creative Writing from Newcastle University in December 2017.

In this interview, Ceinwen talks about the work she is doing:

The Wombwell Rainbow states that you believe everyone’s voice counts. Please elaborate.

Traditionally, a narrow group of men has controlled which writing is published, which narratives and voices are heard. This produces skewed accounts and neglects to progress the articulation of the true range of human experience.

Literature has played a big part in investing the norms of the dominant group with high value, and by reference the majority of people are ‘othered’ because they will not/do not/cannot conform to or share these. The ‘others’ are therefore perceived, and often perceive themselves (due to social conditioning), as ‘less than’.

Things are changing, but not fast enough, in my view. Everyone has a valid and interesting story to tell. As a reader and as a writer I am concerned to listen and celebrate people’s differences.

In workshops, I support individuals to express their unique stories and creativity through the written and spoken word. Many people have characteristics that lead them to be marginalised and silenced by the mainstream, and the education system has insidiously groomed them to feel that they and their experiences do not count. These are the very voices that everyone in our communities should be able to hear, acknowledge and value.

Currently you are developing practice as a creative writing facilitator and are working with hard to reach groups. Which groups are these? What makes them hard to reach? As a creative writing facilitator, what do you do with them, and why is this work important? Why does it matter? 

At the moment, I am mainly working with people living with dementia and their carers, and also with other groups of elders. These individuals are from a variety of backgrounds, but all experience elements of ageism. Many have learnt to be quiet and compliant, in the belief that no-one would want to listen to them.

Workshops concentrate on imagination rather than memory as this values the present moment in their lives and avoids the anxiety that can manifest when the emphasis is on retrieving memories. Clearly, memories do come to the fore, but this remains within the control of the person and is not sought by someone external.

The work provides opportunities for creativity, social connection, agency, validation and fun. It is wonderful to see people’s personalities blossom within the group, along with their stories.

In some circumstances, if they consent, I ‘harvest’ their words and order/frame them into a poem. I do not alter their verbatim expressions, but might pare some words back, introduce refrains or re-order lines. These pieces remains their work, I am merely the scribe. There are moments of joy and recognition when people hear their poems subsequently.

I also use the ‘Timeslips’ group story telling method. People respond to an image, often quite an unusual one that speaks to the imagination. I ask open questions and accept the answers offered unconditionally, (embracing even contradictory ones). In this way a short story develops. This is read back at the end and a title is chosen. Each person has their own copy a week later.

In the past, professionally, I have worked with survivors of abuse, offenders, people experiencing mental ill-health, young mothers and many others. I hope to widen my area of practice as a facilitator to include people who have lived with challenges of this sort.

In terms of access to groups, I use existing networks, often set up for other purposes, and offer taster sessions. Then, if there is interest, I develop a scheme of work after consultation with those involved and their representatives. Breaking the silence and creating a space in which people can communicate and connect openly can led to self-generated support networks of great value.

In 2018, not only were you highly commended in the Blue Nib Chapbook Competition, you were also shortlisted for the Neatly Folded Paper Pamphlet Competition, and won the Hedgehog Press Poetry Songs to Learn & Sing Competition. Can you say something more about this and what you are doing to build on this success?

As a late starter, I didn’t have a large body of work when I commenced my MA in Creative writing in 2015. I also started the course as a prose writer and emerged a poet. Since then I have submitted individual pieces widely and have had acceptances amongst the inevitable rejections. My next step is to aim to achieve publication of a pamphlet or collection. I am due to have two chapbooks published in the next few months, and this represents a next step towards my goals.

I find that I sometimes submit work prematurely, in my enthusiasm, and I am still learning how to edit effectively.

Your work has also been featured in a number of print anthologies. Can you say something about the work and the anthologies?

Some of the anthologies that I have been featured in are political in nature and focus on an individual issue. These include:

• Planet in Peril, Fly on the Wall Poetry, 2019; and
• The Poets Speak Anthologies [‘And’ Vol.1, ‘More in Common’ Vol 2, ‘Water Rights Vol. 3, ‘Pandemonium’ Vol. 4 and ‘In or Out’, Vol 5.], Jules Poetry Playhouse, New Mexico, 2017/18

The subject of Planet in Peril is self-evident, The Poets Speak Anthologies were published in response to the election of Donald Trump.

In my work I try to balance the immediacy of threats, an implied or explicit call to action and hope. Humans are very resourceful and if we can use these talents well, I believe we can change our destinies for the better. However, currently we are leaving things very late in the day.

I have been published in other anthologies and printed magazines, and my work has been varied, often more introspective.

In 2018, one of your poems, ‘No Woman is Indispensable’ was published in Write to Be Counted: an Anthology of Poetry to uphold Human Rights (The Book Mill, 2018). What inspired the poem? What do you hope the reader will take from the poem?

This dystopian poem expressed my distress about the undervaluing and abuse of girls and women. Although it is stark, it does not seem to fall far outside of the bounds of possibility and, in some societies, parallel practices are, or have been, present.

I have two daughters and a teenaged granddaughter, and I cannot bear to think of how their life trajectories might be curtailed or derailed by structural sexism or the misogyny of individuals.

Another of your poems, ‘March 2019, SOS’ is featured in Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction. What would you say the poems are about? How did the poem come about?

In my poem I try to balance feelings of desperation with hope. I recognise the ruptures and cumulative costs caused by the Brexit process, and see the way it has torn the fabric of our communities, but I hope that one day this mess will be consigned to history and people will have moved on towards the interests of the many rather than the few. I intend to sow disquiet because energy is needed to avoid the worst outcomes, but also to avoid a ‘nothing left to lose’ tone.

The worst outcomes would include the fragmentation of communities, a closing off of life opportunities for ourselves and our children, a rise in poverty, an increase in tribalism (and its correlate – violence), hostility towards those different from ourselves, the breakdown of civic society, further polarisation of power and wealth, the lethal poisoning of our planet and the triumph of fascism.

However, it is critical that we don’t underestimate our personal power, especially when we act collaboratively with others. Hopelessness and despair are the fastest routes to foster the very things that we might dread. Impotent apathy is not an option if we want to survive the challenges of our times – those that are global and those on our street.

Why is it important for poets to speak up on social, political and related matters?

Everyone who has gleaned some understanding of current environmental risks should use their means of communication, their art and their humanity to alert others to the hazards that encircle us. This includes alt-right politics, global and personal insecurity, climate change, unfair distribution of resources, oppression of difference, gender inequalities, persecution or denial of human rights to people with protected characteristics and other systemic abuses of power.

Poetry, in particular, engages both the emotions and cognition of readers in subtle yet powerful ways. Alternative perspectives can be introduced and generated before hostile defences come into play. To “tell the truth but tell it slant”, as Emily Dickinson advised allows for human to human contact and, therefore, transformation, as awareness is extended.

In your view, what do anthologies like Bollocks to Brexit add to poetry and public discourse? And why does this matter?

People have always needed stories, whether historical or imagined, through which to learn and to celebrate their humanity. Poetry tells stories and/or explores internal narratives whilst leaving space for the reader to relate to the content on their own terms, drawing on their own experiences.

The public have been so ground down by the mainstream media’s reporting of Brexit and connected issues that hearts have hardened. This has resulted in people living in silos with their own prejudices and preconceptions.

Poetry has the potency to ventilate and stir, which has the potential to join people together rather than rip them apart. Without this, public discourse becomes sclerotic, polarised and driven by narcissistic individuals who have accessed the means to control the state and the flow and nature of information. They are frequently mendacious and careless of the common good.

All this matters because our survival as individuals and, by extrapolation, the survival of our communities and our earth, depend on all of us developing increased awareness and a sense of fundamentally shared lives. The consequences of negligence and self-seeking nationalism will be visited upon every one of us.

East Midlands poetry catalogue

As part of efforts towards setting up the East Midlands Poetry Library, we are putting together a catalogue of East Midlands poets and their work.

Are there East Midlands poets you know of who should be on the list? Can you add them to the list?

We are also aware that Black, Asian and ethnic minority poets are under-represented in how the literary landscape in the East Midlands is imagined. Do you know any Black, Asian and ethnic minority poets who should be on the list as well?

If you are a poet, in addition to adding your name to the catalogue, please also respond to the questions accessible here.