interview — Conversational Portraits

Yeah it has, because for instance I signed up for my writing nature module, and so I had to do nature writing, and I am not a person who is very close to nature, I would say. So, it was like walking around noting things down- it has helped a lot and also helped my mental wellbeing as such. And this piece I wrote near Christmas when the Christmas lights were coming on. So, it’s like, back in India we have a festival of lights, Diwali, where the lights go on most houses and buildings. I was seeing all these photos from my friends and relatives, and here I saw the Christmas lights- I was kind of drawing parallels.

Swarnim AgrawalGuest UserMay 19, 2023conversational portraits, poetry, nonfiction, interview

In Conversation with Ben Blackwell

B: So that’s why I get, sometimes, quite caught up in the idea of perception and what people think, what’s going on in their heads. So I really like reading Virginia Woolf, for example, because she does this quite a lot. She does differ in her approach though because she goes into multiple characters' heads describing how they see the world. I tend to do it a bit differently- I tend to pick one central character and then close off their heads from everyone else, leaving the reader to speculate: “what are they thinking?” Because quite often that is the source of conflict in the story.

Ben BlackwellGuest UserApril 12, 2023interview, writing

In Conversation with Molly Arabella Kirk

MAK: One big influence is Sylvia Plath. […] I love how she can make the mundane into something haunting and beautiful, and that’s what I really try to do with my own work. Sometimes I’ll talk about something that you’d do in everyday life — I literally wrote a poem about biting my nails — and I thought, this is kind of Plath-esque, because she can just take something you do everyday, something overlooked, and turn it into something darker and more thought-provoking. From there, it can become a metaphor for something else.

Guest UserJune 10, 2022conversational portraits, creative process, poetry, interview

In Conversation with Becky Connolly

BC: The structure came about because I wanted it to be a clear comparison; I didn’t want it to be something where it could be blamed on a change in environment, or something like that. So it was very clear to me. The character… I wanted her to be someone at an exciting stage of her life… someone happy and successful. Obviously sixth form can be stressful, but you’re also looking forward to university; so much is changing.

Guest UserJune 6, 2022conversational portraits, interview, creative process, prose fiction

In Conversation with Oliver Fiore: Part I

OF: …something… that draws me to (poetry) is the capturing of the moment. I write pretty much exclusively lyric poetry, as in poetry that doesn’t necessarily need a narrative, because the moment is such a — you don’t have to obey time in a moment. And whilst a moment’s always surrounded by time, it doesn’t always have to obey it. I think the most beautiful things we have are those snapshots… So I suppose this poem is really a poem about why I like writing poetry.

Guest UserFebruary 22, 2022conversational portraits, interview, creative process

In Conversation with Charis Odoki

CO: I think the whole idea behind Ben (from “Chandeliers from Abroad”) is that he feels a lot. And to almost not understand your head and your heart– like with Boni, he’s very blunt, he’s sort of aggressive– he definitely comes across as aggressive. But with Ben, there’s so much emotion, and he’s struggling to reconcile with it. He’s someone who likes art, and all these sorts of things, and sometimes you just want to break free from race or religion or gender, or any of those brackets, and just have your own emotions and reconcile that with the world.

Guest UserDecember 14, 2021interview, short story writer, conversational portraits, prose fiction

In Conversation with Anna Young

AY: It’s important to me that I write, seeing as the content is quite dark and disturbing, with some element of humour. I think that the narration really helps with that. Obviously it’s quite creepy, especially as there’s a plot twist as well, so I needed somebody who’s likeable and funny at the start to make the plot twist seem more shocking.

SL: It’s the Fleabag-effect.

Guest UserOctober 28, 2021interview, short story, prose fiction, creative process