Question: Please tell us a little about yourself.

Vivien: I am a former teacher/lecturer with a B. Ed (Hons) Degree in English Literature & Education (Subsidiary Subjects – Creative Writing & Art). I have written poetry since the early age of seven (I can still remember the poem I wrote then) & have loved poetry all my life.
I live inside Colwick Country Park overlooking two lakes with my husband, Ian, & my cat, Misty. I am an ardent lover of wildlife, which overflows from the Park into our garden. I have M.E. (or CFS/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) & frequently have very little physical energy, but try to use my writing & painting as creative ways of counteracting this negativity.

Question: You are known as both a writer and a visual artist. Which do you consider yourself primarily to be, and which influences the other – does your art influence your writing, or does your writing influence your art?

Vivien: I am primarily a writer & could not live without expressing myself in words. Words are the most natural medium to me with art coming second. My writing definitely influences my artwork.

Question: Your poem, “Dreams of Peace” is a timely subject. Do you feel that politics has a role in poetry?

Vivien: I think everything has a role in poetry. There isn’t a subject that can’t be tackled within a poem. ‘Dreams of Peace’ was written very recently & was inspired by a dream I had of a bird flying in through our patio doors in our lounge & settling on my hand. The theme of peace is very close to my heart, both personally – I am always trying to find that balance, that peace in life - & in a world setting with the war in Iraq, the terrorist bombs in London last July, terrorism around the world & the constant reminder of the past with the Holocaust.

Question: Is there any topic you won’t tackle?

Vivien: No, I can’t think of one.

Question: “When I Was Young” is a captivating wistful look at childhood. How autobiographical is your work?

Vivien: ‘When I Was Young’ is very autobiographical & a lot of my work is, but often I’ll write a poem as though through the eyes of another. I try & be that person, so that what I write will ring true for the person I’m supposed to be. It would be interesting for someone to try & deduce which of the poems I’ve written are autobiographical & which aren’t. Though having said that I think a writer will always put some of themself into a poem.

Question: Who and what are your influences?

Vivien: I think my first & most important influence was my father, who although didn’t write himself, was a great lover of literature, was always reading poetry & novels & who read the best children’s literature to me from an early age. I especially remember him reading the Narnia series by C S Lewis, The Hobbit by J R R Tolkein, the Mary Poppins books by P L Travers, Five Children & It by E S Nesbitt, Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham, The Little Grey Men by ‘B B’ & The Children From One End Street books by Eve Garnett, to name but a few. He was a very sensitive & emotional man, qualities which I’m sure I’ve inherited. Being exposed to good literature when young is probably why I love words & my father was very encouraging about my creativity.

When I was seven I had a lovely teacher at school called Mr Dobbs (who I am still in contact with), who was passionate about wildlife. We had lots of nature lessons & field trips, plus we did quite a lot of art & creative writing too. I was quite naughty at school. Mr Dobbs sat me on my own with a double desk all to myself. I loved having a whole double desk to myself without anyone irritating me!! I do like solitude & find it essential to on my own for a certain time each day to allow myself to be creative.

For part of my English degree I studied Victorian poetry & I do love Keats, Shelley, Byron, (Christina) Rossetti, (Elizabeth Barratt) Browning & (Robert) Browning. I would say that era of poetry has influenced me more than any other. I do like more modern poets too, especially Sylvia Plath, D H Lawrence & Billy Collins.

My favourite painters are the Pre-Raphaelites including Burne-Jones, Rossetti, Millais, Waterhouse, Holman Hunt & Hughes. I love their jewel-like colours & realistic depiction of magical & mythical subjects. I recently went to an exhibition with a friend at Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery entitled ‘Waking Dreams’, which featured the art of the Pre-Raphaelites from the Delaware Art Museum, USA. It was a beautiful exhibition.

Question: Your work has touched many people. What do you think it is about your work, besides the fact that it’s just so good, that speaks to so many?

Vivien: Thank you very much for your compliment, which means a lot to me coming from a poet I admire. My poems are written in simple, lyrical language in a simple style with genuine & direct emotions. But it’s difficult for me to say exactly what it is about my poems that speak to people. Hopefully I’m tapping into ideas which touch the reader with a universal meaning; something which touches deep inside & resonates with experiences, so she/he can relate to it too. I do tackle a very wide range of themes for poems as well.

Question: You have also worked as poetry editor for WAH. In your opinion, what makes for a good poem?

Vivien: A good poem has its own rhythm & colour. When you’ve finished reading it you feel satisfied that it has finished, because all that needed to be expressed, has been. The right words have been used, the right structure & the emotions used to clothe that structure rings true. It is condensed, intense & speaks to the reader in a way prose can’t. It is like a shorthand to the feeling part of a person, so they can experience what the poet has seen through her/his eyes, filtering it with her/his own slant on the world.

Most of the poems I write come to me as a whole poem, which needs little or no alteration. I don’t know why this is. (Some writers say you must revise, revise & revise again.) It is as though I am taken over with the words & know what to start with & what words will end the poem. So perhaps the poet intuitively knows what is a good poem.

Question: What advice would you give to a beginner poet and artist today?

Vivien: I recently received an e-mail from a young lady of eighteen mostly bedbound with M.E., who said I was her inspiration, which was a lovely thing to say. She’d just read an article I’d written about M.E. & why I write on a website for M.E. sufferers. She asked me for my advice on becoming a poet.

I said you must be absolutely passionate about writing poetry & to persevere, because you don’t earn money being a poet. You must do it because you love it. Perseverance is essential – you will receive many rejections (like acid on an open wound). To be a poet you have to open yourself up & make yourself vulnerable. Rejection hurts. I’m sure I could wallpaper our house with all the rejection slips I’ve gathered & I still get them!! Rejection never gets any easier, but you can put it more in perspective as you get older.

I would advise that you keep a notebook & pen in every room in your house & your bag, so that you can jot down phrases, words, titles, thoughts, images, sketches, which come to you during the day & which you are convinced you will remember – you won’t – so write them down & keep a notebook by your bed, so you can write down important dreams too.

I would advise you get a current copy of The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook (A & C Black), which gives listings of poetry magazines & art outlets. Also look on the Internet for up-to-date listings of poetry magazines & The Poetry Kit @ www.poetrykit.org is an invaluable source of information for the poet. Enter poetry competitions. They force you to write on a theme & this is good practice.

Regarding art, I would say don’t be a slave to current trends in art & find your own style & way of expressing yourself in paint. Perhaps join a local art class & go to Art Exhibitions either in person or via Art Galleries on the Internet.

Above all persevere. I have been writing poetry since I was seven & getting it published since 1969, but it is only relatively recently that I am becoming a bit more well known.

Question: What are your future plans?

Vivien: I have designed/printed two collections of my poems & paintings entitled *Promise* & *Mandala*. My next plan is to design/print my third collection, which I am doing at the moment. Last year I was very unwell for most of it & hardly did any painting. I have about four pieces of artwork to finish, so I must get on with them!!

I have a new programme to design your own websites & although I’ve designed three websites of my work (the main one is ‘Talking Paint’@ http://talkingpaint.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk) this was to a format by my ISP. I would like to do a much more elaborate website showing my paintings & the poems that go with them.

Last year I had to cancel two exhibitions of my artwork & illustrated poems, an Art & Craft Fair & readings of my poetry, because of ill health. I have a reading of my poems in late March this year in Nottingham & hope to do more this year. I do enjoy having an audience!!

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