I had decided to retire the literary Would You Rather series, but didn't want to stop interviews on the site all together. Instead, I've pulled together 40ish questions - some bookish, some silly - and have asked authors to limit themselves to answering only 10 of them. That way, it keeps the interviews fresh and connectable for all of us!
Today we are joined by Clare V O'Brien. Clare has worked as a schoolteacher, a journalist, PR to a Scottish politician and PA to an American rock star. Originally a Londoner, she’s spent the last 23 years living beside a sea-loch in Scotland, which suits her much better. She started writing seriously in her 50s. Since then her poetry and other work has appeared in anthologies including Heather: an anthology of Scottish writing and art (Alice Louise Lannon, 2022), Poems From The Heron Clan IX (Katharine James Books, 2022), The Sea Is Here (Unimpatient, 2020), The Anthology Of Contemporary Gothic Verse (Emma Press, 2019), Songs To Learn And Sing (Hedgehog Poetry Press, 2018), The Powers Of Nature (White Craw Publishing 2017) and in journals such as Mslexia, Popshot, Northwords Now, Lunate, and The Ekphrastic Review. She’s now working on an experimental novel entitled Light Switch and a full poetry collection, Huginn & Muninn, named after Odin’s ravens. Her work is most often described as speculative, folk horror, neo-noir or modern gothic, but her main interest is the natural world and the creatures, real and imagined, which wander through it.
More
info at http://clarevobrien.weebly.com
Why do you write?
It’s what I’m best at. I’ve dabbled in music all my life – in my
youth I was in a few indie bands, and I’ve worked in the music business - but words
are really my thing. I’m half-way
through writing a novel, and a full-length collection of poetry is currently
out to publishers, but aside from a travel guide I was commissioned to write
years ago, my pamphlet ‘Who Am I Supposed To Be Driving?” is my first published
book. Write about what you know, they
say, so I started with music - I was a Bowie fan from an early age. He’s been a kind of virtual artistic mentor my
whole life.
What made you start writing?
I’ve always written, but work and
motherhood got in the way a bit. I started
to take it really seriously in middle age, after an artist I was close to died
suddenly. They were only in their early
50s. It brought it home to me that life can change at any time and that if I
had things to express and communicate, I’d better get on with it.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
Grow organic vegetables on our land in
the Scottish Highlands. I also help out with
the family tourism business.
What’s the most useless skill you possess?
I can instantly remember lyrics of songs
– even songs I hate. Some of the worst
ones haunt me.
If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
Invisibility whenever I wanted it. I
think it would be great for social observation and people-watching, and I could
avoid any dangerous encounters.
What are some of your favorite books and/or authors?
Hilary Mantel for her intensity and
her immersive characterization. Neil
Gaiman for his wild imagination. Philip
Pullman for his steadfast humanity. Jane Austen for her astute plotting and social
observation. JRR Tolkien and Mervyn Peake for their atmosphere and world-building.
I’ve recently discovered the amazing Scottish novelist and poet Jenni Fagan –
other favourite poets include Ted Hughes, RS Thomas, Michael Symmons Roberts,
WB Yeats, Iain Sinclair and the performance poet Kae Tempest.
What is your favorite book from childhood?
The Owl Service by Alan Garner.
What are you currently reading?
I usually have a novel (or some
non-fiction…) plus a poetry collection on the go. Currently the novel is Mischief Acts
by Zoe Gilbert, and I’ve got All The Names Given by poet Raymond
Antrobus on my bedside table.
You have to choose an animal or cartoon character that best
represents you. Which is it and why?
A pterosaur. It was my favourite dinosaur as a kid and I
love all its raptor descendants, especially eagles and owls.
Which literary invention do you wish was real and why?
Philip Pullman’s Subtle Knife. Travelling between different parts of the
multiverse definitely beats getting on a plane for your holidays!
Written
in tribute to the iconic star who would have been 75 this year, and named after
a line in an outtake from his 1996 album 1.Outside, Who Am I Supposed
To Be Driving? is a collection of ekphrastic poems written in response to
thirteen of David Bowie’s albums, from 1969’s Space Oddity to 2016’s Blackstar.
The
ultimate changeling, Bowie wrote songs that led us into landscapes as various
and exotic as the characters he created to sing them.
The
book’s preface reads: “These poems aren’t a critique. They’re not a biography. They’re not an
attempt to paraphrase or explain the music which inspired them. Instead, they’re an exploration of the
emotions the work creates, and the lost worlds from which these iconic albums
first emerged. Or perhaps they’re just the abstract thoughts of a flight
controller, working the night shift, wishing Major Tom would return.”
buy a copy here:
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