Ask the Author: Giles Watson
Answered Questions (9)
Giles Watson
There was a thrilling round of applause echoing from the auditorium as she finished her speech. She braced herself and trembled; now it was time to mingle with the audience.
Giles Watson
It's not summer here, but I am re-reading the complete poems of Emily Dickinson, and looking forward to Gisela Kaplan's study of Australian Magpies, and Jennifer Ackerman's The Bird Way. For my teaching, I am re-reading Wuthering Heights for the umpteenth time: a novel which never ceases to yield new riches. I can't wait to receive and read my copy of Nick Hayes's The Book of Trespass.
Giles Watson
I would actually prefer to go to a non-fictional book world. I'd like to go to spend the night in the little shepherd's hut described in Roger Deakin's Wildwood, in the hope that a roe deer would rub its back against the walls as I am drifting off to sleep. In the morning, I'd like to walk up and see the swallows flying in and out of his house.
Giles Watson
I'm working on a collection of poems in honour of Emily Dickinson, and a longer poem inspired by the story of Rhiannon in the Mabinogion.
Giles Watson
I was in lockdown due to COVID-19 restrictions, and sought calm and solace in going back through my old photographs of wild places and megalithic monuments in Britain, where I used to live. The photographs triggered vivid memories for me, so I set myself the task of writing a poem a day in response to them. As it turned out, this opened up a sluice of memory, and a pleasing little deluge of illustrated poems was the result.
Giles Watson
Quite simply: writing is only way to fulfil the driving urge within you. Nothing in life beats the work of creation.
Giles Watson
I deal with it by never submitting to the self-accusation that I have it. If I’m not writing, it is because I am not yet ready to write. Perhaps I need to do more reading and research, or more walking. Most of the work of writing is done before I set pen to paper, because it’s not “writer’s block” - it’s a fallow period, and fallow ground regains its fertility.
Giles Watson
If you want to be a poet, start by ignoring everything you were taught about writing for different purposes and audiences. There is much you can learn from others about literary techniques, but your poetry must come from the soul, not to impress or persuade someone. Your muse is your audience; your purpose is to be true to your craft.
Giles Watson
By observing the natural world, and by researching history and folklore. Sometimes, looking out of a window on a rainy day is enough, if two birds are playing in a puddle. The rhythm of walking is itself inspiring; poems sometimes form themselves in my mind whilst I am striding out.
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