As part of the all day #Wfest, I participated in a Q&A session, talking with Sam Fentiman-Hall about my work and what inspires it. Here is the text, in full:
SM Jenkin is a regular performer on the UK live lit scene, has performed internationally, and has been published in numerous literary anthologies and magazines. Her poetry debut full length collection ‘Fire in the head’ was published in 2018. Here is some more info about SM. (Detailed post with poetry links!)
What sort of topics do you write about?
(SMJ) My poems are inspired by unspoken/ erased histories. For example, I wrote my poem about Anne Pratt when I found out that she was a Medway girl! She was a self-taught botanical illustrator, and she was taught at Eastgate house. Until recently there was no mention of her at all. Especially local history. It bothered me that I had been to/ past this building so many times & had no idea about her. Other poems are inspired by the beautiful landscape of Medway. I guess I write about things that I am afraid of losing, to keep them preserved in some way.
What are you working on now?
(SMJ) A chapbook with Rosemary McLeish written in response to 'the unspoken aspects of war', it covers a lot of ground. Working with Rosemary really stretched and challenged me. She’s inspired me to have courage. I’m sorry she won’t see it in print. Her work is amazing. Breathtaking honest and a timely riposte to a lot of some rather rose-tinted ideas about the war, about the empire. It's some of her most challenging work. I’m also now working on my second solo collection. I want to explore a little more about my mother’s unspoken stories and history, what it means to be a second generation Irish woman. I can be brave about it, because of women like Rosie.
What writers do you like/admire?
(SMJ) Famous ones? Dylan Thomas, Angela Carter, William Blake and WB Yeats obviously, Kate Bush, Maeve Brennan, Carol Ann Duffy and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Rosemary McLeish obv., Spreken, Setareh Ebrahimi, John Wilmot. I’ve found that attending the Confluence sessions has exposed me to many writers, and I admire their work. You’ve gathered a terrific ensemble of writers in the @Wrdsmithery publishing house.
What was the idea behind your forthcoming collaboration with Rosemary McLeish?
(SMJ) We were inspired by the number of collaborative poetry projects that are going on right now. For me it was 'one mans trash', collaboration between Spreken and Matt. We liked each others’ work, so the only question was, what to write about. As feminists, this informed our ideas, We realised how much of the reality of women's lives is forgotten or erased. There were a lot of myths milling about how wonderful “the war” was, Bulldog spirit and all that jazz. when the reality is that for civilians and women particularly was different. Many things had remained unspoken. It needed to be said. And that was our starting point.
Did you find it easy or hard to collaborate on a poetry collection with another poet?
(SMJ) Rosie was easy to work with, brave, honest and encouraging. But also not allowing me to take an easy option. All I had to do was respond to what she had written, stay within the brief and be honest. The quality and honesty of her work encouraged me out of my comfort zone. She had a real spark to her, and this can encourage you to do more than you thought possible.
What are your tips for juggling real life with poetry?
(SMJ) I find deadlines really help. I know how tricky it is to balance paid work, caring and general life with trying to also be a creative person. It’s easier to find slots of time if I can see that there is a goal to meet. I know how to ration time then. If I have a poem that’s due at the end of the month, I can then plan out slots of time to write in. It gives me an incentive. Ask yourself: Is this necessary? Also, “how does this help me"? Does it give me a chance to develop as a writer? or to get my work seen?
Details about the #WFest are available here: https://www.wordsmithery.info/wfest-2020
Here you can watch some videos of SM Jekin’s work:
MedwayMermaid https://youtu.be/twmDT99ZimI
Prisoner convention three poems Inverlair lodge (from my forthcoming collection with Rosemary McLeish. Rhiannons song (unpublished) and only a fool from Fire in the Head https://youtu.be/4nzmGlqmX8s
And you can bookmark an interview for later!
YouTube interview: Thanet writers meet SM Jenkin https://youtu.be/IbkW7x618mg
You can follow SM on social media.
Facebook (
https://www.facebook.com/SMJenkinWriter/
) , Twitter (@sajenks42), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/smjenkin42/) and Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/smjenkin) Buy a copy of her book here: https://www.wordsmithery.info/fire-in-the-head
