The following interview is one of a series of interviews with the
sixteen authors of the anthology of stories—'16' . . . to be launched on
Monday 25 April 2016 at Kaiso Blues Café, Woodford Street, POS, Trinidad.
Author: Elspeth Duncan
Story: Sending Letters
1. WHEN DID YOU WRITE YOUR STORY?
I wrote 'Sending Letters' when I was attending a 3-week Cropper
writers' retreat on the Balandra coast in 2008. At that time I was a raw
foodist and had recently met a 'kindred spirit' who lived abroad. It
was one of those connections that is sudden, intense and meaningful. We
communicated with each other a lot in various
ways . . . hence the title of my story ('Sending Letters') and the trip
to the post office that started the whole adventure.
2. YOU WROTE THE STORY EIGHT YEARS AGO. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT NOW?
It is a true story, with events and conversations recounted as they had
unfolded . . . so nothing in it is 'made up'. Now it's like reading a
diary entry and remembering the experience and the feelings of that
time. My current emotional connection to it is not what it was then, so I
see that part with more objectivity, but still with fondness for the
memories. Had the same thing happened now I don't think events would
have proceeded as far as they did. We were very trusting, but others on
the retreat (participants and facilitators) who didn't accompany us into
the forest thought we were crazy. In fact, we found out after that they
had been very worried about us.
3. WHEN WRITING DO YOU GET AN IDEA AND LET IT EVOLVE NATURALLY—OR DO YOU WRITE FROM A PRECONCEIVED PLAN?
I don't have a plan. Stream of consciousness and allowing words to flow
naturally without much 'interference' from me is how I approach
writing—or any form of creativity—or even life. Maybe because I'm also a
musician, there is a rhythm I get into with words and that moves me
along. If I'm writing about something that really happened, it feels
like painting—the subject is recognisable, but my treatment of it may be
slightly abstract, shifting the perspective on the 'real' to magnify
the 'magical'.
5. WHAT DO YOU LIKE/DISLIKE ABOUT YOUR CHARACTERS?
I like my characters because they are us. No one is/was fictional—yet
it could seem that way to a reader who didn't know otherwise.
6. WHAT DO YOU WANT THE READER TO FEEL?
I want each reader to feel whatever he or she feels naturally. The
intention in writing this story wasn't to make people feel anything
specific . . . although it could remind people about the beauty of
simplicity and trust.
7. PLEASE SHARE A BRIEF EXCERPT FROM YOUR STORY.
Excerpt from 'Sending Letters' by Elspeth Duncan
“That will be $3.75, dear,” says the woman at the post office/restaurant/bar/grocery.
All are rolled into one in this coastal village, so small that its name
is miles longer than the dot that marks it on the map I am sending.
Rampanalgas. Not as long as Rumpelstiltskin, but almost as sleepy.
“This will go out tomorrow when the mailman comes,” the woman says of
the stamped letter. All enveloped in her hands now, pieces of me and
things from the sea to go by air to you: to have, to hold, to touch, to
smell—secrets enclosed until you open.
“I think I’m going to write a
letter, too,” B pipes. She recalls floral paper, fountain pens, scented
envelopes, intimate sentiments—when she was my age and penned epistles
often. She has a homesick friend, N, who would love a letter now, more
than the bills and bank statements that stuff her red winter mailbox.
Letters. Faraway places on pieces of paper. Things of the
past until we make them presents, with time taken to gather the paper,
pick up the pen, handwriting shaking to be steady because it hasn’t been
used since computers were invented. Part the envelope, slip inside,
lick the sugar, seal the moment, away to the post office, count the
money, purchase the stamps, admire the images on those sticky little
pieces being submitted for this traveling exhibition—flora, fauna,
faces, landscapes, architecture, abstracts.
8. IN CLOSING, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY ABOUT YOUR BEING A PART OF THE ANTHOLOGY: 16?
I knew one or two of the other authors before, but most of them I met
when we all attended a UTT writing workshop with Professor Elizabeth
Nunez (2008). During the workshop we decided it would be a good idea to
create an anthology. I'm not really someone to conform to 'rules' for a
creative process and had never been to a writers' workshop before.
However, I do appreciate that 'rules' exist and can be of benefit. One
thing that remained with me was Elizabeth Nunez telling us that what
authors first write is like 'vomit' . . . and that we need to go back
and clean it up. Since I mainly write in stream of consciousness, what I
produce is what comes out at the first go. I never used to spend time
reworking, because I liked the raw output. However, I learned
(especially subsequently with editor Jeanne Mason who helped subtly
refine my first novel 'Daisy Chain' without changing the essence and
flow of the original stream of consciousness output) that refining can
sharpen and tighten and give more power. Elizabeth Nunez also introduced
us to a South African writer called J.M. Coetzee (through one of his
novels: "Disgrace"). I was impressed by his sparse, precise language—his
ability to capture in a few exact words what someone else would try to
say in a paragraph. He writes in the present tense (which I also prefer
to do) and this, accompanied by the brevity of his sentences, compelled
me. Over the years since then, when I write something, I like going
back over it and cutting out as much as I can to make it more sharp and
powerful.
In closing, I want to highlight Jeanne Mason, the
editor of '16', who worked with full heart and soul on this project—to
finally make it happen eight years later. Whenever someone is writing a
book and they ask me if I know a good editor, I unhesitatingly recommend
Jeanne for her knowledge, professionalism, passion and commitment. The
publishing of the anthology was made possible by Jeanne and the local
publishing house, Royards, who also put/are putting a lot into the
process—both the book and the upcoming launch on Monday 25 April 2016 at
Kaiso Blues Cafe, POS.
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