Tell us about yourself.
Beyond scouring my poems to learn about some aspect of what I think about, I can inform I inherited my ice cream flavour preferences from my father, and my artistic interests from my mother. Before the Covid era, I undertook lessons in archery, swimming, and the Historical European Martial Art of 16th German Longsword. I kidded myself these past times were writing research, but mainly, it was all for fun. That’s not to say research isn’t also fun. Anyway, I like visiting art galleries and museums, I don’t drink coffee and rarely drink tea, and I believe no matter the temperature, humidity is my nemesis.
What first inspired you to write?
I was inspired to write because it was such a difficult thing to achieve. I was 10. I’d just learned how to read, and my mum had submitted a short story to a women’s magazine. After reading my mother’s story and unashamedly plagiarising it for school, I received astounded praise from my teacher. Mum’s story was rejected. Both of our stories were lost to history. However, ‘The Mystery Lights’ was the first positive feedback about writing I experienced, and I wanted that feeling again.
Which writers inspire you and why?
I’m more inspired by the works than writers. I’m wary of having heroes. However, I’m inspired by good poetry anywhere. As for works, Perdido Street Station by China Miéville took me a year to read, and I had the most fantastical and visionary dreams while absorbing Miéville’s vividly rich world. I found that inspiring. Decades ago, I attended a lecture by Isobel Carmody, who described her career, which began at 14 when she started writing the first book of what became the Obernewtyn Chronicles. She brought the draft, a stack of paper almost as tall as she was. That impressed upon me that while a writer can have a compelling vision, it takes effort to see it to fruition. More recently, I was directly inspired by a live streamed hosted by The Red Lemon journal editors: their discussion of embracing the poetic in the everyday was helpful. As a result, I wrote a poem about a supermarket that was just accepted for publication elsewhere.
What themes keep cropping up in your writing?
I find I need to consciously anchor poems to something concrete, (like bridges, or crockery), by which I can explore ideas or feelings; mostly these relate to myths, the natural world, time, change, and cycles of life and death, binaries, such as light and shadow, and interruptions to binaries. These feelings and ideas can also float around looking for flotsam to cling to in order to be a poem. However, the opposite is true too. For many works, I have the thing in mind, but it’s waiting for the ideas and feelings to pop out to meet them, like opposite poles of a magnet instantly attracted.
Tell us three things you learned from studying your Masters in Writing and Literature?
I learned I was capable of completing a longer piece of sustained work, while realising where I needed to improve, and what my limitations were. The course was an opportunity to consolidate my interests in a way I hadn’t had before. As to specifics, there was some tricky rhizomatic thinking, based on A Thousand Plateaus, as applied to historical fiction writing.
What is your opinion on lower case poetry/communication?
My take is informed by my experience of how long it took me to learn grammar. I’m all for writers knowing rules, and using them in formal communication, however, poems are their own nuggets of truth. Poets and poems can follow formal rules or ignore them. These days one person’s free form emoji poem is as valid as another person’s sestina: who wants to be the person arguing to illegitimatise artistic expression? There’s already enough going on in the world.
What are you reading at the moment?
I have on my bedside table Underground by Robert MacFarlane, and have been dipping into the exquisite poetry of Eileen Chong.
Have you any advice for new writers?
I’m a fairly newly published poet, however, I’ve been around long enough to trip over advice from others out there. My advice is that no one piece of advice is for everyone. Writers will occasionally need ways to escape fear of the blank page. I use limitation works can chafe against, such as word counts, or specific poetic forms. Previously, I have used call outs such as February’s Post It Note Poetry challenge just to write something, even if it’s tiny. Mainly though, once in the creative swing of things, keep writing. Don’t stop to think about writing, or read about writing, or dream about being published. Put down words, polish them, then send them out – that last bit’s crucial – I didn’t send out poetry for years and years, until I decided in 2019 it was time. Since 2019, my poetry is either published or forthcoming in journals around the world.
Have you ever been on a literary pilgrimage?
No. I grew up in small rural communities in South Australia, most of which acknowledged their literary heritage. During high school, the dual public/school library encouraged writers to visit. My mother grew up as a neighbour to a famed children’s author, too. Thus, literary destinations were places around me. It never occurred that people sought out the homes where authors lived, or visited locations like the setting for Wuthering Heights. Now, I live in an official City of Literature. In addition, I spent my youth reading historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy, which ruled out pilgrimages to Mars, the Vogon home planet, or the French Revolution. If I had to plan a pilgrimage, Umberto Eco’s library is probably worthy of an awestruck visit.
Tell us about your visual art.
Firstly, I’ve had very little formal training, everything I create is an experiment in colour, line, shadow and movement, and contrasts, and some kind of mindfulness, which is another way of saying it’s pretentious doodling, mostly in pen, pencil, and previously in watercolour.
What is your working space like?
Ah. Yes, my craft stable table-like thing upon which my laptop balances while I sit in bed is comfy. Sometimes, I sit at the kitchen bench. If I’m out and about, I take a notepad, or occasionally use my phone to write. It’s not exactly the artist’s garret of romantic imaginings, but it works.
What’s next for you?
I’m collecting words to submit to literary editor Angela Meyer of Literary Minded, as last year I won an Austlit competition for a consultation. In addition, I have new poetry and short stories coming out in various journals over the course of this year, and I’m almost always submitting work to journals or looking for journals.
Rebecca Dempsey’s works are forthcoming or featured in Elsewhere Journal, Ligeia, and Schuylkill Valley Journal Online. Rebecca holds a Masters of Writing and Literature from Deakin University, lives in Melbourne, Australia, and can be found at WritingBec.com.
Visual art by Rebecca Dempsey.