How did you first come to poetry? What is it about the form that resonates?
I first came to poetry as a listener, being read Shel Silverstein, Roger McGough, Rudyard Kipling and John Betjeman. Then I became a reader, re-reading favourite poems out loud, over and over, behind the closed door of my bedroom. What appealed to me then was sound, silence and rhythm. The idea that some kind of universal truth could be packaged into something so neat. As a writer, I came to poetry out of a need, as I suppose many people do, a need to access some inexpressible thing and give it a voice. In this case I was less concerned with rhyme and meter and more concerned with how much I could access and what kind of voice it might need in order to be heard.
I love the permissiveness of poetry and the weight it gives to each individual word, also the way that it infuses and enriches all of the other forms of writing too. I write many different things now but, sometimes, only poetry will do.
How does a poem begin?
A poem begins for me when something in the outer world unlocks some small door of my inner world. Sometimes I am conscious of it and sometimes it comes as a surprise, perhaps in a conversation, observation or through free writing. A poem almost always begins with this feeling of discovery and then a desire to explore the space which has been unlocked.
Between your poetry and prose work, do you see your writing as a single, extended project, or a series of threads that occasionally weave together to form something else?
I have always had difficulty with the idea of genre, especially when thinking about my own work. I am never really sure whether what I am writing is poetry, prose, CNF or glorified diary entries. Even my fiction or prose work has poetry as its bedrock - in that it leans on symbols, metaphor, inner experience and a fragmented approach to story and narrative. All of my work seems to be about finding a home inside of that space between inner and outer realities. One project might differ quite drastically from one to the next, though I imagine my voice may be recognisable.
Have you a daily schedule by which you work, or are you working to fit this in between other activities?
I write freely every morning (a throwback from morning pages) and several times a week I meet to write with other people. I have a few set spots in which I tend to work on typing up work and editing; the rest of the time I like to leave some freedom for writing in cafes, on trains, spontaneously. If I am working on a project, I tend to need a bit more structure to get the work done. But I also rail against too many rules so it can be a difficult balance to strike.
What are your favourite print or online literary journals?
There are so many that honestly it’s quite hard to keep up, but I really enjoy The Rumpus, Litro, Porridge, Your Impossible Voice, The Writing Disorder, Thimble and Swing. And I am always excited to see what Valerie Coulton is going to publish next on Palabrosa.
Who are some of the writers you are reading lately that most excite you?
Right now, I am rediscovering Annie Ernaux having
recently enjoyed her short film Les Années Super 8. I am in awe of the
way she writes. I am very lucky to work with the American poet Emilie Delcourt –
her work always excites and surprises me. Then there is Holly McNish, Laura
Walker, Sarah Heady, Denise Newman, Anne Enright, Miranda July and, for laughs,
David Sedaris.
Harriet Sandilands is writer and art therapist living in the “magic mountain” Montserrat in Spain. She writes poetry and prose and has been published in various journals and small presses, including Porridge, Litro, Country Music, Libro Rojo, epoema and Barcelona Ink. Her short poetry collection Amiss has just been published by Palabrosa and she was recently long listed for The London Magazine short story prize. Harriet has long been active in the Barcelona poetry world, participating in the original Poetry Brothel as Lola Page, writing in The Poetry Dispensary and co-inventing the world’s first Poetry Machine: an interactive and transformative poetry experience which has appeared at art and literature festivals around Europe, being shortlisted for the Soundout! Festival in Berlin.
In 2023, she was the headline act for International Poetry Day in Manresa, reading a series of "postcard poems" from the pandemic and beyond. Harriet has co-edited 5 issues of the Barcelona literary journal Parentheses and is currently editing a book of poetic prose pieces exploring the encounters she had with an elderly Catalan lady called Pepita. She also co-facilitates writing workshops online and in person under the umbrella of Write Where You Are.