‘A caregiver is also a caretaker of the body.'
Denise Saul on Creative Writing and Care
In this latest post in my series on creative writing and care I interview poet, writer and academic Denise Saul about her brilliant book The Room Between Us (Pavilion Poetry, 2022).
The Room Between Us explores family, identity and caregiving. Saul’s resonant, finely balanced poems push at the limits of language and communication as they tell the story of a mother’s illness and aphasia, and a daughter’s role as carer. I’m really pleased that Denise agreed to be interviewed for this series.
The Room Between Us was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize (2022) and longlisted for the Jhalak Prize (2023), and was a Poetry Book Society recommendation. You can watch Denise Saul discussing the book, and reading from the collection on the T.S. Eliot prize’s YouTube channel.
The posts in this series consider the tensions and intersections between creative writing and care – parenting and also other forms of care, such as care for family members, friends, or others. If you’d like to be interviewed, please email me at info@katepotts.net.
Creative Writing and Care
What do you write?
As a poet, writer and academic, my creative practice focuses on the relationship between nature and spirituality through the lens of caregiving. I am currently working on my second poetry collection and a memoir. The role of a female carer is often overlooked so I am interested in the female caregiver’s narrative, particularly the bodily experiences of illness. I am also involved in University of Wolverhampton’s latest research project, Write in the Head, a new online creative writing programme for survivors of stroke and other acquired brain injuries.
In the UK caregiving roles tend to be undervalued, underpaid and – when people can afford it – outsourced. In your poetry collection The Room Between Us you portray a caregiving relationship between a daughter and her mother with great tenderness and precision. What were your motivations in writing these poems? Were you conscious of a desire to challenge or reconfigure perceptions of caregiving?
Our current system of care tends to objectify the body and illness. As a daughter and carer, my motivation centred on challenging the stereotypes and perceptions of caregiving. In writing The Room Between Us, I wanted to personalise the experience of the caregiver and the person who is being cared for. It was important to capture my mother’s voice and allow a space for this voice to articulate that experience. In the space of silence and language breakdown, my intention was to record a life narrative. I became aware that my late mother’s aphasic voice was closely related to her aphasic experiences.
Our current system of care tends to objectify the body and illness. As a daughter and carer, my motivation centred on challenging the stereotypes and perceptions of caregiving.
Did writing The Room Between Us have an impact on your writing practice? If so, how?
I had to learn to write within different spaces for short periods of time. Sometimes I wrote drafts of poems in the waiting room of a hospital, at home or in the acute stroke unit. In this way, the process of creative writing adapted to my situation and as a result, the poems inherited a minimalistic quality.
The mother in The Room Between Us is experiencing aphasia and struggles to communicate. It’s clear that you’re deeply aware of the power dynamics of this situation. What did you feel were your responsibilities towards your mother when writing these poems?
My intention was to provoke new ways of thinking about motherhood, daughterhood and disability. The Room Between Us acknowledges my mother’s voice. It was important to personalise and not objectify her presence. I had looked at alternate ways of preserving my family identity and history in poetic form. One could say that a caregiver is also a caretaker of the body.
What kind of support or care do you think those caring for family members need most?
Understanding, respect, emotional support and freedom to articulate the experiences and challenges of caregiving. Those caring for family members need regular breaks so they can focus on self-care. In my caregiver’s role, the cultural differences of caregiving were apparent. For instance, in the Guyanese tradition, caregiving of an elder is seen as a way of preserving the family’s cultural identity and history.
In my caregiver’s role, the cultural differences of caregiving were apparent. For instance, in the Guyanese tradition, caregiving of an elder is seen as a way of preserving the family’s cultural identity and history.
If you could go back in time, what writing advice would you like to give to your younger self?
A writer should look for spaces where their work will be appreciated and supported. Through fellowships and mentorships, I have always been well-supported in my creative practice. If you are writing in an unsupportive system or space, then find or create another space that appreciates your work. I have always felt and still believe that it is important for a writer to be part of a supportive writing community.
Denise Saul’s debut collection The Room Between Us (Pavilion / Liverpool University Press, 2022) was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot poetry prize 2022, longlisted for the Jhalak prize 2023 and a Poetry Book Society Summer Recommendation 2022. The Room Between Us was highly commended in the Forward Poetry Prize 2022. She is the author of two pamphlets: White Narcissi (flipped eye,2007), a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice; and House of Blue (Rack Press, 2012), a PBS Pamphlet Recommendation. Denise is a past winner of The Poetry Society’s Geoffrey Dearmer Prize and a Fellow of The Complete Works. Denise holds a PhD in Creative Writing (poetry) from the University of Roehampton. She received an ACE Grant for the Arts Award for her video poem collaborative project. Denise is the founder of video poem project, Silent Room: A Journey of Language.
