12 or 20 (second series) questions with Nuala O'Connor
NualaO’Connor livesin Co. Galway, Ireland. Her poetry and fiction have been widely published,anthologised, and won many literary awards. Her sixth novel Seaborne,about Irish-born pirate Anne Bonny, is nominated for the Dublin Literary Awardand was shortlisted for Eason Novel of the Year at the 2024 An Post Irish BookAwards. Her novel NORA (New Island), about Nora Barnacle andJames Joyce, was a Top 10 historical novel in the New York Times. Shewon Irish Short Story of the Year at the 2022 An Post Irish Book Awards. Herfifth poetry collection, Menagerie, will be published by Arlen House inspring 2025. www.nualaoconnor.com
1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your mostrecent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
Myfirst book (a poetry collection) cemented my commitment to the project of beinga writer. I was full of the joys, so hopeful, so (naively) sure of a steadyupward trajectory, rather sure I would make an OK living as a writer. I hadn’ta clue what that meant at the time; if I had, I probably would’ve stayed longerin the trad workplace.
Mynew poetry collection, Menagerie (Arlen House, March 2025), has the samedevotion to language, but is perhaps a little freer in spots. It’s hard to beobjective about the work. I think I am a better writer since book #1,after twenty-two years of writing/publishing.
2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction ornon-fiction?
Iwas writing poetry and fiction in tandem – I had enough work for a poetrycollection sooner.
3 - How long does it take to start any particular writing project?Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do firstdrafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work come out ofcopious notes?
Istart quickly (I’m impatient) and tend to research as I go, which presents itsown issues but works for me. Drafts are like holey cardigans that eventuallyend up mended, and quite wearable, between the efforts of me, my agent, and theeditor I’m working with. Some editors are hands off, some hands on, some aregifted and hands on. It depends how many holes the cardi has, I guess.But first drafts are almost never what is published.
Yes,notes galore, I’m incessant.
4 - Where does a poem or work of prose usually begin for you? Areyou an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, orare you working on a "book" from the very beginning?
Itvaries. Some things that start tiny – a spark that becomes a poem, flash, story– end up as novels because I can’t stop thinking about the character. In fact,that happens a lot e.g. with my novels Miss Emily, Becoming Belle, andNORA. I have my writerly obsessions – mother-child stories; the body;breaking love – so I tend to write across the genres on those. Others arebook-shaped from the start, novels like my WIP, a contemporary novel setbetween Ireland and Greece.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process?Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
Theyare part of it – we’re expected to do them, and I also have to earn a living. I(almost) always enjoy them in the moment, but being autistic, I live on mynerves, so I’m in a constant state of anxiety, and I tend to dread everysocial/public encounter. So, the public side is genuinely challenging for me,and I rarely relish doing events, BUT, I also enjoy them, and I like meetingbookish people and talking about literary things. The Dread is one of thecentral conundrums of my life.
6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? Whatkinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you eventhink the current questions are?
Feminismhas always been central to me. Also justice. I grew up working class, so I’minterested in social standing, money, the working vs the middle class andopportunity. But I don’t think in themes or symbols as I begin a project – it’sjust about the characters and what they’re dealing with. Obviously, war, thecollapsing environment, and capitalism are upfront for all of us, and they leakonto the page.
7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being in largerculture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role of the writer shouldbe?
Thewriter just needs to write the human experience in honest, realistic, andimaginative ways. That’s all. Great language and something like a story. We’reall struggling; most of us haven’t a clue what we’re doing here, and we’re basicallyflawed and bonkers. We need to write that. Writing honestly is political, inand of itself. It’s not the writer’s job to write a palatable version of lifewith thoroughly decent players – we can pretend those people exist but theydon’t. If our work offers comfort, so be it, but each writer’s duty is tothemselves – to make the best work with the tools and understanding they have. Andnot to be a fuckwit.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editordifficult or essential (or both)?
Both.One always hopes to write a beautiful, breathtaking, meaningful work on thefirst go. It rarely happens. Criticism is not easy, but fresh eyes are useful. Agood editor is a gift to a writer. I’ve had brilliant experiences on some books(my last novel Seaborne, for example) and middling ones on others.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarilygiven to you directly)?
‘Eyesopen. Heart open. Feet on the ground.’ From the wonderful English writer AndrewMiller.
10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres (poetry toshort stories to the novel)? What do you see as the appeal?
Writingis my safe-space, my joy, my comfort. The difficulty is in brain-space andbandwidth. When I’m working on a novel, I don’t have the time or head-energyfor much else. I can break off from the novel to deal with story commissions,for example but, in novel-land, I don’t have the lovely, swirly capaciousnessneeded for poems and stories to brew naturally. So, I miss the green grass ofshorter work while engaged in long form and vice versa, often. Writers arenever happy…
Theappeal is the different momentum – the comfort blanket of the novel, the longhaul of it, versus the electric rush of completing something short.
11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do youeven have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
Asan autistic person, routine is very necessary to me; I have to be at my desk by9am, five days a week, or I get a bit loopy. I stay there for about threehours, longer when I have a deadline.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for(for lack of a better word) inspiration?
Goodwriting (Elizabeth Bowen and Virginia Woolf, often; the classics; good poetry);visual art; any cultural experience – a live poetry reading. Nature walks. Thesea. Historical happenings. Inspo is everywhere.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
Lavender.
14 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but arethere any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, scienceor visual art?
Visualart is the big one for me. I write a good bit of ekphrastic stuff, poems andfiction. I’ve always been an art dabbler – my family is chockers with visualartists – so I make things too. Mostly collages and cards these days. A lot ofwriters I know draw or sew or knit. Creativity is a nest – for most creatives, wehave our main branch, but we like to play with, and weave in, other seductivetwigs.
15 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, orsimply your life outside of your work?
Ilike work that is tricky, dark-ish, language based, deep, empathic. I likehumour. Bowen, Joyce, Anne Enright, the Brontës,Austen, John Banville. Too many to name, really.
16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
Writea novella. A good one.
17 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what wouldit be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had younot been a writer?
Iwanted to be a bus conductor or a nun, when I was a kid, neither of which wouldhave suited me 😊 Realistically: Archivist/researcher. Conservationist. Architect.Interior designer.
18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
It’sthe perfect occupation for an introverted, shy, non-drinking, autistic lonerwho loves words, anthropology, and history. Previously I was a translator,librarian, and bookseller, and I worked in a theatre and a writers’ centre. Youcan see my special interest never really waned: words, words, words.
19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last greatfilm?
Iloved the Netherlands-set novel Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden: sharp,challenging characters, a house as the main setting (I love buildings), a foldand re-fold structure, strong sentences. Very good.
Idon’t watch many films these days, though I recently enjoyed Lonely Planetabout a writer in Morocco. I’m more of a series binger. I’ve recently loved Shetland(rugged island landscapes; great characters).
20 - What are you currently working on?
Finishingup my Greek novel. I’m also working out the plan for a memoir about autism,writing, and hope. It can be upsetting to examine past life-blunders, and seewhere I went wrong, but I’m in my mid fifties now so I care less than I used toabout what others think of me. So, onward!
12 or 20 (second series) questions;
