Get to Know…Evelyn Knightley
We have a poet with us! Meet Evelyn Knightley, author of a poetry and short story anthology. She’s also the co-founder of NAUSICA, an online feminist magazine.
Tell us about your book.
“I Haven’t Lived At All” is a collection of poetry and short stories. Some of the content originates from my early teenage years whilst some was solely created for this; I think that assists the ‘theme’ of the book. For me, IHLAA was somewhat of a selfish project as the idea came to me when I felt like I was at a crossroads in life. I spent a lot of my time dwelling over the past, which is a never a good thing to do, and feeling resentful because I never thought I could achieve what I want to.
IHLAA is a reminder that life is a never-ending cycle, it’s about survival but there has to be enjoyment and challenges in there, too. It’s a reminder that although a lot of bad things can happen in a life, there’s always a tomorrow and you have the power to take control of your life and make things happen for yourself. It’s about getting rid of those expectations, accepting reality and making what you can of it; and learning to feel good about those choices.
Why did you want to write it?
It was for a few reasons, really. I was working on a story that I really enjoyed writing, and I could see myself doing something with it, but it was (and still is) a long way from finished. The idea of a collection of work for a first book is perhaps a bit odd, but the idea is that readers may like one thing and dislike another, but hopefully there’s a little bit of something for everyone. It takes away the pressure of ‘putting all of your eggs into one basket’ as I would be doing with the sharing of just one piece of work.
I also made the decision to leave University during my second year, and I had to prove to myself that it was for a reason. It’s very easy to get trapped in the cycle of daily life, and I left to pursue writing– I didn’t want to hang around for months or years just wasting my time when I could be doing something.
This has also been an excellent learning experience, I’ve had to learn about marketing and business, as well as the ins and outs of actually getting a book out there. There’s no better way to learn than by actually throwing yourself into the deep end and doing it.
A huge part of this book is quite nostalgic as well. With some of the pieces being a few years old, it’s given me a chance to do a lot of reflection; both in terms of growing as a writer and in terms of the place I was in life then and the place I’m at now. I still cringe at a lot of my writing from my teenage years, but I think it’s important to embrace it, so by including (edited) versions of my old writing, it’s just a tribute to the length of time I’ve spent writing, how it’s really followed me through life and the outlet it’s provided me for most of my life.
Please share the opening line of the first short story. Why did you start the story there?
“ She walked along the dimly lit corridor, occasionally stopping to listen for any movements coming from elsewhere. “
The story starts in a place of non-existence and uncertainty. The vagueness of the sentence is just really explanatory of the place the character finds herself in, physically and emotionally.
What do you most enjoy about writing?
That’s a really tricky one to pinpoint. I guess originally it started off with my love of reading and escaping to different worlds, so I’ve always wanted to create that for myself. I just love that ‘place’ I go to when I’m caught up in a piece of writing; the outside world doesn’t really exist for that amount of time. If it’s a story I’m creating, I’m entirely in control of what’s happening and you can make anything happen if you want it to. It’s that sense of control you don’t have in real life, it’s building a fantasy that can never really happen but in the time you’re writing, it’s all you know. With poetry, it strips me of any self-awareness I may have in expressing things; it’s generally more personal and if there’s something I can’t say to other people, or don’t want to say, I can write it. For a long time, I’ve loved the idea of taking something painful and creating something from it; that’s an idea that has probably stuck with me.
Please share a writing tip you’ve found helpful.
This is something that others may not agree with, but I find the best thing you can do is to write for yourself and to write what you enjoy. There’s no way of knowing what other people will think of what you’re creating, so the best thing you can do is make sure you’re enjoying it and the chances are someone else might, too. When I’ve become too aware of the idea that other people are going to read my work, it puts a wall up and I find myself censoring myself, and I think it shows because it becomes less ‘real’ and more of a performance.
What about poetry appeals to you?
Mostly it allows me to create something a little bit more personal, I guess an ‘angsty outlet.’ It’s perfect for when I feel the need to express something but my attention span isn’t feeling all that great. I’m also a huge fan of music, and I always find a connection to lyrics; this is the closest I’ll ever get to writing lyrics (and feeling like some kind of rockstar). Personally, I think poetry is completely underrated. It’s quite a powerful thing when a story can be created in only a few words.
How does writing poetry compare to writing short stories?
For me, poetry is the more personal side of me whereas short stories are generally based on a random idea or scenario I’ve had in my head, or a short message I want to create a story around. Sometimes I think of something that isn’t quite enough to be a long story, but I still want to do something with it and see what I can create. In that sense, short stories tend to act as a scrapbook of work for me.
So you’ve co-created an online magazine. Tell us about that experience, please.
It’s really just given me a place to express my views about situations or events that have happened, more specifically it’s stuff that has annoyed me and I’ve wanted a soapbox to stand on and use as a ranting platform. It’s a place that gets to see the more serious side of me. There tends to be the idea that people from my generation aren’t bothered about certain issues, but this is us proving that people notice, people care and people will speak out about things.
In all honesty, my friend Vicky and I spend so much time ranting at each other about certain things, we figured we might as well take it to the next level.
What’s your favorite book?
This is so, so tricky. Every time I read a book and I love it, it becomes my favourite. In terms of where my love of writing has stemmed from, it’s definitely down to Harry Potter and they’re books I always go back to, 16 years down the line. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky has been a favourite of mine for a few years, along with Wasted by Marya Hornbacher. I love anything that feels gritty and real.
Who is your favorite fictional character? (Any medium)
Lisbeth Salander from the Millennium trilogy, she’s portrayed as being somewhat ‘weird’ and ‘extreme,’ but hell, she has all of my respect. I wouldn’t want to mess with her. It’s great to see a strong and intelligent woman leading a book series.
If you could have one super-power, what would it be and why?
It’d probably be something as simple as flying or teleportation. It would make getting from A to B a lot quicker, save a lot of money, and if I suddenly had the desire to take a trip somewhere I could go and be back home for the evening.
What’s next for you?
I really don’t know; that’s the stage I’m at in life. Getting this book out there is step one, then probably working on another one whilst working the 9-5 job. Hopefully I’ll be in the position soon where I can look at moving from the town I live in and getting out into the big wide world.
Where can people learn more about your work?
You can check out my website: www.evelynknightley.co.uk, follow me on Twitter: @evelynknightley or like my page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/evelynknightleywriter
Tell us one fun fact about yourself.
I have a phobia of cheese. Seriously.
Thank you, Evelyn!
