Too often, all it takes is just enough courage to try. Nothing could be more true for the life of a writer when faced with more time and a blank page. Sean Chapman discusses just this and more in today's chat about his pages penned in pandemic.
What does the pandemic currently look like in your city?
I live in a small town in Cornwall which has a lot of open spaces, and we can still go for walks on the beach and be in nature so it has been a good place to live during these times.
What are some favorite books you've read during quarantine?
I have been reading a lot of poetry, Ilya Kaminsky's Deaf Republic and Jericho Brown's The Tradition both were absolutely stunning.
If you haven't been reading, what are some books you're most looking forward to reading?
I have the new Staying Human Bloodaxe anthology on my shelve that I looking forward to getting to.
Have there been any movies, tv shows, podcasts, etc. that have helped keep you at ease the past few months?
I love the American-version of the Office, that always cheers me up if I need a pick me up. I think I have watched it in its entirety 5 or 6 times. Peanut Butter Falcon was a great Netflix movie recently that I highly recommend.
How has the pandemic affected your writing?
It is what kickstarted it really. I have dabbled in the past but the lockdown really spurred me to commit to it.
Are there any projects you are excited to keep working on? If so, can you give us any details (no spoilers please!) about your project?
This is my first year of writing poetry so am hoping to just get my work out there see what the response is like and work on my craft.
If asked ten years from now what the past few months have taught you about being a writer, what would come to mind?
I think being furloughed from work it gives you a sense of what it must be like for writers that have writing as there source of income, what the mental aspect of that life is like.
Is there anything that excites you about the changes being incited in the publishing world in light of recent events?
It does seem that the interest for poetry has widened and re-asserted itself within those that enjoy it.
Where is your favorite place to write? Has this changed during the pandemic?
I have a small desk and bookcase beside a window, and two crazy dogs in the background to keep me distracted.
If you curated a playlist for writing life in the pandemic, what top 5 songs would be on your list?
Having been writing so much, I have been listening to a lot of instrumental music as I find lyrics distracting, and I don't want them entering my stream of thought. So I have listed to both explosions in the sky and this will destroy you a lot, two post rock bands. Also I had the great recommendation of Khruangbin.
While the future is just as unknowable as ever, what is something you are most looking forward to this year?
Just seeing how all my poems are received, which ones might get accepted etc. You realize how patient you have to be, I still have submissions I'm waiting on from May and that is normal, its not easy for an impatient person like myself!
ABOUT Sean Chapman
Sean Chapman is a British writer living in Cornwall beside the capricious Atlantic Ocean and amongst the blur of a blue Whippet and a red fox Labrador. His prolonged and wayward adolescence included working in a Taiwanese astrophysics department, on a Salford mental health ward, on the Liverpool docks and in a Manchester disability support office, before washing ashore in a Cornish surf shop. Between daydreams of cowboy adventures and surfing escapades he writes poems, dedicated to Maggie, some of which have appeared or are forthcoming in Marble Poetry, Raceme, Dreich, Trouvaille Review and Anti-Heroin Chic.
To learn more, follow Sean and his writing journey on Twitter.
Thanks for chatting, Sean!
