I came here for university in 2010 to study English Literature and I loved it so much that I stayed. It’s the only place that’s felt like home and over the 14 years I’ve lived here Bristol manages to retain a level of infinite novelty while feeling familiar and homely.
Bristol has a great arts scene, so you can pretty much throw a dart and land on some cool cultural event, workshop or gig any day of the week. But honestly, going for a walk in Stoke Park is my go to place when when I’m deep in the midst of a writing project. It’s wide and sprawling, with open fields and little bits of woodland, the perfect place to get my scatty thoughts to coalesce. I also really enjoy that there are goats randomly grazing up there.
Bristolians I’m admiring at the moment include Travis Alabanza, who is the most stunning writer, performer and artist. They know how to pack a political punch, but also be fun and cheeky with it. Their book None of the Above is not only fantastically written, it completely changed my relationship to notions of gender. Tom Sastry is one of our best poets: subtle, moving, a dry wit and an ability to break your heart without a whiff of sentimentality. Any musical endeavour that DJ and singer Ngaio Aniya is involved with is sure to be sublime. I’m really enjoying Holyseuss Fly’s trajectory as a musician, she’s really come into her own recently. And Kirsty Jones is a brilliant upcoming poet who everyone should keep an eye out for.
If I could change one thing about Bristol, I’d make housing affordable for all. The escalation of rents and the continued prevalence of short-term lets/Airbnb properties when so many people are struggling to find places to live is abhorrent.
There are a couple of poems that changed the way I saw the world after reading them. The first is Obligations 2 by Layla Long Soldier. The fans out in a wide diamond shape and so you don’t necessarily have to read it in a typical, linear way. Essentially, many different versions of the poem unfold depending on where you let your eyes fall. It’s a poem that holds the simultaneous pain and resilience inherent in being alive. It is simple but far from simplistic. And the second poem is Adam and Eve by Tony Hoagland, which is both beautiful and brutal. It begins with the line ‘I wanted to punch her right in the mouth and that’s the truth’. From there, it unfolds into an uncomfortable but refreshingly honest exploration of the conflict between potential violence and the pursuit of tenderness. To me, it does a rare and important thing, which is laying bare some of the ugliest aspects of human nature whilst also grasping at how we might be our most loving selves despite our flaws.
Being in a city full of other artists has definitely bolstered my creativity. It’s a city full of character and contradictions, which makes it ripe for poetry. It also feels like a city unafraid to wear its politics and moments like the Edward Colston statue felling have deeply informed me as a writer. The poem I wrote after that moment definitely took my career to a new level.
I have this quote from Toni Morrison in my mind often: “Love is divine only and difficult always. If you think it is easy you are a fool. If you think it is natural you are blind. It is a learned application without reason or motive except that it is God”. It reminds me that love in all its forms (and for me, I think of it most in the communal and platonic sense) is a verb and an ethic. I take God to mean something divine, not necessarily a god from any formal religion. I just think it’s the most bracing and wise thing I’ve ever read about what it means to care for our fellow human beings. And of course it came from Toni, who was one of the wisest human beings to grace the Earth.
I’m very proud of myself for finishing my latest book, Neverland. Regardless of the reception, which I of course hope will be positive, I am just relieved and amazed that I finished, because over the four years it took to write it there were many moments where I didn’t think I would…
I found the experience of writing non-fiction compared to poetry really, really difficult to be truthful! It felt like learning how to write from scratch. The difference between poetry and prose is a bit like the difference between a photo and a film. I had to learn how to make the book flow, as opposed to the sharp, lingering moments I habitually create in a poem. I think I’ve grown immensely as a thinker and a writer, but goodness, it felt like torture a lot of the time. But the end result has been worth it and I’m glad I took the time that I did. Readers deserve writers who are meticulous and care about making the best experience possible.
I’m having a launch for Neverland on the 13 September at the Station. It’s going to be different to your typical book event. There’ll be a DJ spinning tunes, a performance and a mini quiz. I want it to be lively, maybe even a little bit raucous. I also have the living legend Max Porter hosting a Q&A. Books and tickets will be sold by the lovely Gloucester Road Books, my favourite independent book shop. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. Come! (TICKETS & INFO AVAILABLE HERE)
Neverland: The Pleasures and Perils of Fandom by Vanessa Kisuule is out on 12 September (£18.99, Canongate); vanessakisuule.com
