A SUPPRESSED POET ARRIVES

In this missive:

• A room of one’s own in Orkney
• I’m on the Betwixt the Sheets Podcast with Dr. Kate Lister
• June’s Outlier Hour reminder for paid subscribers

“When, however, one reads of a witch being ducked, of a woman possessed by devils, of a wise woman selling herbs, or even of a very remarkable man who had a mother, then I think we are on the track of a lost novelist, a suppressed poet, of some mute and inglorious Jane Austen, some Emily Bronte who dashed her brains out on the moor or mopped and mowed about the highways crazed with the torture that her gift had put her to.”
― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

I have moved to Orkney; a dream I’ve held in my heart for the last twenty years has come to fruition. The view is different here. I look out the window to other houses, attached, huddled together against the wind, in what’s called the Peerie Sea, or the little sea, scheme. A different bird calls me from sleep—singing trills in quick succession. I don’t yet know its name.

My writing room is no longer my bedroom, which is a blessing. During the years I spent in Northeast Scotland writing Ashes & Stones, the hell of the Scottish Witch hunts surrounded me even as I dressed and slept. In Orkney, I have a dedicated room to write in—finally at midlife a room of one’s own—simply for the act of writing. If the book gave me anything, it’s this—space to write. It has legitimised this luxury.

My view here is something I must get used to. I look past the newly paved road to the drystone fences over the hills in the distance where a singular wind turbine spins. Neighbours put out their bins and clean up after their dogs in this little patch of island suburbia. This is not a wild place, but it’s warm and it’s the one that waited for me.

I’ve yet to unpack—I’ve only now gotten online, which is why this post is a few days late. (I post for paid subscribers each full and new moon, and send out a free update mid-month.)

I’m Betwixt the Sheets with Dr. Kate Lister!

The exciting news is that I have appeared on a recent episode of Dr. Kate Lister’s (aka @whoresofyore on Twitter) podcast, Betwixt the Sheets: the History of Sex, Scandal & Society. You can hear the episode here.

Outliers, we gather in June.

The next monthly outlier hour is ONLINE, 11th of JUNE, 7 pm, British Summer Time (to find your time zone, go here.)

In this hour, we share our work and talk about our processes and links with the land where we find ourselves. Or just hang and listen. There is always the option to turn up with your camera off. Come as you are.

For paid subscribers, the link is under the cut. Become a paid subscriber and JOIN US!