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| Emilia di Girolamo, Sian Norris and Biddisha, Bristol Womens LIterature Festival, 2013 |
Hello and welcome to our first interview of 2014 with Bristol's Sian Norris!
Sian, can you tell us something about your daily life at the moment?
Well, in my day job I'm an advertising copywriter. I work for lots of different charities, writing their fundraising creative advertising. It means every day I get to come up with ideas and then write lots of inspiring words about a whole range of different topics, from human rights, environmental issues and health.
Outside of my day job, I'm a writer too. What this generally means is getting up early on the weekends, turning on my computer and working on my novel. Sometimes I'll mix it up with a side project or a short story, but right now the novel really has to take priority!
Part of being a writer is reading. I read a lot. I don't know anyone who reads as much as I do! I can quite happily spend the whole day in the same position on my sofa and read a book. Reading helps me to understand more about telling stories, about how to use language.
My day job does this too. Every day at work I have to tell emotive, human stories - sometimes in 35 words, sometimes in 2,000.
Then there's my literature festival which involves coming up with a concept for an event, researching speakers, liaising with writers and the venue, and managing publicity.
How does creativity get to be part of your life?
I'm really lucky that I get to think creatively in my day job as that means every day I am thinking and writing and using my creativity. This helps me to be creative outside work too. I've found that since doing creative work in my working week, I've had so much more energy to do and make more outside of work.
I've always wanted to be a writer, it's all I've ever wanted to do (except from be a ballet dancer but that's another story...) and so I can't imagine it not being part of my life. I love writing, I love creating stories and using words. But it is hard work. My job is very stressful and very intense, so I have to be very motivated to get up and turn the computer on and get writing. But once I do, once I enter the world of the story, I don't want to leave! It's exciting.
What do you love about what you create?
There's a real satisfaction about seeing something finished - from a book to the literature festival events. And then knowing that other people have got something out of it, that it has had an effect on them. I think to do creative work - especially writing which is very solitary - you have to be very self-motivated and so you have to feel proud of the work you've done.
Where or how did you learn you creative practices?
I don't know really, that's quite a hard question. I haven't had any formal training in creative writing - I've just always told stories and written stories. When I was five I made a book about a duck and I never stopped. So I never did a course or an MA or anything. I guess I learnt from reading - reading great novels and classic novels and trashy novels and bad novels, reading books that no one reads and reading books that everyone reads. Books teach me to write.
I've always been quite bolshy about 'doing' things. So when it came to the festival, for example, I didn't think I couldn't do it because I had no training or experience. I was just very determined to do it, to make it happen. So I just started asking people and luckily lots of women said a huge, resounding YES! I've always had this confidence that I can and will do creative things - which is weird because there are areas in my life where I don't feel confident at all. But with creative work I've always felt like I need to make it happen and I will make it happen. There's no sense of 'no, I can't do it', because I am so determined to ensure I do.
Work helps as well - I learn a lot on the job.
When did feminism come to be a part of your life and what did you do about it?
I've always considered myself a feminist but there was definitely a point in my life when it stopped being a theoretical concept for me that I read about, and instead became a way of life. I started getting involved in activism in 2007 when I was 22/23 and organised Ladyfest Bristol. From there, I got involved in the Bristol Feminist Network and then ended up running it for six years - organising discussion groups, marches, protests, awareness raising events. Loads of things! Plus writing my blog. And now I don't run BFN anymore, but I'm focusing a lot of my activism on cultural femicide through running my festival. Most of my feminist writing focuses on issues around VAWG. I think VAWG underpins everything.
How would you describe how creativity and feminism combine for you?
They're inseparable. For women to create in a world where women's creativity is de-valued - that is a feminist act in itself. Men dominate the creative world - from creative depts in advertising agencies (only 3% of creative directors are women) to Booker prize lists (although that is improving...but even with a women-dominated list last year all the MSM articles led on Crace and Toibin). Recently Elizabeth Jane Howard died and so many of the obits introduced her as "Kinsley Amis' ex". As if her own work was subordinate to her former marriage! It is so present, this de-valuing of women's creative contribution that we don't even notice it.
Feminism has always found creative forms of protest too, and that's important. Writing, publishing, art, exhibiting, performing - this has always been part of feminism.
In my own way I try to combine the two by giving creative women a platform at the festival, and by writing interesting (i hope!) women and girl characters.
Can you say something about your experience of DIY and feminism?
I don't really feel part of any DIY scene. I have done a lot of things myself, such as the festival, with no money. But I worked closely with existing creative businesses and had a lot of support from Watershed, Festival of Ideas and Foyles. I think it is really inspiring that we have these places in Bristol that nurture and foster creativity in our city - it's a really important aspect to what makes Bristol such an interesting and creative place to live. There are so many creative communities in Bristol. It's inspiring to know that these communities are there, supporting innovation in the city.
I think it's been - and continues to be - an important part of feminism - finding ways to create and perform and publish our work, lifting our voices up in a patriarchal and capitalist culture. Finding a way to hold on to and express our creative power.
I'd love to hear about something you are really excited about and pleased about you and your life at the moment?
As I say, I'm working on a novel which I'm really excited about. But it is hard work and time is an issue. It's going to a long process, but that's ok. And I've a couple of side projects going on but I can't say too much else about them until a few things are confirmed! And I'll continue with the festival - I plan to do some one-off events this year and then hopefully a longer programme in the future.
Can you name some of your creative and feminist influences; living or dead!
There are so many! At the moment I am really inspired by Gertrude Stein. She was a genius and she knew it. But although her work was ignored by publishers for a long time, she never stopped in her single minded determination to to do with writing what Picasso was doing with art - revolutionising everything! She also was an incredible mentor and teacher for modernist writers but unfortunately her importance has become subordinate to those very men she supported, and she's largely ignored. The fact of her being a woman and a gay woman can't be ignored in this. Living writers - I'm really inspired by Ali Smith, and Margaret Atwood - they are two of my favourite authors. I love how Ali Smith plays with form and the shapes of words and sentence.
And please say more about the literature festival, what inspired you, did you already know the people you wanted to be involved, what are your dreams for it?
The seeds of the idea came from a panel discussion I organised with Anna Brown back in 2011. It was called 'Where are the Women' and it featured me, Dr Sue Tate and Bidisha talking about cultural femicide. The fact that women are so overwhelmingly absent from our cultural stage - from Glastonbury line-ups to the fact only one woman director has EVER won Best Director Oscar to literary festival line ups. There was a literature festival happening at the same time as the panel and the gender imbalance was so shocking.
I've always believed very strongly that if I can do something about an issue I care about, then I should. And I care about cultural femicide and I love literature - as a writer and a reader. So I decided to put on my own festival, showcasing women's creativity and celebrating women's writing.
It was important to me that I had a range of panels to cover lots of different subjects, with a diverse range of speakers. I also knew they had to be panels that interested me - after all, if I wasn't inspired by it, why would anyone else be? I also knew I wanted it to have a feminist angle.
In terms of who I wanted to be involved - yes and no. I knew I wanted Bidisha involved because she is such a champion of women's creativity and activism. She is an incredible woman who I feel very lucky to work with. Then, I thought about what panels would be interesting and what writers I love and admire and it all went from there. I was also approached by some writers/publishers and that was fantastic.
Since the weekend programme I've organised a one off event on Jane Austen and I plan to do a few more one-offs over 2014. And then, hopefully, another weekend long programme. The response I had to the festival was so brilliant, it's inspired me to keep going with it.
Also I'd love to hear more about what you did with BFN and your decision to step back?
What didn't I do! I co-ordinated BFN for six years. In that time, I organised and supported a range of member-led discussion groups on all sorts of issues - from body image to men in feminism to abortion to FGM. These discussion groups were the core of our work - they involved consciousness raising, awareness raising - they gave us a space to talk with confidence about our own experiences, learn from one another - as well as discover new perspectives and new issues. The solidarity and sisterhood I often felt in discussion groups was very special - particularly ones around harassment where we shared tears and laughter about our own experiences.
I also co-organised three Reclaim the Night marches, a huge amount of work which I am very proud of. I spoke at conferences, went to visit young women in schools, and organised a range of awareness raising events on FGM, violence against women in the Congo, cultural femicide - so many issues! I also organised a series of women's performance nights.
Then there were the petitions, the letter writing campaigns, our work campaigning to protect VAWG spending in the council, our campaigns around Hooters and sex entertainment venue licensing.
We also had day long workshops, worked with other organisations to deliver feminist content, wrote articles, had a pro choice vigil - we really did so much and I am so proud of everything we achieved with BFN.
However, after six years I really felt that it was time to move on. I am now so busy with work, with my own writing and with the festival that I couldn't commit the physical and emotional energy to BFN that I once could. It was a hard decision but it was the right one.
Thanks so much to Sian for taking the time to do this interview and to you for reading it, and remember Feminist Create has an OPEN SUBMISSIONS policy; which means anyone can get in touch if you'd like to tell more creative Feminists about you or your work/project.
