Jessica Wilkinson: I enjoyed my stay immensely and can’t wait to come back.

When I arrived and received a key that was labelled ‘Aldridge’ I knew I was in the right space!

My second book was a poetic biography of musician/composer Percy Aldridge Grainger and I am sure he would have loved the view, the hills, the walks and the sounds of the birds twittering outside; he may, perhaps, have composed something that responded to their rhythms – or even taken cues from the sounds of planes flying overhead, or the cat next door. I loved staring out the window to look at the view of the city, which would change with the light and weather – some days, I was entranced by the rain rolling towards me, like a sheet being draped over the skyscrapers.

I had come to KSP to work on my new book – a poetic biography of artist Mirka Mora – and this was such a wonderful setting to read, make notes, problem-solve and draft poems. The whiteboard was particularly useful to plan days and tasks. I am much more of a ‘thinking/problem-solving’ residency type than a ‘write write write’ type, and KSP was perfect for that, especially with such a great desk chair and reading chair. Having this time and space helped me to think deeply into how I might structure and develop several long poems that are part of my Mirka book. Further, participating in the Thursday evening writing group also seeded new ideas – one comment in particular has led to a new poem, while another made me think deeply about how I frame this poetic biography and not be anxious to provide too much explanation.

And attending Arianne James’ workshop (her residency overlapped with mine) was stimulating, too – while I am not a fiction writer, the exercises and discussions around character and setting got me thinking in new ways about Mirka’s experiences in Paris and Melbourne. Thanks Arianne! I’m so pleased to have met you!

My residency wound up with a workshop that was an attempt to bring together Mirka’s artistic and culinary experiences into the one space – an experiment in ‘gustatory ekphrasis’. I baked some madeleines (a recipe associated with Mirka, but also drawing Proust’s ideas on ‘involuntary memory’ into the game) and we ate them with fruits, nuts and chocolate to evoke some sensory responses and invoke some memories to use as fodder for poems. We also used recipes to stimulate and shape new autobiographical poems. It was wonderful to hear everyone’s stories and responses to these tasks, and I was fascinated by the many strong lines, merging food and family memories, that were emerging through this process.

What a treat to engage with staff and writers’ groups while in residence - for me this engagement was an unexpected highlight, and a great accompaniment to the time I was given to read and write. I enjoyed my stay immensely and can’t wait to come back.

Tips for a residency:

1. Revise your intentions before you arrive. It is good to have goals, but don’t be too ambitious about how much you will produce as you will most likely leave feeling like you’ve let yourself down.

2. Further to the above - don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re not producing a lot of words. I prefer to mark off pomodoros (25-minute blocks of focused time followed by 5-minute breaks) as achievements. Sometimes, no words come to the page, but there’s plenty of thought that’s occurred!

3. The whiteboard in the KSP cabin is a great place to write down days of the week and next to each, ‘1 2 3 4 5 6’ – each one a pomodoro to cross off when done, and each an opportunity to get out of the chair and stretch your legs or boil the kettle!

4. Take plenty of time to stare out the window and slow down your thoughts – if at KSP in Aldridge, there is a magical view of the city, framed by gum leaves, that changes with the light and the weather. Beautiful.

5. Bring some books that will stimulate your writing – e.g. books on craft, research materials, art books. I know a lot of people don’t like to read books in their own genre when they are writing, but there are plenty of other options to turn to! I like to read/research when I don’t feel like writing – sometimes this can be a distraction, but it can also make me feel like I am still doing good work when I’m not in a creative mood.

6. Don’t sit at the desk all day. Go for a walk. Especially if you’re really frustrated. Continuing to sit there will just mean you’re stewing in your own frustrated juices.

7. Writing to a constraint or prompt can be a help when you’re stuck. For example, the poet Simon Armitage once instructed participants in a writing workshop in Canberra to ‘put a dog in it’, and he told an anecdote about how someone had said that to him once and, frustrated, he thought about it for a bit and then… it unlocked a memory of two porcelain mantelpiece dogs that connected well to what he was writing. I find photographs or art can help.

8. I love Anne Lamott’s anecdote and advice in Bird by Bird – ‘Just take it bird by bird’. Good for when you feel overwhelmed with a project.

9. Stop comparing yourself to other writers and what they get/have/win.

10. Further to the above, I love what Virginia Woolf said about ‘masterpieces’, that they are ‘not single and solitary births’ but rather ‘the outcome of many years of thinking in common, of thinking by the body of the people, so that the experience of the mass is behind a single voice.’

Jessica Wilkinson, KSP Established Writer-in-Residence 2024