KSP Chats With...Elizabeth Lewis

We recently had the pleasure of hosting talented poet and 2024/25 Emerging Writers Program participant, Elizabeth Lewis. During her stay, Elizabeth immersed herself in the peaceful surroundings and vibrant literary community that KSP is known for.

In this Q&A, Elizabeth shares insights into her writing process, what inspired her during her time at KSP, and how she’s navigating her journey as an emerging writer. Grab a cuppa and join us for a peek into her world!

• How has participating in the Emerging Writers Program benefitted your writing practice?

Having a deadline for completing my manuscript gives me a kind of permission to prioritise my writing above the constant daily tasks of normal life, and to create a plan to get the work done! The gift of support and encouragement from a mentor, my local writers’ centre and my writing peers has given me company on the sometimes-overwhelming journey of writing a book.

• What do you think is the biggest benefit of a writing fellowship or residency?

The chance to step away from all other personas in your life, to be only the Writer version of yourself, to lay down the roles of worker, carer, family member for a short time and inhabit the world of your creative project, to let your mind stay with the project and not be distracted. To create space for the other creative groundwork – reading, journaling, research, daydreaming, without having the fight for the time.

• Is being part of the local or online writing community a must for writers? Why?

I have felt such warmth and camaraderie from the WA writing community, both online and in-person. It is refreshing to be with people who ‘get it’, who understand that writing is valuable and enlivening and ridiculous and vital. I just love going to local book launches, events and festivals and seeing all the same writing friends there again to uplift and cheer for each other.

• What inspired you to start writing poetry, and how did you first connect with the form?

My beautiful, angsty, big-hearted 15-year-old self, needed somewhere to pour her feelings and poetry was it. I couldn’t decide what to do after high school so I figured I’d do something I loved, and studied a degree in Writing at ECU where I learnt the craft of poetry with some brilliant teachers. I now teach poetry myself, and teaching others renews the knowledge that is in me and brings it to the surface again.

• What role does language play in your work? Do you find yourself drawn to certain words or phrases?

Poetry is the most succinct form of writing, no word is wasted, it must be exactly the right word/s to convey a picture, an experience and what it might mean. I am currently obsessed with light, trees, birdsong, the companionship of animals and deep connection to each other and the world. My dog makes it into quite a few of my poems!

• How would you describe your poetic voice, and has it evolved over time? 

I am interested in plain speech, in well-crafted but accessible poetry. I want people who think poetry isn’t for them to read my poems and think, oh, this is about me, I have felt this too. My voice as a writer is grounded in everyday moments but leaves space for wonder, for the numinous - nudging people to consider how we engage bodily with the world around us, with the realities of living with others, living with ourselves, ageing, grief, hope, big love. I would say my voice has strengthened rather than evolved. I have a wonderful writer’s group who have pointed me towards what is working in my writing and the themes I keep coming back to.

• Do you have any rituals or routines when it comes to writing poetry, or does inspiration strike at unpredictable times? 

I often practice morning pages or journaling to clear out all the repetition in my head so I can then drop down to what I really want to write. I am always filtering the world through a poetic eye, I see a moment between two people, a bobtail crossing the road, the particular way the light hits a spiderweb in the morning and then a bird collects the web for its nest, and I think – there is a poem! Notes apps are helpful, but sometimes I trust that the details and stories will collect in my mind and present themselves when they are needed.

• How do you balance writing with other responsibilities?

I have to be very deliberate. All other tasks are an opportunity for procrastination. I even make myself responsible for things that aren’t mine, to avoid writing, because it’s scary to risk failing at something you truly care about. I’m working on my thinking, to risk success is more fun as an idea. I ask my family to support me, to take on my share of the domestic tasks for a weekend so I can have a retreat. I announce often – I am going to write! Then I have to do it. Accountability works for my personality.

• How do you approach the balance between personal experience and universal themes in your poems?

For me, it has to start with the personal, that’s where the energy is. As a piece of writing is developed it may step away from the personal towards the universal, but still maintain the energy of truthfulness. I am comfortable with poems being mini-memoirs but in the editing they naturally move from being the property of the writer towards property of the reader – or relatable to others. I enjoy starting a poem on a personal moment then zooming out to the universal and then coming back in close for the conclusion. 

• How do you handle moments of creative block or self-doubt in your writing process?

With kindness. I sometimes do what the writer Elizabeth Gilbert suggests, I write a letter to myself from Love. What compassionate things would love say to me to get me past this fear? I also come back to the joy of writing, the question of, even if I don’t succeed commercially, would I still want to express my self in this way, the answer is always, yes.

A massive thanks to Elizabeth for answering our questions, and a big than you to Writing WA for giving us the opportunity to be part of the Emerging Writers Program and support the voices of Perth's next generation of storytellers!