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An
Interview with Vivien Steels
by Amparo Arrospide |
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 * VIVIEN STEELS * |
Vivien Steels is a poet
and a painter, who has been widely published in poetry presses and on
the Internet, sometimes with artwork. Her work is deeply
influenced by the natural world, which she often uses as symbolism for
the spiritual. Her paintings are intertwined with her poems,
which they illustrate and she has exhibitions of her paintings and
poems. Vivien has designed/produced three collections of her
illustrated poems - *PROMISE*, *MANDALA* and recently *SECRETS*.
She has designed three websites featuring her poetry, artwork and
prose, the main one being She also writes short stories and articles. Vivien lives in Nottingham , England .
  "Desert Rest"
Artwork
by Vivien Steels
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Questions and Answers... and QuestionsHello,
Vivien, welcome back to these pages. You have kindly agreed to expand
on some topics that readers may find fascinating:
What is your particular relationship with poetry and painting? |
Vivien S.: |
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PL&T:
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Vivien S.:
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Writing is an activity that requires a minimum of physical effort - you can do it anywhere, but it specially lends itself to bed, where I reside quite a lot of the time. I prop myself up with an architecture of pillows, until I disappear amongst large, white marshmallows, then I draw my feet up so that my legs form a natural support for my pad of paper. My pen seems to take on a life of its own – almost like automatic writing, where a person goes into a trance, pen flashing across the paper in a specific style of writing that does not belong to them. I type my work onto my computer, but I need the feeling of pen on paper first to make my writing breathe. Poems paint pictures with feelings in words. Its condensed, concentrated form intensifies experience and distills it. Its easily portable form means you can read a poem anywhere, at any time. Words reach you in a different way to painted shapes. Words to the poet are what paint is to the painter. A painting is more labour intensive to create. Hopefully it will reach the viewer in the same way a poem will reach the reader. Perhaps illustrating poems could be seen as unnecessary, but it is interesting to have an interpretation of the words in paint and to have an interpretation of paint in words. Words and pictures, pictures and words – to me they go together. My work is deeply influenced by the natural world, which I often use as symbolism for the spiritual. My paintings are intertwined with my poems, which they illustrate. My exhibitions are entitled “TALKING PAINT”. I have designed/produced three collections of my illustrated poems - *PROMISE*, *MANDALA* and recently *SECRETS*, which can be bought via my website ) |
PL&T: |
What incidents in your childhood influenced your writing? |
Vivien S.: |
I have very vivid
memories of my childhood and it feeds my writing in many ways. I can
recall specific events and what I saw and how I felt. This was often
intense and I think it flows into my writing. A child sees the world in
a fresh, undiluted way. It is good for a writer (and an artist) to keep
that childlike view of the world and be a careful observer of people
and things around them. To see things in an original and unusual way is
essential to creativity. I used to have a lovely teacher, Mr Dobbs, when I was eight, who did a lot of artwork, writing and nature work with us. He greatly enhanced my love of the natural world, which has stayed with me through the years. |
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Part 2: On Writing and Living
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Vivien S.: |
I live inside a beautiful Country Park in Nottinghamshire overlooking two lakes surrounded by trees and wildlife. It is like a green oasis within the rush of the town. Usually it is quiet. I need quietness to think and be creative. As a lover of wildlife I am forever watching the birds and animals around me and I’m sure it invades my soul. |
PL&T: |
What are your specific projects for the future? |
Back to top
Vivien S.:
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I was to have an exhibition at Arnold Library in Nottingham during June this year, but I've had to step down and cancel it, because I had a bad M.E. relapse. I hope to have an exhibition of my paintings and illustrated poems this year. I am looking for some different venues at the moment! I have self-published three collections of my poetry, *PROMISE*, *MANDALA* and recently *SECRETS*, illustrated with my paintings. I would like to try and get my poems published as a collection. Having had a few short stories and articles published, I would like to get more published. Currently I am studying at Nottingham University doing a part-time course in Creative Writing, which I am really enjoying. |
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How do you think climate change will influence or is influencing art/artists/writers worldwide?
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Vivien S.: |
Christian Aid, in their recent report, believes one billion
people in the world could be forced to leave their homes over the next
fifty years as the effects of climate change worsen. More and more
people are expected to be affected by water shortages, sea level rises,
deteriorating pasture land, conflicts and famine.
Leonardo Di Caprio produced and narrated the documentary
‘The 11th Hour’, which was unveiled at The Cannes Film Festival. It
stresses that mankind must change and transform its approach to the
environment if we are to avoid imminent catastrophe.
If the artist and writer is a sensitive reflection of the
world around her/him, then it is inevitable that themes for their work
will be how the environment, and the people in it, is changing e.g.
pollution of water, drying up of rivers, pollution of land, erasing of
forests, air pollution, increase in the ozone layer, the melting of the
Polar Caps and it continues...
Being creative is a way of solving problems and artists,
writers, film makers and scientists together can use their gifts for
the betterment, transformation and salvation of mankind.
© Vivien Steels June
2007
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