Kristen Phillips – debut author chat
Kristen Phillips holding a copy of her book, Dad, You’ve Got Dementia: Conversations with my father (The Cuba Press, July, 2023).
Photo credit: Juniper Gibson
A Chat with debut author Kristen Phillips about her book Dad, You’ve Got Dementia
First of all, congratulations on the forthcoming publication of your memoir Dad, You’ve Got Dementia: Conversations with my father (The Cuba Press, July 2023).
When did you start to consider yourself a writer? What would you say led to that?
I have known that I am a writer for a long time, but that knowledge has been buried very deep. Being an author is a more public acknowledgement.
There is so much that has led to my being a writer – growing up in a house full of books, living with a writer, living in London and going to lots of literary events, attending The Poetry School, forming my own writing group.
Could you tell us about doing courses at The Poetry School in London?
Doing those courses was the result of winning the first poetry competition I entered. I entered it for fun really. So, to win was a complete surprise. I used the prize money on courses at The Poetry School: the first one was with Michael Donaghy; then a Versification course with Mimi Khalvati. I also did Reading World Poets, with Graham Fawcett. Later, I did a Pamphlet course, with Saradha Soobrayen – I didn’t think I had enough poems, but by the end of those weeks I had a draft pamphlet. At one of the courses, led by Tim Dooley, I met Josie and David. We formed a writing group that met for over a decade.
I remember you starting that group – could you tell us about that and your experience of taking work there?
It was very hard to get the group started. I think it took about nine months to get a date that we could all make. We met six to eight times a year. I found having a group to read to helped me make time to write more. I was doing a demanding job during that time and it was very enjoyable to spend a couple of hours talking about literature and writing, and listening and giving feedback. I shared early drafts from Dad You’ve Got Dementia with Josie and David and got some very helpful feedback and suggestions.
How did Dad, You’ve Got Dementia come to be in the form that it is today? (Conversations with your dad in the first half and vignettes about your time together in the second.)
It actually started as suggestions for how to manage when you are far away from the person with dementia, a list of resources, explanations about what Dad was saying and why. The feedback from the writing group helped me see that it could be more spare, that the writing could stand on its own without explanations. What I really like now is that the reader can take what they like from the book – I’m simply sharing my lived experience and giving Dad a voice. His voice and actions are the focus of the book.
In Dad, You’ve Got Dementia there’s a section ‘How this book came about’. Could you tell us about that moment when you decided, ‘I’m going to write a book about Dad’?
I was at Leon Café in Granary Square, near where I worked at the London Borough of Camden. I realised that what Dad was saying was important and poetic and there could be a book, so I started writing down our conversations.
Could you describe the process of working with The Cuba Press on getting the book ready to be printed?
For me, as a debut author, working with The Cuba Press has been wonderful. Mary McCallum, Paul Stewart and Sarah Bolland are very supportive and collaborative in the way they work. There was also an intern from Te Kāhui Auaha / Whitireia, Juniper Gibson, who helped a lot with photos and preparing for the launch.
Important question: where can readers find Dad, You’ve Got Dementia?
If you are in Aotearoa NZ, ask for a copy now at your local bookstore. This is the best way to support independent bookstores, the author and publisher.
For international orders, direct from The Cuba Press is the best way and this also supports an (excellent) indepependent publisher.
Kia ora / thank you, Kristen — I’m looking forward to your book launch now!
Saturday 8 July 10.30am (NZST) and livestreamed on Kristen Phillips - author’s Facebook page
