Claire Booker is a playwright and poet from UK. Her poems have appeared in Ambit, Magma, the Rialto, the Spectator and Stand among others. Her work has been displayed on Guernsey buses, inspired musical compositions, been filmed by Aberystwyth University and commended in The Poetry Society’s Ann Born Prize. She is a member of a UK/Romanian poetry collective. Her pamphlet Later ‘There Will Be Postcards’ is out with Green Bottle Press. Claire Booker has worked for charities, local government and BBC Television as a journalist and press officer. She is now a medical herbalist and hypnotherapist. She divides her time between London and Brighton. Claire has guested at poetry venues in London, Manchester, Maidenhead, Oxford and Winchester.
WIL: How is the scenario worldwide about women getting into writing?
CB: The global platform is a mixed affair for women’s writing. Even in countries where equal opportunity for women is enshrined in law, the practical problems and prejudice faced by women writers can still have negative outcomes. For the moment, I think we are slowly marching towards a progress but it will require a longer amount of time.
WIL: Do you believe that there is enough presence of women writers worldwide as there are men?
CB: For decades, women are not equally represented in major prizes and contests, though the situation is gradually improving. The UK had its first female Poet Laureate (Carol Ann Duffy) inaugurated ten years ago. Nobel Prize winners for literature are by far still male. At present, the presence of men and female writers are still not statistically equivalent but I do believe that will not be the case anymore.
WIL: Why hasn’t the number of women writers increased worldwide, except for a few exceptional countries?
CB: There is a difference between being a writer and a published writer. The number of women writers has been increasing worldwide as literacy rates improve, but there is still a way to go before this translates into increased publication for women writers. Once a book is released, it takes a long time for it to reach areas outside the locality, it even takes years. Writing is practiced more these days but for the limelight to actually fall on the accomplishers, it will take more geographical reach.
WIL: Women have faced discrimination in the past for publishing books, do you think that scenario has gotten any better?
CB: One of the problems I think is that women’s work is often pigeon holed into apparently less prestigious genres. A high proportion of children’s writing in the UK is done by women writers. There is also the so-called genre ‘chic lit’. The ideology that most writing are by men still resonate through most circles. Although in the UK, the days are long gone since women writers took male names in order to get published, it’s interesting to note that the phenomenally success JK Rowling, deliberately chose to use gender-neutral initials for her name.
WIL: What are the challenges a new and emerging writer might face being a woman?
CB: The challenges facing new writers of either gender are broadly similar – what and how do you want to write, how you can improve your work, the type of audience you will attract, confidence to succeed, etc. The additional challenges that especially the women face is more about unconscious prejudice than overt. There may be male judges/editors who actively dislike the idea of publishing women, but I think they are in a minority. More problematic is that men still largely control the publishing and academic world. And it’s men who decide the criteria of a good poetry or drama. If women tackle subjects outside men’s interests, or in a way that is considered too sentimental, they may have their work rejected, For an instance, poems about passionate sexual desire abound, poems about the joys of motherhood etc. Women’s world is often seen as of less space than the experiences of men. Even competitions with anonymous entries often produce a surfeit of male winners. Also of course, women often hesitate to give themselves the luxury of writing time. Family responsibilities often eat up time, and there can be a sense of ‘being selfish’ when a woman writes. So it is the cultural norms of the designated role for a woman that acts as a hindrance.
WIL: How can a writer overcome challenges?
CB: It can be really helpful for women to get together to overcome these challenges. Mutual support and encouragement in groups, finding ‘buddies’ to exchange work with and give positive criticism. Planning their lives so they have a few hours each week where the whole family respects as their own personal time to write. If possible and available, they could attend formal writing workshops to improve their skills. Also, the more women get involved in the publishing world, organizing poetry events, or in editing literary magazines, the more women’s voices will get heard, and thus new generation of girls will gain confidence. Role models are incredibly helpful, so successful women writers have an additional light to cast over the new generation as to stand as an outstanding example of a ground breaker.
WIL: Any word of advice for beginner female writers who want to get their piece published?
CB: My word of advice would be to write regardless, despite the constraints. They need to believe and tell themselves that they have an important voice to be heard. They should seek platforms for sharing their work, whether on social media, in printed form (like the Russian Samisdat) or reciting to friends. Perhaps create their own magazine or set up a blog. Also, it is important to read in order to understand what and how other people are writing. An interested writer is usually an interesting writer. They shouldn’t be disheartened when their work is rejected because failure comes with more opportunities. There are so many reasons why a piece of writing is rejected – and another editor somewhere else may like it. So send it out again. It may feel intimidating, but do it anyway. Persistence is the only key to growth.
Md Saifuddin Al Quaderi
Journalist, Bangladesh Post
