Pneuma: An Interview with Faye Alexandra Rose
Faye Alexandra Rose (she/her) is a prose writer and poet from the midlands, UK. Her work has been published by multiple magazines and has even appeared on a spoken word podcast on Spotify. She is a Magazine Editor at small leaf press and has recently graduated with a first-class degree in Creative and Professional Writing and English Literature from the University of Worcester, and is due to continue onto her Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham.
Can you tell us a bit about the book you just published with Sunday Mornings at the River?
PNEUMA was my undergraduate dissertation in which I received an A. It is centred around experimentation and breathwork within poetry - extending beyond the biological process and carries the emotional context through non-verbal utterances and paralinguistics. On the surface, the collection seems quite simple, but I wanted both the form and content of the poetry to speak for themselves.
What inspired you to write this book?
Poets often recognize the importance of breath in their work, but from my research prior to writing the collection, few actually make it into the thematic concern. I wanted to marry the two together through my love of experimentation within poetry.
What does the title mean?
Pneuma is an ancient Greek word for ‘breath’ and has religious contexts for ‘spirit’ or ‘soul.’
When did you become a poet? How did you know it was the right medium for your stories?
My love of writing, specifically poetry, came when I suffered a traumatic incident in the summer of 2017. When I was going through the darkest of days, I found solace when writing in my journal. I wasn’t actively trying to write poetry per se, it just sort of naturally developed as I was putting words onto the page. Poetry for me is emotion, so it seemed a fitting release.
What inspires you to write in general?
Writing helps me to understand. If I am going through a formative period of my life, or needing to make a decision, I write. Putting words onto the page allows me to visualize what my brain is trying to dissect. I have always been a visual learner, so I suppose writing is my way of learning about not only my life, but others as well.
What are you currently reading?
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.
What are you working on?
I am currently in the midst of writing my first romance/thriller hybrid novel, which I hope will be completed by the end of this year.
Who are some of your literary or artistic crushes?
Kurt Vonnegut and Ernest Hemingway were the reason I started to explore literature. I found ‘A Farewell to Arms’ by Ernest Hemingway in a charity shop when I was fifteen, and it sparked my love of reading, which then turned into writing my own prose and poetry in my late twenties.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I write each book to stand on its own, as every project I seem to write has a different idea behind it. (Unless I write a series in the future - you never know!).
What does literary success look like to you?
For me, my goal has always been to continue to get my work out into the world. The idea that someone else holds my work in their hands, and potentially enjoys it, keeps me going. I don’t want fame or fortune from my writing, if I could have a few poetry collections and a handful of novels published, I would be very happy indeed!
What did you edit out of this book?
A lot! I think I redrafted this book more than twenty times. When I first approached it, I knew I wanted to marry the content and forms together, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. After a few drafts it started to take shape and I trusted the process.
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
This is my first book to be published, so I have yet to experience reviews. However, it will be important to keep in mind that some people just won’t like what I produce, and that’s fine. Everyone has their own personal taste, so I’ll try not to take it too much to heart if they leave a negative review. Each review - good or bad - just solidifies that I am getting my work out into the world for people to read, and that should always be celebrated.
What are your favourite literary journals?
This is very biased as I work for them, but small leaf press is a literary journal I truly admire. Candice, the Editor-in-chief, founded the press solely with the intention to give a voice to underrepresented writers and to give confidence to writers who are starting out - a mission that’s important in a saturated writing community.
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Editing for sure! I come up with some ludicrous ideas sometimes, and it’s hard to know when to reign it in. I often have to ask myself: will people actually know what I am talking about here? Or is this a Faye thing?